Mackenzie Blackwood puts on a show for Avalanche fans in Ball Arena debut | Colorado avalanche

DENVER – In his first start in a Colorado Avalanche uniform, Mackenzie Blackwood was, as the kids say, sick, while the team in front of him was just physically sick.

There’s kind of a glitch going through the Avalanche locker room right now that Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said is bothering a lot of guys. It sure looked like it for most of Saturday, but when your goalie stops everything, it doesn’t matter.

Well, pretty much everything. Blackwood was the star of the night, leading the Avalanche to a 5-2 victory over the Nashville Predators with 38 stops.

The fans at the Ball Arena seemed excited to see what Blackwood had to offer and he put on a show. His first stop of the night came on a shot from Steven Stamkos, who had snuck past the defense for a mini 2-on-1. Blackwood made the initial stop and then stoned Filip Forsberg on the return. The fans really appreciated that, and the goalkeeper gave them many more reasons to get on their feet.

Perhaps his best sequence came midway 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, closing the door as the veteran tried to put it between the keeper’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 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’re going to make you pay.

At 11:32 of 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, setting up a mini-breakaway for Nathan MacKinnon, who stepped it just under the crossbar for 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 shut it down for the home team.

After Lehkonen’s goal, “Blackwood” chants began in the Ball Arena. There are still some kinks to work out as far as the song goes, but it certainly didn’t take long for fans to fall for the new goalie in town.

“You have to appreciate that,” Blackwood said of the chants after the game. “It feels great. Hopefully we can continue to play well in front of them.”

It’s possible that Alexandar Georgiev or Justus Annunen could have held 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. That’s the difference the Avalanche hope 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 advanced talent got going.

What went right: The difference in talent between the two teams was clear. 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.

This is what separates the Avalanche from many teams.

What went wrong: Colorado changed their power play units because of how bad things have been 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 badly as you could imagine. A quick turnover after a faceoff win meant the Avs chased the entire power play as they couldn’t even get set up in the zone.

Avalanche scorers: Colton (10), MacKinnon (12, 13), Lehkonen (9, 10)

Predators scorer: 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 pair of games, starting with a game in Vancouver on Monday at 8.30 p.m