Blackwood Signs Contract, Lifts Avalanche over Utah

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Imagine being Mackenzie Blackwood.Less than three weeks ago, you were the starting goalie for the rebuilding San Jose Sharks making 51 saves in a losing effort against the reigning Stanley Cup champions.Fast forward to Dec. 27, you’re 4-1-0 with your new club — the perennial Cup-contending Colorado Avalanche. And you’ve locked in a long-term five-year contract worth $26.25 million.“Merry Christmas,” Blackwood told reporters following Friday’s morning skate. The Avs had just announced his extension as they took the ice.Blackwood made 34 saves to defeat Utah Hockey Club 4-1 at Delta Center on Friday, letting just one puck get past him after giving up only two goals in each of his first four games since being acquired.Artturi Lehkonen recorded his first career hat trick, including the game-winner with 5:14 remaining in regulation to extend Colorado’s winning streak to four games. The Avs are 22-15-0 and have 13 wins on the road. Mikko Rantanen also scored on the empty net.The Avs led 1-0 entering the third period. Before the second intermission, Nathan MacKinnon dropped the gloves with Barrett Hayton in a rare fight for the reigning MVP. MacKinnon has nine career fights to his name but hasn’t fought since March 2022.With the NHL’s leading scorer in the box, the home team came out strong in the third and took it to the Avs. They eventually drew a penalty. And with Rantanen in the box, Nick Schmaltz scored on the power play to knot things up at 1-1. It’s the first power-play goal against the Avs since Utah’s Dylan Guenther scored on Dec. 12 at Ball Arena.Lehkonen’s response came more than 10 minutes later. He put home another goal right in front of the crease where he plays best. His second of the game gave Colorado a 2-1 lead before the two empty-net goals. First, Rantanen scored off a feed from MacKinnon, who also assisted on both Lehkonen goals. Then, Lehkonen added another to complete the hat trick.Neither team was able to score in a back-and-forth first period. The Avs led 14-11 in shots but both Blackwood and Utah’s Karel Vejmelka were perfect. Lehkonen’s first tally came shortly after the midway point of the second period.Good: Have a day, BlackwoodUsually, the guy scoring the hat trick is the positive highlight of a game. But this felt like the type of exception worth making.What a day for Blackwood. Truly, you couldn’t script a better start to his Avalanche career. I’m not sure how things ended as sour as they did in New Jersey for him. Albeit injuries probably didn’t help. But it really does feel like Colorado found themselves a keeper. And, well, the commitment to keep him here was already made.Blackwood added to his sparking save percentage (I know, I keep using that phrase). After another nearly perfect night in goal, he’s up to .940, stopping 142 of 151 shots.Bad: Start of the thirdI don’t want to say MacKinnon’s fight helped Utah but it sure did look like it. Perhaps it was a coincidence, but Utah came out strong to start the third. And without MacKinnon on the ice for the first five minutes (4:52 to be exact), they were able to draw a penalty, score the game-tying goal, and keep the pressure on. Utah led 10-2 in shots midway through the third before Colorado eventually regained momentum.What came next? Two more assists for MacKinnon, who became the first player to 60 points