Mackenzie Blackwood has been everything the Avalanche wanted so far

It’s been a big day for goalies in the Colorado Avalanche organization. First, news from Russia broke that top goalie prospect Ilya Nabokov is hoping to come to North America next season (unconfirmed so we’ll see), then Mackenzie Blackwood inked a five-year extension with the Avalanche, then Blackwood backstopped the Avs to another win out of the NHL’s Christmas break.

It ended with a 4-1 win for Colorado as they beat the Utah Hockey Club in a game whose final score is deceptive to how close the game was throughout. As expected with everyone having multiple days off, there was a lot of energy in this one but the game was sloppily played.

The game entered the third period with the Avs leading 1-0 before Utah finally solved Blackwood and tied the game. From there, it was Colorado’s night.

Let’s talk about it.

Mackenzie Blackwood’s excellence continues

The first two periods were controlled by the Avalanche and were it not for Blackwood’s counterpart, Karel Vejmelka, the game would have been a multi-goal lead for the Avs heading into the third period.

Once it did get there, Utah found the groove. An undisciplined and careless tripping penalty on Mikko Rantanen gave Utah life. Despite having a penalty kill that has become dominant over the last ten games, the Avs were unable to escape the two-minute punishment unscathed thanks to a Nick Schmaltz deflection that beat Blackwood and tied the game just 3:42 into the period.

Utah built major momentum from the goal and pushed hard. At one point, they were outshooting the Avs 10-2 in the game.

This was it. This was the situation that caused Colorado to trade for Blackwood and then hand over a five-year contract. The previous goaltending regime folded when other teams were in the section of the game where they played well. One goal spiraled into multiple goals. The Avalanche skaters were constantly chasing games because if they made mistakes, they turned into goals.

You pay a goaltender to be even-keeled back there and keep your team on balance. Your skaters are going to have their ups and downs. While those happen, you ask the goalie to stabilize and keep you in it until they get back to winning the puck battles.

That’s exactly what happened tonight. Blackwood rose to the moment, slammed the door shut on Utah’s attack, and watched his skaters regain their footing and outscore Utah 3-0 in the final five minutes of the game.

Blackwood finished with 34 saves on 35 shots, good for a .971 save percentage. This is everything the Avalanche envisioned when they acquired him. This is the system working.

Oh, right. Artturi Lehkonen’s hat trick.

Speaking of trades where the Avs got everything they hoped for, Artturi Lehkonen had the first hat trick of his career tonight. His first two goals were everything we’ve come to expect from Lehkonen as an Av. He was feisty along the boards, went hard to the net, and found the finishing touch right around the crease.

The first goal was Sam Malinski and Nathan MacKinnon making some magic together and Lehkonen just tucking the puck home on a nice redirect. The second goal was him putting a rebound into the net while Utah’s defensive coverage broke down so badly that he was completely left alone.

The hat trick goal made me laugh. He fired a puck the length of the ice into an empty net and that was great but it was his second attempt at it. The first resulted in an icing when he just missed the net. He was smiling that 1000-watt smile of his after the icing. His team was winning 3-1 already after Rantanen secured an empty-net goal minutes before to essentially put the game away. He was going for it.

After all, fellow Finn Joel Kiviranta just had his first regular-season hat trick against Seattle on Sunday in Colorado’s final game before the Christmas break. Rantanen, Colorado’s most famous Finn, has had three hat tricks already this season. Lehkonen needed that empty-netter to get his own.

He got it.

I’ll write about him a bit more tomorrow, but Lehkonen’s importance to Colorado is now rivaling that of Val Nichushkin. High-end complementary players who fit perfectly alongside the star players are extremely valuable. Lehkonen is proving that more than ever this season.

Nathan MacKinnon, still the engine for the Avalanche

MacKinnon was an animal tonight. He didn’t crack 20 minutes of ice time because of a fight near the end of the second period, but he still registered three assists. I recently referred to MacKinnon as “the sun” because of his gravitational pull and you saw just what I meant on Colorado’s first goal.

When Malinski dropped the puck to him, all five Utah players keyed on MacKinnon and stopped defending. MacKinnon made a move and dispatched an excellent defensive wing in Lawson Crouse before finding Lehkonen open in front of the net.

MacKinnon’s role in the second Avs goal was via transition, which is, you know, his superpower, but it wasn’t anything particularly special as far as MacKinnon stuff goes. Add in him getting the puck to Rantanen for an easy empty-net goal and it’s a ho-hum three-point night for the NHL’s leading scorer.

But it was still a three-point night. We always say this about the elite players, but the ability to make excellence look routine is precisely what makes them so special. MacKinnon is that. He wasn’t individually as dangerous as he is most nights, but the attention he commands forces teams to vigorously defend him at the cost of defending teammates.

MacKinnon added three more assists to his league-leading total (46, next closest is Jack Eichel with 37). What we’ve seen this year is an evolution of his game. He’s not forcing every puck at the net as we’ve seen in the past. He isn’t leading the league by a country mile in shots on goal. He’s not even first (he’s second, four shots behind David Pastrnak)!

MacKinnon is better understanding that teams are selling out to stop him. As a result, he’s utilizing his teammates better and putting them in position for easier goals. He put two easy goals on the table for Lehkonen and Rantanen tonight. Finland should consider making him an honorary member of their parliament with the money he is helping bring to some of its native sons.

He also beat up Barrett Hayton for reasons that are still unclear but it was fun to watch him get into yet another fight against the Arizona/Utah franchise (I believe four of his nine career fights are against them). They say not to punch down, but MacKinnon loves beating up the little brother, I guess.