DENVER — It felt like the Avalanche weren’t going to get anything past Sergei Bobrovsky and his posts. The Panther’s goalie was excellent to start the game. When the puck beat him, it struck the iron and stayed out. At least the first two times.
But then Colorado broke through.
Devon Toews had two goals — the first of which trickled in after hitting the crossbar — and the Avs defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 at Ball Arena. Colorado won its 25th game at the halfway mark, improving to 7-0-1 in its last eight.
Jared Bednar’s club also collected seven of eight points during the homestand. They gave up just one goal for the second straight game in what ended up being a solid goaltender battle between Colorado’s Mackenzie Blackwood and his idol, Bobrovsky.
“Both teams created a fair amount of offense with special teams and five-on-five when it’s all said and done,” Bednar said. “But both goalies were good, so it ended up being a real tight, low-scoring game.”
Blackwood made 26 saves and improved to 7-1-1 since joining the Avs almost a month ago. He’s faced 226 shots in seven starts and one relief appearance and has given up just 14 goals.
“Teams playing great in front of me, responsible hockey, scoring on their chances, and it’s fun to watch,” Blackwood said. “It’s fun to be a part of.”
Blackwood continues to impress his teammates and coaches. They thought they were going to get an upgrade in goal but they didn’t expect it to be this vast. Blackwood hasn’t given up more than two goals in any game. Even when the early goal goes in, he manages to lock things down the rest of the way.
The ability to shake off those goals wasn’t something he had early in his career. But with the strong team in front of him, Blackwood is already shifting how he approaches those situations. He did it again against Florida — the Panthers were being outshot 16-4 but had the game’s only goal nearly two full periods in.
“I would say they give me confidence in the game. We go down early but I know if I do my job, we’re going to still be in the game no matter what,” Blackwood said. “Every night, they’re playing so well, so offensively talented. Not every single night it’s going to be the case, but most of the time, if you do your job, they’re going to come out with a win.”
Florida scored first, capitalizing on a Colorado breakdown in the neutral zone. It was Carter Verhaeghe’s 10th of the season and the only goal through 20 minutes.
The Avs had a carry-over power play into the second but couldn’t capitalize. They finished 0-for-4 but not without their chances. Bobrovsky made four saves in the first two minutes of the middle period to keep his team ahead.
Eventually, Toews broke through to tie things up. Both Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar hit the post or crossbar before Toews’ shot finally beat the goalie.
The defenseman added his second of the evening later in the third off a play that started with a strong puck battle from Juuso Parssinen. Colorado’s newest forward addition also screened the goalie when Toews’ go-ahead goal was scored.
“Confidence was an issue in Nashville but it doesn’t seem like it is here,” Bednar said of Parssinen, who the Avs acquired from Nashville on Dec. 28. “The offensive side that he had two years ago, that’s where we want to get him to and that’s a good flash of it tonight.”
The Avs outshot Florida 16-14 in the third period. Blackwood stopped every shot he faced and Mikko Rantanen added an empty-net goal for good measure.
Good: Devon Toews heats up
This isn’t the first time I’ve written about Toews’ recent offensive surge. Colorado’s top-pair defenseman struggled early in the season with an injury and it kept him off the scoresheet. Over the past several weeks, Toews’ defensive game has started to build back to his standard. And now, the offense is catching up.
We all marveled at his complete effort on the game-winning goal against Buffalo last week. Toews played Tage Thompson man-on-man before stealing the puck and breaking in all alone for the game-winner. He also scored in the game before that against Winnipeg. And of course, added two more against Bobrovsky.
Suddenly, Toews has four goals in his last four games and seven total points.
Bad: The missing piece on the PP
The Avalanche’s first two PP chances were solid. The second two? Not so much.
It’s clear that they’re missing the big body in front — the spot often filled by Valeri Nichushkin. I get what Bednar is trying to do with Casey Mittelstadt on the top unit but the reality is, until Nichushkin is back — which should hopefully be soon — Artturi Lehkonen is better suited for that role.
With MacKinnon, Rantanen, Mittelstadt, and Jonathan Drouin as the four forwards, the power play is often trying to do too much and looking for the extra pass. Having Nichushkin parked in front makes it easier to fire pucks on net and allow the big Russian forward to take away the goalies eyes. It’s basically what Parssinen did to Bobrovsky on the game-winning goal.
