{"id":440204,"date":"2026-02-01T18:13:17","date_gmt":"2026-02-01T18:13:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/440204\/"},"modified":"2026-02-01T18:13:17","modified_gmt":"2026-02-01T18:13:17","slug":"in-the-room-asking-blackwood-about-mackinnon-is-always-entertaining","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/440204\/","title":{"rendered":"In The Room: Asking Blackwood About MacKinnon is Always Entertaining (+)"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Nathan MacKinnon and Mackenzie Blackwood were the two stars of the Avalanche\u2019s 5-0 shutout victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.<\/p>\n<p>Blackwood made 28 saves to earn his third shutout of the season. And MacKinnon, who hadn\u2019t scored in five games, recorded two goals and three points to become the first player to 40 goals and second to reach 90 points this year.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado\u2019s starting goalie often gets praised by his teammates when he has games like this. He settles things down in the crease and makes it easier for the skaters to play their game without worrying about shaky goaltending.<\/p>\n<p>But if you\u2019ve followed Blackwood\u2019s career in Denver, it\u2019s usually his praise \u2014 his quotes about his teammates that have the highest entertainment value.<\/p>\n<p>READ MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/coloradohockeynow.com\/2026\/01\/31\/postgame-wrap-blackwood-avalanche-blank-red-wings-at-little-caesars-arena\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Postgame Wrap: Blackwood, Avalanche Blank Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena<\/a><\/p>\n<p>I asked Blackwood if, after 14 months in Colorado, he\u2019s ever surprised anymore when he sees MacKinnon take over games like this.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m never fucking surprised. I\u2019m never surprised. No,\u201d Blackwood said.<\/p>\n<p>If that\u2019s the case, when was the last time MacKinnon did something that surprised Blackwood?<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLike, maybe the first week I was here and then you\u2019re just like numb to it at that point,\u201d he said. \u201cYou\u2019re used to seeing him and Cale [Makar], all the guys, just what they do, and just kind of take it for granted. It\u2019s pretty special.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Head coach Jared Bednar often says that the Avs, their front office, coaching staff, and fans are spoiled. It\u2019s not something that should be taken for granted. What MacKinnon can do isn\u2019t something most teams see unless the Avalanche or other skilled teams are in town.<\/p>\n<p>The Red Wings are a good example of a young up-and-coming team with a lot of the pieces in place for a playoff contender. But they don\u2019t have a MacKinnon.<\/p>\n<p>Despit their resurgence this season, the media in Detroit doesn\u2019t get to watch what the media in Denver sees everyday.<\/p>\n<p>Blackwood said it after the game and Bednar echoed those comments yet again. It shouldn\u2019t ever be taken for granted.<\/p>\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Several Red Wings media members in the pressbox are marveling at how good Nathan MacKinnon is. <\/p>\n<p>I overheard: &#8220;Even after a 2-minute power play, he&#8217;s still dancing around everyone.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Aarif Deen (@runwriteAarif) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/runwriteAarif\/status\/2017678311992782940?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">January 31, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.paypal.com\/paypalme\/colhockeynow\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><br \/>\n<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/04\/CHNS-Tip-Jar.png\" alt=\"Contribute to CHN's travel and support local journalism!\" loading=\"lazy\"\/><br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Nathan MacKinnon and Mackenzie Blackwood were the two stars of the Avalanche\u2019s 5-0 shutout victory over the Detroit&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":440205,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5116],"tags":[193,192,144,5277,58,5,1117,1123,517,4],"class_list":{"0":"post-440204","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colorado-avalanche","8":"tag-avalanche","9":"tag-colorado","10":"tag-colorado-avalanche","11":"tag-coloradoavalanche","12":"tag-featured","13":"tag-hockey","14":"tag-jared-bednar","15":"tag-mackenzie-blackwood","16":"tag-nathan-mackinnon","17":"tag-nhl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/115996735203648490","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=440204"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/440204\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/440205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=440204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=440204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=440204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}