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6th Avenue Heartache: Avalanche 4, Blackhawks 1

The best team in the league sure looked like it on Friday night.

Posted on by L_B_R
Mar 20, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom (40) defends against Colorado Avalanche center Parker Kelly (17) during the third period at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Chicago Blackhawks fell 4-1 to the Colorado Avalanche at the United Center on Friday, a loss that also saw Colorado become the first team in the NHL to clinch a playoff berth this season.

The Avalanche opened the scoring 13:19 into the first. Martin Necas received a backhand pass from Nathan MacKinnon in the circle and snapped a shot that bounced off Arvid Soderblom and into the back of the net, putting the Avalanche up 1-0.

Brock Nelson made it 2-0 a couple of minutes later on the power play after Cale Makar faked a shot before sliding the puck over to Nelson, who redirected it off the post and in.

The Blackhawks answered 6:48 into the second. Wyatt Kaiser picked up a saucer pass from Ryan Greene while cutting into the slot and slipped the puck through Mackenzie Blackwood’s legs to cut the lead to 2-1.

The Avalanche restored their two-goal lead just 36 seconds into the third. Nazem Kadri took a spinning backhand pass from MacKinnon and wired it inside the far post on the power play to make it 3-1.

Valeri Nichushkin extended the lead to 4-1 at 8:34, finishing from between the circles after MacKinnon stripped Artyom Levshunov of the puck in the offensive zone and set him up.

Notes

This was obviously a lopsided game from the start. Not only were the Blackhawks playing their second game in as many nights with a few bodies out, but they were also staring down arguably the best team in the NHL. As the preview noted, the Avalanche had been in a bit of a lull — dropping four of their last five — but this was about as ideal a reset spot as they could’ve asked for. A tired, young Blackhawks team, that was shorthanded and overmatched, was exactly what they needed, and they took full advantage.

The first 40 minutes were about as one-sided as it gets. The Blackhawks were out-attempted 61-23, outshot 34-11, and controlled just 29.1 percent of the expected goals at 5-on-5. It wasn’t even the most lopsided game they’ve played this season, which says a lot, but it somehow still felt like Colorado had another gear if they needed it. The Avalanche didn’t look like they were pushing all that hard — they didn’t have to. They cut through the neutral zone with ease, generated clean entries almost at will, and dictated the pace without much resistance.

Meanwhile, the Blackhawks looked exactly like a team that couldn’t get the puck. Breakouts were fumbled or outright nonexistent, with passes either missing their target or getting picked off before they could develop. When they did manage to enter the offensive zone, possession rarely lasted long: there were a lot of one-and-done attempts, low-percentage shots, and immediate clears the other way. There was no sustained pressure, no ability to cycle, and very little support once the puck carrier crossed the blue line. Even along the boards, where you can sometimes grind out momentum, they struggled to win battles or come away cleanly. It all added up to long stretches spent defending and even longer ones chasing.

The third period looked a bit more respectable for the Blackhawks at 5-on-5, but it felt more like the Avalanche easing off than any real push from Chicago. It was also a period loaded with special teams time, which naturally cut down on how much damage could be done at even strength. In just over 13 minutes of 5-on-5 play, the Blackhawks were only out-attempted 18-11 and outshot 9-7 — a noticeable improvement from the first 40 minutes, even if the context matters. There were a few more clean entries and slightly longer possessions, but nothing that really suggested a shift in control. It was more a case of the game state settling than the Blackhawks actively turning things around.

Ultimately, this wasn’t a low-effort game from the Blackhawks — they just looked tired and outmatched. They likely would’ve been the latter regardless, given the opponent, but the back-to-back clearly added another layer to it. Take that for what you will, and it was still a very ugly game.

The Connor Bedard, Ryan Greene, and Andre Burakovsky line was the best of the night as they mostly broke even against the Avalanche. Greene was really quiet in terms of shots (goose eggs across all shot stats) but he was fine in transition and with his passing. Burakovsky shot the most of the line — three attempts and two on goal — but none felt that dangerous. But Bedard adjusted well to the attention he was getting: Colorado keyed in on him heavily, so he shifted more into a playmaking role — he had only two attempts and one on net at 5-on-5 — but the few looks he did generate were among the best chances the Blackhawks had all game.

It was an uncharacteristically rough night for Teuvo Teravainen. Alongside Frank Nazar and Tyler Bertuzzi, that trio got steamrolled, posting a minus-18.04 relative shot attempt share. He was eventually swapped out for Nick Lardis and, while that new line didn’t exactly take over or create too many chances themselves, it at least stabilized things a bit with a 3.74 relative share. Teravainen also looked more comfortable with Ryan Donato and Ilya Mikheyev and, honestly, that combination might be worth exploring more as a pseudo-checking line that can still move the puck.

When asked about Lardis in the top-six, Blashill basically said everyone — including Lardis — looked bad offensively:

Soderblom turned in a strong performance in net, especially early on when things could’ve gotten out of hand quickly. He had some rebound control issues, sure, but he also faced a barrage of quality chances and kept the game from completely unraveling in the first period alone. The scoreline could’ve looked a lot worse without him — I mean, he still managed to put up a great .918 save percentage when allowing four goals again.

Wyatt Kaiser was the standout on the blue line. He looked the least rattled by Colorado’s pressure, handled the puck with poise the most, and was one of the few defenders who could actually push play forward when the opportunity was there.

Levshunov had a solid first two periods, showing a noticeable jump in his offensive involvement where he finished with six attempts, four scoring chances, and two shots on goal at 5-on-5. And defensively, he wasn’t any worse than the rest of the group, which, in this game, is about as much as you can ask. The third period was one of his shakier ones in recent memory and a turnover of his ended up as a goal against, but that’s going to happen, especially in a game like this and when facing a player like MacKinnon. Even then, there were still a few good flashes mixed in.

Blashill gave some updates on Sacha Boisvert, Louis Crevier, and Andrew Mangiapane post game as well:

Game Charts

Three Stars

  1. Martin Necas (COL) — 1 goal, 2 assists
  2. Nathan MacKinnon (COL) — 3 assists
  3. Valeri Nichushkin (COL) — 1 goal, 1 assist

What’s Next

The Blackhawks host the Nashville Predators for an early game on Sunday at 2 p.m.

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