DENVER– Two weeks ago, coach Jared Bednar was singing a very different tune when it came to Mackenzie Blackwood.
Blackwood got off to a rough start in Colorado’s 6-3 win over the Buffalo Sabers on November 13. The first period saw two goals slip away: the first from former Avalanche defenseman Bowen Byram, who pulled off a failed cover-up attempt, and the second a mix of shaky goaltending and defensive breakdowns. Buffalo’s Owen Power fired the puck into the zone, allowing Jordan Greenway to outrun two defenders and beat Blackwood with a clean shot.
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After the 28-year-old guard told reporters he needed more minutes to get back to his old self, Bednar showed some tough love in the postgame press conference.
“I hate seeming cruelbut it’s a problem for the Blackys at this point,” he said. “It’s not a problem for me; I have a lot of confidence in Blacky and I know there’s a lot of minutes between here and the end of the season, but (Scott Wedgewood) is playing really well, so I’m not going to not play Wedge to play Blacky at this point, so those minutes come in practice and he works hard, he’s done that and he’ll get his games.
“I’m not going to not play him because Blacky needs minutes. We have plenty of time to give him minutes. For the moment, we’re going to play against a rested goalkeeper and play against the goalkeeper who gives us a very good chance.”
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Black wood said Hockey news the next day, he agreed with Bednar’s view on the matter, as uncomfortable as it might be to talk about it publicly, and acknowledged that it was up to him to solve the problem. And in the weeks since, this has clearly been the case.
During their recent road trip, the Avalanche offense never fully found its rhythm, but Colorado still escaped with wins over the Nashville Predators and Chicago Blackhawks. And in Nashville, it was Blackwood who carried them, pitching a 35-save shutout to secure a 3-0 victory and get the team across the finish line. Scott Wedgewood, who filled Blackwood’s void while recovering from offseason surgery to repair a lower-body injury and currently leads all NHL goaltenders with 13 wins, followed with a shutout in a 1-0 win over the Blackhawks.
But if there were any doubts about whether Blackwood’s performance in Nashville was simply a one-off, he put that idea aside Wednesday night. Facing his former San Jose Sharks, Blackwood completed another shutout in a crushing 6-0 victory, erasing any remaining doubts about his form.
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We asked Bednar how impressed he was with Blackwood since he challenged him to regain his sharpness.
“Yeah, I’m really impressed,” he said. “The Nashville game was lights out. Tonight was another good thing. And part of it, like I said before, it’s just about knocking the rust off. We have a lot of confidence in this guy. Obviously, that’s why we signed him. That’s why he’s our guy.”
Before Blackwood went on that impressive streak, Bednar told reporters he expected more from his goaltender. At the same time, he acknowledged Blackwood’s offseason injury, his slower-than-expected recovery and the fact that he missed most of training camp and the preseason in stages. This measured criticism was probably intentional, intended to prevent Blackwood from becoming complacent. Now that he’s back to full strength, Bednar took this moment to talk in detail about his recovery.
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“But (when) you don’t play since the end of last year, you have a procedure in May, and it’s a long period of time off the ice. It’s a long period of time where you’re not doing reps and not going through camp. You expect him not to be at his best right away, but as he’s healthy, doing a lot of extra work with (goalie coach) Jussi (Parkkila) and (Scott Wedgewood), it was a matter of time in our opinion before he got to where he wanted to be and where we wanted him to be.
“You kind of have to play him a little bit, you have to give him some practice time, so it took a little bit longer than we would have liked, but we’re lucky with the way Wedge is playing, so now we have two guys at the top of their game. It’s great for us and I’m really happy for both of those guys for what they’re accomplishing.”
Early in the season, it looked like the Avalanche might once again be derailed by injuries, both Black wood and defender Samuel Girard was sidelined. Yet after Bednar described this team as the best he’s seen since the Stanley Cup in 2022, that assessment has aged remarkably well. Although Wedgewood was outstanding for the Avalanche last season, few could have predicted that he would play at such a level that Team Canada would put him on their Olympic long list for the next Milan Games. Now that Blackwood is back fit, we could see both men battling for an Olympic spot at the same time – or, like ours Michael Traikos suggested, Jon Cooper could just bring both.
Luckily for the Colorado Avalanche, there is no civil war, as catchy as that may sound. The real battle is against the rest of the NHL. This team is a real heavyweight, and with Mackenzie Blackwood back at the peak of her powers, an already formidable team has become downright intimidating.
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And it wasn’t just a response to criticism: Blackwood made history in the process. He is the seventh goaltender in Colorado Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history to record consecutive shutouts, joining an elite group that includes Patrick Roy, Clint Malarchuk, David Aebischer, Pavel Francouz, Darcy Kuemper and Justus Annunen. Until Wednesday night, only Roy and Kuemper had managed to achieve this twice with Colorado. With his latest performance, Blackwood became the third to achieve this feat.
The rust is gone. Case closed.
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