National Hockey League
Colorado 5, Chicago 0
When: 9:00 PM ET, Monday, March 4, 2024
Where: Ball Arena, Denver, Colorado
Referees: Carter Sandlak, Graham Skilliter
Linesmen: Bevan Mills, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 18125

Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and two assists, Cale Makar and Jonathan Drouin each had a goal and an assist and Justus Annunen made 37 saves as the Colorado Avalanche routed the Chicago Blackhawks 5-0 on Monday in Denver.

Chicago was shut out by Colorado for the second time in five days while losing its seventh game in a row overall (0-5-2). The Blackhawks haven't won on the road since Nov. 9 at Tampa Bay, a 22-game skid (0-21-1).

MacKinnon provided the only scoring the Avalanche needed at 12:31 of the first period. Chicago's Jason Dickinson unsuccessfully sprawled to intercept a cross-ice pass from Devon Toews to MacKinnon, leaving plenty of room for MacKinnon to skate through the right circle and beat Blackhawks goaltender Petr Mrazek with a wrist shot.

Drouin made it 2-0 less than five minutes later, wristing a shot past Mrazek following a Blackhawks turnover in the neutral zone.

Offense remained a difficult proposition for the Blackhawks, who were blanked for the ninth time this season -- with Colorado doing the trick on three occasions.

Chicago needed nearly eight minutes to register a shot on goal against Annunen, but the drought still produced a scoring chance. Annunen turned aside a Taylor Raddysh tip-in attempt before denying Ryan Donato twice in short succession.

Annunen was especially sharp early in the second period, when he stopped Connor Bedard on a breakaway.

After losing three of his first four starts this season, Annunen has defeated the Blackhawks two times in a row, stopping all 61 shots he has faced.

Colorado, which outscored Chicago 16-3 to win three of four meetings between the teams this season, put the game out of reach when Makar and Zach Parise scored in a five-minute span in the second period.

MacKinnon capped the scoring with a power-play goal at 15:35 of the third. Nick Foligno nearly ended the shutout bid in the final minute, but Annunen stopped a point-blank chance with a right-pad save.

Mrazek made 32 saves.

The Avalanche bolstered their NHL-best home record, improving to 24-6-0 at Ball Arena.

MacKinnon extended his point streak to 10 games and has at least one point in all 30 home games this season.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Chicago   Colorado
N/A Points Nathan MacKinnon 4
N/A Goals Nathan MacKinnon 2
N/A Assists Nathan MacKinnon 2
N/A Power Play Goals Nathan MacKinnon 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Petr Mrazek .865 Save Percentage Justus Annunen 1.000
Petr Mrazek 32 Saves Justus Annunen 37
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Chicago 37 0 0-4 1-2 4 32
Colorado 37 5 1-2 4-4 8 35
Upcoming Games
  • Colorado will play their next game at home against Detroit. The Avalanche have a W/L % of .568 after a win and .654 after a loss.
  • Chicago will play their next game on the road against Arizona. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .067 after a win and .298 after a loss.