Avalanche goalkeeping and the club’s overall ability to defend are on an impressive run.
Goaltender Pavel Francouz produced the third shutout of his NHL career, and the second in a row, to lead the Avalanche to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night at Ball Arena.
It marked the fourth straight game that Colorado allowed two goals or fewer, with only four goals allowed in total during that period. Darcy Kuemper, who was Francouz’s backup against the Blackhawks, is 10-0-1 in his last 13 games.
“It’s been great. Both guys are playing unrealistically,” Rantanen said of the Avs’ goalkeeping tandem of Francouz and Kuemper. “Put either one on and we have a great chance to win.”
Forwards Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen scored goals to help extend Colorado’s home winning streak to 16 games, tied for the fifth-longest in NHL history. The Boston Bruins also won 16 in a row at home in 1976.
The Avs, who have an NHL-best record of 27-4-3 since Oct. 28, are 12-0-1 in January, tying the club record for most wins in any month.
And Colorado, which took a 2-0 lead on Rantanen’s team-leading 22nd goal at 6:41 of the third period, collected a point for the 18th straight game (17-0-1) at Ball Arena. , now the longest such streak. in the history of the club.
“The way the game went, I could see a big difference when we scored the first goal,” said Francouz, who made 23 saves. “We dominated the third, we played very well.”
Chicago (15-20-7) played much better than their record. Colorado (29-8-3) didn’t score for half of the game until Kadri hit. The first goal of the game finally came at 11:24 of the second period, completing a furious Avalanche power play while Chicago defenseman Seth Jones was in the penalty box for interference.
Kadri hit a chip pass from Nathan MacKinnon and the puck sailed past goalkeeper Marc-Andre Fleury and across the goal line.
Defender Cale Makar got the second assist feeding MacKinnon in the left circle. MacKinnon’s short touch pass is an engineered play that has worked recently, including Saturday’s overtime win over Montreal in which Sam Girard fed Alex Newhook from left circle.
The Avs outshot Chicago 14-7 in the middle frame and took a 1-0 lead in the third. The low-scoring issue was surprising, given the explosive nature of Colorado.
The Avs entered the game leading the NHL in scoring at 4.15 goals per game and their 165 goals (including shots) were the most in 39 games in club history and the third-most by any team in the last 25 years. Colorado led all teams in reaching six goals (nine times) and seven points (seven). The Avs also led the NHL in third-period goals (58) and foul goals (six).
Footnotes. The Avs are 21-0-2 when they score first. … This was the third of four regular-season meetings between the Avs and the Hawks. They round out the season series on Friday at Chicago, a one-game trip to Colorado. … Rantanen and MacKinnon entered the game with 18 points this month, tied for the most in the NHL behind Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau (20). … The Avalanche scratches were defensemen Ryan Murray (injury) and Bo Byram (personal leave). Murray, who has missed the past five games, skated in a red contactless sweater Monday morning and is almost ready to return. There are no updates on Byram’s possible return. … Forward Darren Helm remains on injured reserve and works week to week. Forward Stefan Matteau and defender Jacob MacDonald remain on the IR long-term and their contracts do not count against the salary cap. … Colorado is scheduled to practice at Ball Arena on Tuesday. Host the Boston Bruins on Wednesday to complete the three-game homestand.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism