Soderblom Stops 45 But Blackhawks Fall 4-1 as Avalanche Clinch First Playoff Spot in the NHL

Game Summary

Some nights you run into a buzzsaw. The Colorado Avalanche came into the United Center on Friday night and thoroughly dominated the Blackhawks in a 4-1 win — clinching the first playoff berth of the 2025-26 season in the process. Colorado outshot Chicago 49-20, including a staggering 20-5 advantage in the first period, and got multi-point nights from Nathan MacKinnon (3 assists), Martin Necas (1 goal, 2 assists), and Valeri Nichushkin (1 goal, 1 assist). The Blackhawks fall to 26-31-12.

Arvid Soderblom was the lone bright spot for Chicago, stopping 45 of 49 shots in a performance that kept this from getting truly ugly. At the other end, Mackenzie Blackwood had a quiet night — 19 saves on 20 shots — because the Avalanche barely let the Blackhawks into the offensive zone for long stretches.

Colorado jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first. Necas broke the ice at 13:19 after a slick passing sequence from MacKinnon and Nichushkin — Nichushkin carried the puck into the slot off a drop pass, backhanded it across to Necas, and the forward buried it off Soderblom's arm from the left circle. It was his 32nd of the season, a new career high. Brock Nelson added a power-play goal at 15:22, redirecting a Cale Makar feed from in front — his 31st of the year and first since Feb. 25.

Wyatt Kaiser got the Hawks on the board at 6:48 of the second. Ryan Greene found Kaiser streaking through the slot during a line change, and the defenseman beat Blackwood through the five-hole for his sixth of the season. It was a heads-up play by both — Kaiser jumping into a gap, Greene delivering a perfectly placed pass. "I just knew they were changing and we were kind of changing," Kaiser said afterward. "So I just tried to jump in the middle to at least give 'Greener' some option. It landed on my stick. What a pass."

But that was as close as Chicago would get. An Artyom Levshunov double minor for high-sticking late in the second carried over into the third period, and Nazem Kadri cashed in just 36 seconds into the frame — MacKinnon made a no-look, backhand pass to Kadri in the right circle, and the reacquired forward scored his second goal in seven games since returning from Calgary. Nichushkin made it 4-1 at 8:34 after MacKinnon stripped Levshunov of the puck in the offensive zone and found his linemate between the circles.

Three Stars

The New-Look Roster

Not much to work with here offensively for the young group. Twenty shots on goal against a team that had lost four of five coming in is hard to spin. The Blackhawks were playing without Andrew Mangiapane and Louis Crevier — both injured in Thursday's 2-1 win in Minnesota — and the absences were felt. Chicago managed just 5 shots in the entire first period and spent most of the night defending. Blashill was blunt: "We didn't have it tonight. Too many times we were just kind of standing still, with and without the puck."

Soderblom deserves every bit of recognition for his effort. Forty-five saves on 49 shots and a .918 save percentage in a game where the Avalanche were relentless. Colorado had 20 shots in the first, hit a post, hit the crossbar, and still led 2-0. Without Soderblom, this could've easily been 6 or 7 to nothing. He can't be faulted for any of the four that got through — two were power-play goals, Nichushkin's came off a MacKinnon strip-and-feed, and the Necas goal was a product of three passes that would beat most goalies in the league.

Kaiser's goal was the highlight, and his chemistry with Greene continues to be one of the small wins of this post-deadline stretch. Greene picked up the assist with a perfectly placed pass, and Kaiser read the line change and jumped into the play — the kind of instinct you want to see from a young defenseman. Bedard was held without a point but won 8 of 15 faceoffs and played 18:38. Frank Nazar led the forwards with 19:04 of ice time but couldn't generate much against Colorado's defensive structure. The 21 blocked shots show the Hawks were willing to compete physically even when the puck wasn't bouncing their way.

Looking Ahead

Chicago hosts the Nashville Predators on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. CT on ESPN — a much more manageable matchup after getting run over by the league's best team. Nashville sits fifth in the Central at 31-28-9 and 71 points, seven ahead of the Hawks but well behind the playoff cut line in the Western Conference. Mangiapane and Crevier are not expected back for Sunday but Blashill said neither injury is expected to be long term. At 26-31-12 and 64 points with roughly 13 games left, the Blackhawks remain last in the Central. Colorado completed the season sweep with this win, taking all three matchups (1-0, 3-1, 4-1) and clinching their fifth straight trip to the postseason — the first team in the NHL to do so this year.