The Colorado Avalanche headed into Chicago to battle the Blackhawks on the back end of a back-to-back. Fans had modest expectations following Saturday’s game against Nashville. But the Avalanche turned heads despite a slow start again. Colorado would walk away with a 1–0 and now has nine consecutive wins under their belt. The win-streak is the longest in the NHL currently, and Colorado shows no sign of stopping.

View from the Mountaintop

The Avalanche started the game looking like they were going to turn it around. They had two quick shots on goal from Gabriel Landeskog and Cale Makar (his hit the post). The Avs would not have another shot for the next 17 minutes. Colorado only recorded two shots in the first period despite having a power-play. Chicago shut down the boards, preventing the Avalanche from exiting their zone. Colorado would later have to adjust its method of attack in the second period to break through.

During the second period, Colorado turned up its offensive game. While they had only two shots on goal in the first, the Avalanche had 19 shots in the second. It was at this point that the Avs would break through. Tristen Nielsen was playing his fourth NHL game and doing everything right. He picked off a pass by Spencer Knight and shot the puck right away. This sent the rebound to Cale Makar, who buried the puck for the only goal of the game. The assist by Nielsen was his first career NHL point.

Goaltending for the Avalanche has been the best thing for them other than their even-strength scoring. Scott Wedgewood blanked the Blackhawks for the team to have shutouts in consecutive days for the first time in franchise history. Wedgewood leads the league in wins with 12 victories. And he is the backup!

Up Next

The Avalanche head back home on Wednesday night to take on the San Jose Sharks at 7 p.m. MT. Altitude Sports will broadcast the game.