Avalanche notes: Avs lay Wood on Blackhawks, goaltending history, Makar milestone

The Colorado Avalanche are coming off a successful weekend set. They beat the New York Rangers last Thursday night and then got back-to-back shutouts on Saturday and Sunday. Despite the low-scoring affairs, the Avs were able to let their defense do the talking.

Heading into this new week, the Avalanche are 16-1-5, tops in the NHL 37 points. The Carolina Hurricanes and Dallas Stars trail Colorado by seven points. The gap has begun to widen, and could only get bigger as the games tick away.

The Avalanche will have a couple of days off this week. So, let’s get down to this edition of the Avalanche notes as we await the next game.

Avalanche lay Wood on Blackhawks

The Colorado Avalanche laid the Wood, that is, the Scott Wedgewood, on the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. The Avalanche were coming off a big shutout win on Saturday night against the Nashville Predators. That game was one the Avalanche should not have won. But it was MacKenzie Blackwood who stole the game.

On Sunday night, it was the goaltending that made the difference. This time, it was Scott Wedgewood who went berserk, stealing the game for the Avalanche. It’s worth pointing out that the game was a goalie duel as Spencer Knight was equally brilliant for Chicago.

In the end, the Avs capitalized on one mistake by Knight, which led to Makar scoring the game-winner. Incidentally, Tristen Nielsen registered his first NHL point on Makar’s goal. So, kudos to the Avs’ prospect.

Colorado goaltending history

This weekend’s set was a historic accomplishment for the Colorado Avalanche. It marked the first time in team history that the club had registered shutouts in back-to-back days. That’s not back-to-back games, but two consecutive days.

That’s a feat never seen before in Colorado. The strong performances by Blackwood and Wedgewood made the feat possible. Now, the onus will be to make the shutout streak go for three games in a row.

Makar milestone

There is one other milestone to talk about from Sunday night. Cale Makar joined an elite list of blueliners who have racked up 80-point calendar years, including regular season and playoffs.

As NHL Public Relations noted on X, the presumptive Norris Trophy winner joined Larry Murphy, Brian Leetch, and Phil Housley as the only NHL blueliners to have four 80-point calendar years. At this rate, Makar could rack up another 80+ points in the 2026 calendar year.

It’s an interesting stat to note as Makar’s dominance has been nothing short of magnificent. It’s even more frightening to think that he’s just coming into his own now at 26 years old.