Saturday’s game for the Colorado Avalanche was going to be a test against the Dallas Stars. A test to see if the defense could stand up to an onslaught and if Scott Wedgewood owns the crease. The Avalanche passed both tests, with the defense shutting almost everything down. Wedgewood stood strong in the crease and pulled a shutout away from the Stars as the Avs won 2–0. Colorado now has an eight-point lead over the Stars and only seven games left in the regular season.

View from the Mountaintop

Sam Malinski’s role expanded following Cale Makar’s absence. And step up he has. Malinski got caught in the Dallas zone when the Stars rushed out to start a 2-on-1. The Cornell alum rushed back and stick-lifted the puck carrier to break up the play. In the third period, Malinski also started an offensive push by the Avs. He drove hard to the net to finish a play that eventually led to a momentum change in the period. Just a couple of minutes later, Martin Necas scored off a redirected shot from Artturi Lehkonen and the opening goal in the game.

Scott Wedgewood only solidified the argument on Saturday afternoon that he owns the Avalanche net. In a solid performance, Wedgewood stopped all 18 shots sent his way. Mackenzie Blackwood had a poor performance in the last game, putting up a .684 save percentage over 19 shots. And that was against the NHL’s worst team.

To piggyback off the loss against Vancouver, where the defense did not help Blackwood, they did everything they could against the Stars. The defense played with more unity, and you could see more communication among all of them playing against the Stars.

Three players reached major milestones during the game against the Stars. Defenseman Brent Burns played his 1,000th consecutive game in the NHL. He now trails only ironman Phil Kessel, who played 1,064 consecutive games. With the assist on the Necas’ goal, Devon Toews reached 300 career points (64g/236a). Nathan MacKinnon tied his career high for goals in a season on his empty-net goal in the third period. MacKinnon now has 51 goals this season, which he last hit during the 2023–24 season.

Up next

The Avalanche have a short turnaround as they head home to take on the St. Louis Blues on Sunday at 7:30 p.m. MT. ESPN will broadcast the game.