O'Connor's short-handed goal helps lead Avalanche past Blackhawks

DENVER (AP) — Logan O’Connor scored a short-handed goal for the second straight game, Alexandar Georgiev stopped 18 shots and the Colorado Avalanche cruised to a 4-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday night in their home opener.

Ryan Johansen, Devon Toews and Nathan MacKinnon also scored to help the Avalanche improve to 4-0.

Colorado kept top pick Connor Bedard in check as the smooth-skating teenager didn’t record a shot on goal.

Georgiev was sharp in posting his 14th shutout. The Avalanche outshot the Blackhawks 41-18 in a game where they scored short-handed, on the power play and twice at full strength.

Chicago returns home after finishing a five-game trip 2-3. Petr Mrazek was under constant pressure and finished with 37 saves.

Toews put the Avalanche up 3-0 in the second period when he knocked the puck into an empty net off a pass from Valeri Nichushkin. It's the first goal of the season for Toews, who signed a seven-year extension worth $50.75 million last week.

The Avalanche took 22 shots in the first period and grabbed a 2-0 lead. O’Connor got things going by zooming out of the zone, taking a feed from Andrew Cogliano and beating Mrazek with a shot over his glove. O’Connor also scored a short-handed goal in Seattle on Tuesday.

He's the fifth player in Colorado/Quebec history to tally a short-handed goal in back-to-back games and first since captain Gabriel Landeskog in March 2013.

Bedard, the top pick in the most recent draft, went against his fifth straight No. 1 selection in MacKinnon (No. 1 in 2013). Bedard joins Nico Hischier (No. 1 in 2017) as the only players in NHL history to meet five or more No. 1 selections over their first five career games, according to NHL research.

So far, Bedard has squared off against Sidney Crosby (No. 1 in 2005), Juraj Slafkovsky (No. 1 in 2022), John Tavares (No. 1 in 2009), Auston Matthews (No. 1 in 2016) and MacKinnon.

MacKinnon has been impressed with the maturity of Bedard and of course the talent.

“He’s a lot better than me at 18, that’s for sure,” cracked MacKinnon, who scored in the third period. “He looks great.”

GABE SIGHTING

Landeskog dropped by the rink during morning skate Thursday. He's slated to miss a second straight season as he recovers from cartilage replacement surgery on his knee.

“Obviously, great to see him,” MacKinnon said. “Seems like he’s doing awesome.”

FAMILY TIME

Blackhawks defenseman Seth Jones had dinner while in town with younger brother Caleb, who’s a defenseman with the Avalanche’s American Hockey League affiliate Colorado Eagles. Their dad, Popeye, is an assistant with the NBA champion Denver Nuggets and was out of town. Their mom is coming into town for Caleb’s first home game with the Eagles on Friday.

UP NEXT

Blackhawks: Host Vegas on Saturday night in their home opener.

Avalanche: Host Carolina on Saturday night.

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