SAN JOSE — For more than 58 minutes Saturday night, the Avalanche had no answers for San Jose goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood.
The Avalanche peppered the goalie, who was making his first start for the Sharks, from every angle. Eventually, Cale Makar found a hole. And then Mikko Rantanen had the lone tally in the shootout to help the Avs escape SAP Center with a 2-1 victory.
“We just kept banging at the door,” Makar said. “It’s honestly kind of fun. You know you’re dictating the play, and it makes it even more satisfying when you do score. It’s a big win.”
Blackwood turned aside Colorado’s first 48 shots on goal, but Makar’s wrist shot from the top of the circles with 1:26 left in regulation was the breakthrough.
Colorado dominated for vast stretches, finishing with a 51-21 advantage in shots on goal and 111-57 in total attempts. But the San Jose players in front of Blackwood also blocked 31 shots and generally frustrated the Avs despite long shifts with plenty of possession time in the offensive zone.
“I thought the goalies stole the show,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Both guys played extremely well. We didn’t give up a lot of shots, but for a while there it felt like every shot we gave up was a great scoring chance.
“It just looked like we were missing the last little bit of execution (on offense). I think we played hard and we were competitive. We did a lot of good things. We probably forced some plays for a while, but that got better as the game went on.”
The Avalanche controlled the first 20 minutes territorially, but the Sharks struck first at 8:42 of the period. Matt Benning one-timed a pass toward the net from the right point, and Thomas Bordeleau deflected it past Avs goalie Alexandar Georgiev for his first career NHL goal.
Colorado’s first power play of the game was a clinic in puck possession, crisp passing and chance creation, but the Avs couldn’t find a goal. The next three chances were less optimal, particularly when they had a 5-on-3 for 26 seconds late in the second period.
The Avs did find a couple of quality chances while shorthanded. San Jose is using a five-forward power-play unit to start the season, and Colorado’s penalty killers did look to attack them. Logan O’Connor put a shot off the post during a shorthanded rush late in the second period.
Colorado’s penalty kill passed its toughest test in overtime. With Nathan MacKinnon in the box, the Avs killed off two minutes at 3-on-4 with nary a quality chance for the Sharks.
Artturi Lehkonen also hit the post early in the third period, but Blackwood’s best save of the night came on a rebound try from Makar. Blackwood made the first stop on a shot from the top of the zone, but the puck went right to Makar for what looked like a layup in the left circle. Blackwood extended his right leg to make a highlight-reel stop.
Blackwood had a promising start to his NHL career in New Jersey, and he’s had nights like this before. He’s big and he’s athletic, and can be a game stealer when he’s reading and anticipating well. The past three seasons have been filled with injuries and diminishing returns, but he’s getting a second chance with the Sharks after an offseason trade.
It was nearly a storybook debut for Blackwood. Instead, it was a hard-earned victory for Colorado and a 2-0 start to the 2023-24 campaign.
“If it doesn’t go your way and you do everything you feel you can to win, it might make you mad or frustrated, but it shouldn’t be disheartening or anything,” Avs defenseman Jack Johnson said. “We had no shortages of chances, but you’ve got to tip your hat. When the goalie plays great, he plays great.
“We had all the faith to stick with it and keep going. We figured the tide would turn in our favor eventually if we just kept doing what we were doing, and it did.”
Footnotes: Andrew Cogliano made his season debut on the fourth line. He missed the opener in Los Angeles while still recovering from two neck fractures he suffered in Game 6 of the Seattle series this past April.
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