NEWSLETTER
Coming into this game in Denver, the last time the Blackhawks were shut out this season was back on Valentine’s Day in Montreal — a stretch of 17 games. When you consider the players who have left, either by trade or injury, since then, that’s a fairly impressive reality. But the Avalanche put that to the test; they came into this game skating incredibly well. Unfortunately the five goals against was easily too many… and scoring one wasn’t in the cards tonight.
Star 1: Alex Stalock
If a guy stops 15 of 18 shots, you would think he was having a mediocre night. That was far from the case for Stalock at the end of the second period when the Blackhawks were down 3-0 in Denver. The Hawks probably should have been chasing three after the first period — and the one that went in (off Ian Mitchell‘s skate) wasn’t one of their good chances. Stalock was fantastic. The Avs are just a really good team playing arguably the best hockey in the Western Conference (if not the entire NHL) right now.
Star 2: Ian Mitchell’s Skates
Colorado’s first goal was headed about eight feet wide of the net, but caught Mitchell’s feet on the way by and redirected into the net. Colorado’s fifth goal was a bouncing puck that bounded over and hit Mitchell in the feet again and ricocheted into the net again. Unfortunately for Mitchell, the two goals that were scored off his body counted for the wrong team in his return to Denver where he was a star at DU.
Star 3: Jujhar Khaira
A guy who has spent so much time dealing with physical issues over the past two seasons has really emerged as a solid contributor over the past few weeks since the trade deadline. Once a fourth line option for the Blackhawks, he’s now centering the team’s hottest line (the third line) and not only led the Blackhawks at the dot (won 9 of 17) on Monday night but also put three shots on goal.
