Avalanche Defeats Blackhawks 4-1, Clinches Playoff Spot Behind Three-Point Nights from Necas and MacKinnon

Playoff Ticket Punched

Martin Necas posted a goal and two assists while Nathan MacKinnon added three helpers to help the Avalanche defeat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 and clinch a playoff spot for the ninth-consecutive season at United Center on Friday. Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri and Valeri Nichushkin all added a tally for Colorado while Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 19 of the 20 shots he faced in net.

“It’s a good start," Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar said about clinching a playoff spot. "We’ll be happy about that. We like what we’re doing right now. Obviously, there’s ebbs and flows to the season, but I think to this point in the season if you look at it as a whole, that we’ve put ourselves in a good spot here. We feel good about the way we’re playing. Making the playoffs is the first step to getting to where you want to go. So we’re pretty happy about that. Get 100 points and still a lot of season left to play.” 

With the win, the Avalanche improved to 45-13-10 and became the first team in the NHL to reach 100 points this season.

How It Happened

Necas opened the scoring at 13:19 of the first period with his 32nd goal of the season via a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle set up by Nichushkin, who drove to the net down the slot after receiving MacKinnon's backhand feed as they entered the offensive zone.

Colorado doubled its lead on the power play at 15:22 of the first period when Nelson scored his 31st goal of the season via a net-front deflection set up by Makar's feed. With that assist, Makar became the 13th defenseman in NHL to post at least four seasons of at least 70 points.

Wyatt Kaiser put the Blackhawks on the board at 6:48 of the second period with a shot from the doorstep. 

Kadri doubled the Avalanche's lead on the power play at 36 seconds of the third period with his 14th goal of the season via a shot from the bottom of the right circle set up by MacKinnon's incredible backhand feed. With the secondary assist on the goal, Necas set a new single-season career high in points (84).

The Avs took a 4-1 lead at 8:33 of the third period when Nichushkin scored his 15th goal of the season via a shot from the low slot set up by MacKinnon, who picked up a loose puck in the high slot before recording the assist.

Next Up

The Avalanche continues its road trip on Sunday against the Washington Capitals at 10:30 a.m. MT on Altitude, Altitude+, NHL Network and Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM.