Avalanche Clinch Playoff Berth, Defeat Blackhawks 4-1

The Chicago Blackhawks had their second leg of a back-to-back on Friday night. After a narrow 2-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild on Thursday night, they returned home to take on the Colorado Avalanche. Consecutive days with games against two of the top five teams in the NHL is never an easy stretch, but it’s a good measuring stick for the young Blackhawks.

Before the game began, Jeff Blashill announced that Andrew Mangiapane and Louis Crevier would be out with short-term injuries that they suffered in St. Paul against the Wild. Wearing their black alternate sweaters for the last time in 2025-26, the Blackhawks started Arvid Soderblom in net for the first time since Spencer Knight’s illness ended.

In the first period, the Blackhawks were caved in by the Avalanche. Colorado outshot Chicago 20-5 and took a 2-0 lead into intermission thanks to goals by Marty Necas and Brock Nelson. At that point, it started to seem like it was going to be a tough night for the Blackhawks against the team that's been at the top of the NHL standings all season.

The second period was somewhat of a different story. The Blackhawks came out and looked like an entirely different team for a while. After a handful of golden opportunities for the Hawks early in the middle frame, Wyatt Kaiser split the defense, accepted a pass from Ryan Greene, and scored to get his team on the board.