Goaltending wins you Stanley Cups. That’s what some analysts say, at least. So far, Mackenzie Blackwood may prove that theory correct for the Colorado Avalanche. Blackwood has been one of the best, if not the best, goaltender in the Stanley Cup Playoffs so far.

The Trade

Blackwood was part of a complete overhaul of the Avalanche goaltending at the end of November that saw the exit of both goalies in the Avs system. Within 10 days, General Manager Chris MacFarland made trades for both Scott Wedgewood and Blackwood to revamp the Avalanche outlook on the season.

Alexandar Georgiev, who was struggling horribly, was out, and Blackwood was in. This turned out to be one of the best decisions that management made all season.

The Stats

Blackwood is now top among all goaltenders in the playoffs, notching his first career playoff shutout win on Saturday.

The Canadian ranks second among all starting goalies in the playoffs with a .939 save percentage. Blackwood has come up big with some key moments for Colorado, often keeping them in the game.

His expected goals against in the four games played have been 13.65. This shows that there have been some issues with the blue line for the Avalanche, and keeping the shots away from the net. Blackwood has had to work for the two wins that he has gained in the playoffs. His 6.7 goals saved above expected ranks first in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This means that he getting a lot of shots that should be goals, be he is saving them.

Blackwood has been outstanding with high-danger shots in the playoffs. He has a .909 save percentage on the 33 shots from the high-danger zone. This, again, ranks first with all goalies in the playoffs when the league average is .789.

The former San Jose Shark has posted an amazing 1.60 goals against average, behind only Frederik Andersen of the Carolina Hurricanes. Blackwood has allowed over two goals in only one of the four outings, a Game Three overtime loss.

The late addition could be the key that Colorado needs to get through the first round. So far, he ranks among the top goaltenders in the league, putting up stats similar to Andersen and Anthony Stolarz of the Toronto Maple Leafs. If Colorado can get the defensive gaps under control to give Blackwood a little more help, he could be unstoppable. But the Avalanche offense needs to show up like it did in Games One and Four, which only helps the situation.