CHICAGO — Jack Drury was inches away from the perfect conclusion.

The puck came to him, just to the right of what appeared to be a wide-open net. The game was already won, but the third line for the Colorado Avalanche earned a goal on this night. Deserved at least one, if not more.

But just as Drury’s shot cut through the air en route to his ninth goal of the season, Chicago Blackhawks goaltender Arvid Soderblom saved his most spectacular work in a night full of excellence for last.

He snatched Drury’s shot with a desperation lunge to his left.

“I’m sure Jack’s going to have some nightmares about that one,” linemate Parker Kelly said. “I told him we don’t want to score to make it 5-1. We want our next goal to be to go up 3-2.

“I’m sure we’re all a little frustrated. You feel like you’re working so hard to get the puck back. You’re working hard to forecheck hard. You’re doing well in the d-zone. It’s everything but getting on the score sheet. You’ve got to keep going with it. At the end of the day, you’re playing good hockey so it’s not the end of the world.”

The Avs overwhelmed the Blackhawks at United Center. The final score was 4-1, though Söderblom prevented it from being twice that many.

Colorado’s third line had one of the most dominant nights any trio will have in any NHL game this season. Drury, Kelly and Joel Kiviranta set up residency in the offensive zone Friday night.

They peppered Soderblom with scoring chances. They bullied a young Chicago team into turnovers, rarely spending much time at their own end of the ice.

“I feel like it was right from the start, from the opening draw,” Avs center Brock Nelson said. “They get it in there and they’re kind of banging around and they get a couple good looks. Working low to high, causing havoc on the forecheck, getting pucks back.

“I think that’s the recipe for all the lines at times. They may be the best at it more often than not. All three of those guys work extremely hard. I thought they were really good down low, getting pucks back and grinding it out, finding chances in space to get good looks.”

A cursory glance at a traditional box score wouldn’t reveal the the way the Avs’ third line ran the show Monday night. They combined for no points. They weren’t on the ice for a goal.

The underlying numbers were staggering. When Kelly was on the ice at 5-on-5, the Avalanche had 30 shot attempts in 12:28. The Blackhawks had four.

It was 26-4 for Drury, in 25 fewer seconds. It was 22-4 for Kiviranta is just 10:28. All three players had an expected goals for percentage (xGF%) of at least 89.03%.

The league leader in xGF% at 5-on-5 this season is Ottawa’s Jordan Spence, at 61.75%.

“I think that’s just great details by us,” Kelly said. “We’re really pushing to try to finally get one and break through this little seal that’s on the net right now for us, but at the end of the day, just got to look at the process. Since Jack, Kivi and I have been put together, it’s been some pretty good hockey. Definitely a lot of chemistry there. I feel like we’re doing really well at doing what makes our line successful.

“We’re pretty much doing everything but scoring right now.”

Kiviranta leads the Avs who have played at least 100 minutes at 5-on-5 in xGF% since the Olympic break at 66.52%. Drury is second and Kelly is sixth, and they’re all better than 59%.

They’ve been together as a trio recently, thanks in part to all the injuries among the forward groups.

“It’s a relatively simple game there,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “They’ve been really disciplined with the puck. If they have a chance to attack off the rush, they do it. If they don’t, they’re making good decisions and putting it in behind the other team, going after it and they’re extremely hard working. It’s a connected group of forwards.

“They never stop skating, working and competing, and that’s hard to play against. They’re creating a bunch of scoring chances. They’re relied defensively, on the penalty kill. All these guys play on it. So I just think they’re doing a heck of a job setting the tone for us.”

Kelly, Drury and Logan O’Connor were together at the end of last season as Colorado’s fourth line. Bednar gave them the “identity line” seal of approval. He’s a coach that loves finding a trio of trusted forwards who play exactly the way he wants a defense-first unit to do so.

O’Connor hasn’t played all season after offseason hip surgery and then a second issue that has popped up during his recovery. He’s been skating for weeks now and could make his season debut at some point on this road trip.

Once everyone is healthy, it sure looks like Drury will center the fourth line and Kelly will be next to him. The last forward spot might come down to Kiviranta or O’Connor, depending on how he looks once he shakes the rust off.

Regardless, the Avs’ “identity line” was great in the Dallas series last year, and they look ready to roll in the postseason this Spring.

“I think the four of us call all do that,” Kelly said. “Doesn’t matter who it is, what night it is. Next man up mentality. I think we’ve done a good job of building trust with our line. I feel like maybe we could play against any line in the league. I think when “OC” is back and healthy, it’s going to be a four-man line for sure.”

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