Red Wings Fall 4-0 After Second-Period Penalty Spree

DENVER, Colo. — Detroit left Ball Arena without a goal on Saturday, falling 4-0 as Colorado turned a pile of second-period minors into a special-teams rout on Hockey Fights Cancer Night.

Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 27 shots for his first blank sheet this season and the 18th shutout of his career. He was busiest before the scoreboard moved, turning aside 13 attempts in a scoreless first period that Detroit coach Todd McLellan later called the segment he wanted.

Two of those early stops came against J.T. Compher from the low slot and John Leonard at the right doorstep late in the opening frame, at 16:36 and 16:37. Detroit (7-8-3) is now 2-4-0 across its last six games and has dropped three in a row.

The night flipped after the first intermission. McLellan said the Wings were whistled for five penalties in a 10-minute stretch of the second period, forcing a short list of skaters into extra shifts while others sat cold. Martin Necas opened the scoring at 9:46 of the second, finishing a loose puck at the right side of the crease for a power-play goal, his eighth of the season, after a T.J. Hughes shot created the scramble.

Nathan MacKinnon made it 2-0 at 12:30, one-timing a Cale Makar feed from the left circle for his 10th goal. Necas added his ninth of the year at 7:15 of the third, batting in an airborne rebound after Daniil Tarasov, who finished with 25 saves, got a blocker on MacKinnon’s first try. Makar capped it at 9:45 with a wrist shot from high on the right side, his fifth goal and Colorado’s third extra-man score.

Colorado killed all three Detroit power plays and improved to 10-6-2. Blackwood preserved the shutout with a rush stop on Viktor Arvidsson at 12:16 of the third. McLellan said the group did not handle its emotions well once the calls mounted. The Avalanche now head out for four straight road games, beginning Tuesday in Toronto.

Filed under: Plymouth MI Sports News