Marc-Andre Fleury was razor focused in net with 27 saves on 29 shots -- including several stops fueled by lightning quick reflexes -- to give the Blackhawks a chance to win in a closely played affair but the skill players of the Avalanche flexed their muscles at the right time to register just enough offense to help their goalie Pavel Francouz earn a 2-0 shutout.
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Blackhawks Game Summary
Final in Colorado pic.twitter.com/35jOYWRnLD
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 25, 2022
Hagel - Strome - Kane DeBrincat - Toews - Lafferty Kubalik - Dach - Kurashev Borgstrom - Carpenter - Entwistle
McCabe - S Jones de Haan - Murphy C Jones - Gustafsson
Fleury Soderblom
Scratches: Connolly, Kalynuk
Abridged Boxscore
1st Goal (0-1): Kadri (MacKinnon, Makar) PP 2nd Goal (0-2): Rantanen (Landeskog, Toews)
SOG For/Against: 24/29 PP: 0-for-1 PK: 1-for-2 Faceoffs Won: 44%
FINAL: Avalanche 2, #Blackhawks 0
— Charlie Roumeliotis (@CRoumeliotis) January 25, 2022
Shot attempts: 62-55 COL
Shots on goal: 29-23 COL
5-on-5 scoring chances: 25-22 COL
5-on-5 high danger chances: 11-11 pic.twitter.com/VfEyjflqj4
* On the 1st goal allowed, Nazem Kadri slapped home a PP marker from the top of the left circle that just squeezed past Fleury who may have been temporarily screened by Gabriel Landeskog just long enough to throw off his tracking.
* On the 2nd goal allowed, Mikko Rantanen received a feed from Landeskog then had all the time he wanted to score any which way -- he chose a backhander top shelf as he got Fleury sprawled on the ice -- after Jake McCabe ignored his coverage.
Game Notes
* The team defense aided in the low-scoring affair with 20 shot blocks led by Calvin de Haan (4), Seth Jones (3), McCabe (3), and Connor Murphy (2).
* Jonathan Toews was rather sharp in the offensive zone making crisp passes to generate scoring chances for his teammates but none could capitalize.
* Dylan Strome yet again was above water on faceoffs winning 2/3 of his draws and was the only center above 50% including Toews who won only 1/3 of his draws.
Highlights
Breakdown of the Breakdown
A defensive meltdown leads to a wide open goal for the Avs... #CloserLook @Hyundai pic.twitter.com/4Qd5nULpCv
— Blackhawks Talk (@NBCSBlackhawks) January 25, 2022
Legacy Night Postponed
An update on Brent Seabrook’s legacy night pic.twitter.com/NP2Maa5zaQ
— Chicago Blackhawks (@NHLBlackhawks) January 24, 2022
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See you on the boards!