CHICAGO — It might have taken two-thirds of the season, but the Colorado Avalanche power play has sprung to life.
Colorado scored twice with the man advantage Friday night and overwhelmed the Chicago Blackhawks in a 4-1 victory at United Center that would have been far worse were it not for some stellar work by goaltender Arvid Söderblom. With the win, the Avalanche reached 100 points became the .
Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas had three points each, and the Avs outshot the Blackhawks 49-20. Necas and Nazem Kadri scored on the power play.
“I feel like it’s an attack mindset,” Avs forward Brock Nelson said. “First couple, I think we did a really good job of just executing, bringing the puck to the net. … Just getting guys in the right spot and continuing to attack over and over and not getting stuck in the process.”
The Avs went into the break for the 2026 Winter Olympics with the worst power play in the league at 15.1%. Colorado is now 9-for-32 (28.2%) in March and 10-for-42 (23.8%) since the hiatus.
This was just a one-goal game after two periods, before Kadri’s power-play goal 36 seconds into the third and a Valeri Nichushkin insurance tally at 8:34.
The Avs worked on the exact play Kadri scored on — Necas sending the puck to MacKinnon near the net before he shoveled it across to Kadri in the right circle — during the morning skate.
“You watch a little video, (see) different tendencies and try to find a way to exploit it,” Nelson said. “Then just be prepared for those scenarios. … I mean, that was perfect execution on that goal. It was sweet.”
Colorado looked like the team that played a great hockey game two nights in the first period, and the opponent … did not look like the Dallas Stars. The Avalanche controlled the opening period, pretty much from the opening shift.
The Avs had 20 shots on goal, 32 shot attempts and 19 scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Blackhawks had five shots on goal, just 12 shot attempts and six scoring chances.
Necas put the Avs in front at 13:19 of the first. MacKinnon got the puck to Nichushkin, who went right to the net but laid it off to Necas in the left circle for a one-timer that went off Chicago goalie Arvid Söderblom’s shoulder and across the goal line.
It was Necas’ 32nd goal of the year. MacKinnon collected point No. 112 on the play, which is now his third-most in a season, four shy of his second-best set last season.
Colorado had only one shot attempt on the power play in the first period, because it went in. Cale Makar faked a slap shot from the top of the zone, then slipped a pass to Nelson in the slot. He redirected it past Söderblom at 15:22 for his 31st goal of the year.
The Avs dominated most of the second period as well, but a strange sequence led to a Chicago goal. Colorado’s fourth line was near the end of what had been a great shift, but Gavin Brindley tried to leave the puck for a defenseman and head to the bench for a change.
The problem was that there wasn’t a defenseman waiting for it. The Blackhawks collected it and started a 2-on-1, which led to a shot off the left post behind Mackenzie Blackwood. Just as that line sent the puck towards the other end and did get off the ice, Chicago defenseman Sam Rinzel snapped it back the other way.
His partner Wyatt Kiser got behind the Avs, took a saucer pass from Ryan Greene and tucked one past Blackwood at 6:48 of the middle period.
“I think the process, besides that Pittsburgh game, has been good,” Avs forward Parker Kelly said. “I think against Dallas and this game tonight is just really everyone firing on all cylinders. You can see the chemistry building. It’s going to get better with the guys coming back into the lineup here in the next few days.”
FOOTNOTE: Gabe Landeskog, Artturi Lehkonen, Logan O’Connor and Ross Colton all skated Friday morning. Bednar said at least one of them could be ready Sunday against Washington, while all of them could play by the end of this four-game road trip.
