Mackenzie Blackwood ‘elite’ in Avalanche’s Game 1 win over Stars
Blackwood made several highlight-reel saves in his first career playoff start
Gareth Patterson/AP Photo
DALLAS — Mackenzie Blackwood has had some long, busy nights playing on some hockey teams that didn’t win all that often.
Now he plays for a very good team that expects to win quite often. It’s just the pressure to win and perform. It’s often a different cadence in his workload.
Blackwood was the star in Game 1 for the Colorado Avalanche, making 23 saves Saturday night in a 5-1 win against the Dallas Stars. In his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut, he didn’t face a lot of shots, but he did face plenty of high-quality chances.
“There are nights where we have the puck a lot of the time. That can be challenging for a goalie,” Avs backup goalie Scott Wedgewood said. “We’ve had times throughout the year where we’ve dominated play and all of a sudden the other team has a chance and you’ve got to be dialed in. It’s those moments, and kind of the repetition that we’ve had throughout the year obviously gets you prepared for that.
“You know the playoffs are going to be tough. We saw a couple of goals that are just some tips and deflections (tonight). So just stay dialed and trust your process and if he keeps playing like that, we’re going to have a lot of fun.”
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