DENVER - In his first start in a Colorado Avalanche uniform, Mackenzie Blackwood was, as the kids say, ill, while the team in front of him just physically ill.
There's some sort of bug going through the Avalanche locker room right now that Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said is bothering quite a few guys. It sure looked like it most of Saturday, but when your goalie is stopping everything, it doesn't matter.
Well, pretty much everything. Blackwood was the star of the night, leading the Avalanche to the 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators with 38 stops.
The fans at Ball Arena seemed excited to see what Blackwood had to offer, and he put on a show. His first stop of the night came off a shot from Steven Stamkos, who had snuck by the defense for a mini 2-on-1. Blackwood made the initial stop, then stoned Filip Forsberg on the rebound. The fans really appreciated that one, and the goaltender gave them plenty more reasons to get on their feet.
Perhaps his best sequence came halfway through the second period. With the game still scoreless, Jonathan Marchessault snuck behind the Avalanche defense for a breakaway. The 6-foot, 4-inch Blackwood gave him nothing, shutting the the door as the veteran forward tried to put it between the goalie's legs. A few seconds later, Blackwood made another save and, after freezing the puck, the crowd went wild.
Saves like those allowed the Avalanche to just hang around when they clearly weren't at their best. And if you let a team with this much high-end talent hang around, they will make you pay.
At 11:32 in the second, Ross Colton found a soft spot in the Nashville defense, something he's done quite a few times this season. Casey Mittelstadt found him, and Colton buried his 10th goal of the season. Before the second ended, Mikko Rantanen took the puck away from the Predators defenseman, creating a mini-breakaway for Nathan MacKinnon, who wired it right under the crossbar to make it 2-0. Artturi Lehkonen added a goal in the third that looked like it might put the game away, but the Predators added two late to make the game interesting. MacKinnon and Lehkonen added empty-netters to close things out for the home squad.
After Lehkonen's goal, the "Blackwood" chants began in Ball Arena. There are still some kinks to work out as far as the chant goes, but it sure didn't take long for fans to fall for the new goalie in town.
"You got to appreciate that," Blackwood said of the chants after the game. "That feels great. Hopefully we can continue to play well in front of them."
It's possible that Alexandar Georgiev or Justus Annunen could have kept the Avalanche in this game with how the team played most of the night, but given how they performed this season for Colorado, that seems highly unlikely. This is the difference the Avalanche are hoping Blackwood makes for them.
Very small sample size, but so far, so good.
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Avalanche 5, Predators 2
What happened: Blackwood shut the door until Colorado's high-end talent kicked into gear.
What went right: The difference in talent between the two teams was evident. Nashville created more chances but couldn't finish most of the night. Meanwhile, it took a while for the Avalanche to get some decent scoring chances, and when they did, they made the Predators pay. Colton's goal might have been the first real scoring chance from the slot the Avalanche had created on the night. MacKinnon's first goal was a perfect shot.
That's what separates the Avalanche from a lot of teams.
What went wrong: Colorado changed up their power play units because of how poorly things have been going lately. They really only got one chance to show off their new top unit, which included Ross Colton and Casey Mittelstadt, but it went as poorly as you could imagine. A quick turnover after a face-off win meant the Avs were chasing the entire power play, as they couldn't even get set up in the zone.
Avalanche goal scorers: Colton (10), MacKinnon (12, 13), Lehkonen (9, 10)
Predators goal scorers: Stamkos (8), Evangelista (3)
Between the pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood was a wall in net, stopping 38 of the 40 shots he faced.
What's next: Colorado hits the road for a few games, starting with a game in Vancouver on Monday at 8:30 p.m.
