The Chicago Blackhawks offensive game continues to disappoint in a 3-1 defeat against the Avalanche. Connor Bedard recorded his 25th of the year in the defeat.
First Period:
The Chicago Blackhawks started the game off not with a bang, but with a ring. Just 20 seconds into the first period, Jason Dickinson would beat MacKenzie Blackwood, but his chance rifled off the crossbar.
Colorado’s forward group piled on the pressure, playing with an aggressive forecheck. Louis Crevier folded under the pressure and threw a pizza straight to Josh Manson. Spencer Knight bailed out the 6’8 defenseman with not just a save on Manson, but on Samuel Girard as well.
With just over six minutes played, Manson would get sent to the box for a hold on Tyler Bertuzzi. Chicago’s new look powerplay without Sam Rinzel, who was out with a sickness, didn’t even have time to set up before ending.
After a clearance by the Avalanche kill, Teuvo Teravainen chipped the puck over the blue line to Bertuzzi. Along the farside end boards, Tyler Bertuzzi found Connor Bedard across the ice, who let his shot rip over Blackwood’s shoulder.
Story continues below.
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The rest of the period was all Colorado, all the time. Gabriel Landeskog was robbed not once but twice by Spencer Knight in the frame. Jack Drury also had a great chance for the Avs. Colton Dach’s penalty sent Chicago to the second period with a 1-0 lead and 80 seconds of a “holding the stick” call to kill.
Second Period:
In a matchup between the league’s best penalty kill and league-worst power play, it should be no surprise who the better unit was. Nathan MacKinnon had the only real chance for a goal, trying to jam the puck past Spencer Knight. Artyom Levshunov played much better than on Thursday, making multiple great poke checks and diving stops throughout the game. Colorado couldn’t get the puck behind Knight once again on the powerplay. On the other end, Louis Crevier had a 98-mph bomb that caused a commotion but no goal.
On their third man advantage of the night, Colorado finally broke through. Despite Nathan MacKinnon being haunted by the left circle since his infamous miss in the 2026 Olympic Gold medal game, his passing is still unaffected. MacKinnon found Cale Makar, whose knuckle puck just went past Spencer Knight’s blocker. The game was a very lopsided 1-1 going into the third.
Third Period:
In a very unlikely position, tied against the Colorado Avalanche, Chicago couldn’t find that second gear. Tyler Bertuzzi put his shot in front wide past Blackwood, and the pressure really piled on when Connor Bedard was less than an inch away from regaining the Chicago lead. Cale Makar and Jack Drury nearly combined on a goal, but the Avalanche passed the puck just one too many times.
Despite playing a super strong game, Spencer Knight couldn’t stop everything. After a rocket from Devon Toews at the blue line, Gavin Brindley’s rebound hit the nylon behind Knight to give Colorado its first advantage of the night.
Despite the loss, Knight held his head high.
“To be in a tight game with them (Colorado) is good for us to show what it’s like playing NHL hockey.”
The Chicago Blackhawks powerplay had a rough go of things. Only 1 shot on 5 total opportunities. When asked about the offensive woes, head coach Jeff Blashill responded, “We’ve got offensive guys that can produce that we need to get their confidence going.” After the powerplay expired, the game was all but over. Cale Makar tallied the empty netter en route to the Colorado Avalanche’s victory over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Blackhawks Round-Up and What’s On Tap
“We need depth scoring for sure”- Jeff Blashill, February 28th, 2026. Tonight, the Chicago Blackhawks’ offensive woes continued. Connor Bedard was the only Blackhawk to score, in another weak performance for the team. Andre Burakovsky continues to falter as Bedard’s linemate, recording the worst gamescore of any Chicago Blackhawks forward. When asked if any moves for a new linemate for Bedard would be made, Blashill simply replied, “He’ll (Burakovsky) stay with Bedsy tomorrow.”
On the other hand, Artyom Levshunov bounced back after a difficult performance on Thursday. Despite the poor game score, Levshunov disrupted many offensive rushes and used his stick effectively. The reason: he’s taking more risks. He didn’t play it safe tonight, and it paid off.
The final point, poor Spencer Knight. In 3 games across his career versus the club from Mile High, Spencer Knight has been unlucky. At just a 1.75 Goals Against average and a .937 Save Percentage, you would think a better result than 0-3-0 would be shown. But alas, it was simply not to be.
On Tap for the Chicago Blackhawks is a clash vs the Utah Mammoth in Salt Lake City, puck drop at 3 p.m. Central Time.