Good and bad: Devon Toews scores twice, Avalanche wins goaltending battle against Florida

DENVER — It felt like the Avalanche weren't going to get anything past Sergei Bobrovsky and his posts. The Panther goalkeeper started the match excellently. When the puck beat him, he hit the iron and stayed out. At least the first two times.

But then Colorado broke through.

Devon Toews had two goals — the first of which trickled in after hitting the crossbar — and the Avs defeated the Florida Panthers 3-1 at Ball Arena. Colorado won midway through the 25th game and improved to 7-0-1 in the last eight.

Jared Bednar's club also collected seven of eight points during the homestand. They gave up just one goal for the second straight game in what ended up being a solid goaltending battle between Colorado's Mackenzie Blackwood and his idol Bobrovsky.

“Both teams created quite a bit of offense on special teams and five-on-five,” Bednar said. “But both goalkeepers were good, so it was a very exciting match with few goals.”

Blackwood made 26 saves and improved to 7-1-1 since joining the Avs nearly a month ago. He faced 226 shots in seven starts and one relief appearance, conceding just fourteen goals.

“Teams play great for me, responsible hockey, scoring based on their chances, and it's fun to watch,” Blackwood said. “It's fun to be a part of it.”

Blackwood continues to impress his teammates and coaches. They thought they were going to get an upgrade to the goal, but they didn't expect it to be this big. Blackwood has not conceded more than two goals in any match. Even when the early goal is scored, he manages to tie things up the rest of the time.

The ability to shake off those goals wasn't something he had early in his career. But with the strong team in front of him, Blackwood is already changing the way he approaches such situations. He did it again against Florida: the Panthers were outshot 16-4, but had the only goal of the game for almost two full periods.

“I would say they give me confidence in the game. We're going down early, but I know if I do my job, we'll still be in the game no matter what,” Blackwood said. “Every night they play so well, so talented offensively. That won't be the case every night, but if you do your job, they will usually come out with a win.

Florida scored first, taking advantage of a Colorado jam in the neutral zone. It was Carter Verhaeghe's tenth of the season and the only goal in twenty minutes.

The Avs had a power play with carryover to the second, but were unable to capitalize. They finished 0-for-4, but not without opportunities. Bobrovsky made four saves in the first two minutes of the middle period to keep his team ahead.

Finally, Toews broke through to put things on record. Both Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar hit the post or crossbar before Toews' shot finally beat the goalkeeper.

The defenseman added his second of the night later in the third on a play that started with a strong puck battle from Juuso Parssinen. Colorado's newest addition also screened the goalie as Toews' go-ahead goal was scored.

“Trust was an issue in Nashville, but it doesn't seem like that's the case here,” Bednar said of Parssinen, whom the Avs acquired from Nashville on Dec. 28. “The attacking side that he had two years ago, that's where we want to get him involved and that's a good flash of it tonight.

The Avs outscored Florida 16-14 in the third period. Blackwood stopped every shot he faced and Mikko Rantanen added an empty net goal for good measure.

Good: Devon Toews is heating up

This isn't the first time I've written about Toews' recent wave of attacks. Colorado's top-pairing defenseman battled an injury early in the season that kept him off the scoresheet. In recent weeks, Toews' defensive play has started to get back to normal. And now the offense is catching up.

We were all amazed at his total effort on the winning goal against Buffalo last week. Toews played Tage Thompson man-to-man before stealing the puck and breaking in all alone for the game winner. He also scored in the game before that against Winnipeg. And of course added two more against Bobrovsky.

Suddenly, Toews has four goals in his last four games and seven points overall.

Bad: The missing piece on the PP

The Avalanche's first two PP chances were solid. The second two? Not so much.

It's clear they're missing the big body up front – the spot often filled by Valeri Nichushkin. I understand what Bednar is trying to do with Casey Mittelstadt at the highest level, but the reality is that until Nichushkin is back – which hopefully will be soon – Artturi Lehkonen is better suited for that role.

With MacKinnon, Rantanen, Mittelstadt and Jonathan Drouin as the four forwards, the power play often tries to do too much and looks for the extra pass. With Nichushkin parked up front, it becomes easier to fire pucks at the net and give the big Russian forward the opportunity to take the goalie's eyes away. It's basically what Parssinen did to Bobrovsky with the winning goal.