Inside the Locker Room: Avs Find Way to Win at Less Than 100% (+)

The Avalanche returned to Ball Arena rundown after a long eight-day, five-game road trip from the northeast to the Midwest to the East Coast. You wouldn’t know they weren’t feeling great with the smiles and laughter in the room after a hard-fought win on Saturday night.

How did the team manage to find a way to win despite most of the guys playing at less than 100%?

Colorado lacked energy because of an illness circulating through the team, which showed in its 4-1 loss to the Utah Hockey Club on Thursday night. But a day’s rest helped recharge some batteries which led to the 5-2 win over the Nashville Predators on Saturday night.

Why Mackenzie Blackwood is Excited to Join Avs

“I thought our D had a rough first period. They beat the crap out of the puck, and we couldn’t advance the puck past their forecheck, and so that’s on us. You get in the game a little bit more, you get warmed up, whatever, you start feeling a little bit better. Forget about it a little bit, because the game’s moving on and then we started to play much better …,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “The game wasn’t fantastic, but it takes a lot of grit, determination, want, will — whatever you want to say to just stick with it, and then kind of find your game eventually.”

Mackenzie Blackwood was the main reason the Avalanche won in his first start in burgundy and blue. The newly acquired 28-year-old goaltender stopped 37 of 39 shots which gave the Avs a chance to find their legs and get the victory.

He earned the “Player of the Game” big hat, which he had on for photos then took off and was told to put back on by Cale Makar from across the room for his media interview.

“Honestly, I know this might sound weird, but I’ve been a little bit sick, so my energy’s been low. So I’m trying to force it a little bit. But just getting in the game, getting a lot of shots and getting right into it helped kind of get my legs under me and start to feel part of the game,” Blackwood said.

Just how bad was the team feeling? Bednar said Logan O’Connor puked after the first period — so it was not good. The guys were playing on fumes and certainly not at 100%. That was no excuse for Ross Colton, who scored the first goal of the game off a highlight reel pass from Casey Mittelstadt.

“Myself included, no excuses. But we got some guys that are sick, not feeling great. Just doing everything you can, treating your body right, hydrating,” Colton said. “When you’re out on the ice, you got to battle for 60 minutes. Whoever’s number’s called, next guy up, doesn’t matter really how you feel. Just go out there, give it your all and do your best. Even when the energy is not there, let’s just play our game, limit their chances. And then obviously we have the star power that the offense will come.”

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The Avalanche showed why they’re a dangerous team — no matter what condition they’re in. The top line each had multi-point games with two goals from Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen and three assists from Mikko Rantanen.

Once everyone gets healthy and gets back into their game, there should be more consistent wins with solid goaltending and steady play on both sides of the puck.

Off-the-Record Side Notes

— Colton said he worked more on his upper body during his rehab from a broken foot. He joked about getting into beach body shape so I asked him if that made his shot harder. Not so much but he said he needs to work on his tan to be ready for beach bod season.

— Scott Wedgewood asked if Blackwood wore the big hat during his entire interview with reporters and I told him he did because Makar told him to put it on. He laughed and said “Peer pressure, huh?”

More Avalanche News

• 10 Observations: Avalanche Bounce Back in Blackwood’s Debut (+)
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• Good & Bad: Blackwood Excellent in Debut, Avalanche Defeat Lowly Predators