The shock of the Mikko Rantanen trade has worn off and the Colorado Avalanche are moving on. They did so with an emphatic 5-0 win over the St. Louis Blues, leading into a Sunday afternoon showdown with the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Avalanche didn’t have the offense they had in the Blues win, but defense and goaltending got the job done anyway. There are a few things worth taking away from the team’s 2-0 win over the Flyers, so let’s get right to it.
Mackenzie Blackwood Is Really Good…
Going back to the Blues game, in which he stopped 19 shots, Mackenzie Blackwood has stopped all 43 shots he has faced. He has looked effortlessly dominant in a way that an Avalanche goaltender has not looked in a long, long time.
Just his presence in the lineup has changed things for the Avalanche. Under Alex Georgiev, it felt like just a matter of time before the floodgates opened. With Blackwood backstopping them, the Avalanche can play in a way they could not under his predecessor.
Blackwood has quietly evolved into one of the premier netminders in the league. It may also wind up being the difference when it comes to making the Avalanche contenders when the playoffs roll around. Back-to-back shutouts are a big achievement but Blackwood has made it look simple.
…The Flyers Are Really Bad
Having said that, you know a team is bad when fans have moved on from the win to discuss even the most outlandish potential trade targets. That’s how bad the Philadelphia Flyers are this season and have been over the most recent stretch of play.
Related: 4 Teams That Should be Buyers at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline
The Flyers have incredibly not scored in their last three contests. The most we hear about the offense is a blowup between head coach John Tortorella and budding superstar Matvei Michkov. Things are not good in Philly right now, to say the least.
That’s not to dispel what Blackwood and the Avalanche have done lately. That said, the Flyers have a long climb upward ahead of them and desperately need to find some kind of answer in net, a journey that goes back to the days of Ron Hextall.
Team Defense Is Thriving
Yes, Blackwood had a tremendous night but the team defense deserves a lot of credit as well. We focus on guys like Cale Makar and Devon Toews, but Keaton Middleton was quite good in just over 12 minutes of action, blocking a pair of shots and dishing out a quartet of hits in a strong defensive effort on the afternoon.
Against the Blues, the Avalanche limited the opposition to just 19 shots. The Flyers managed only a few more, buoyed by 10 in the first period before the Avalanche found a way to stifle and fluster the young team from Philadelphia.
On the day, the Flyers managed just 24 shots but not much in the way of real chances. It has to feel good for the Avalanche defense, especially given their up-and-down play so far this season. The hope is that they can continue that momentum against a Vancouver Canucks team that has struggled to score.
The Road Trip Begins
The Avalanche head out on the road for the next five games. They start in Vancouver, take on the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers, and then head south to tangle with the Nashville Predators and the Blues in St. Louis. This is a stretch the Avalanche can navigate and make the most of.
Just two points back of the Minnesota Wild and five back of the Dallas Stars, the Avalanche need to start collecting wins. They have two, hopefully this road trip helps them pad their numbers in quick succession.
