Winning seems to be contagious in Chicago these days. After the Cubs climbed out of a 3-1 hole to win the World Series, the Blackhawks have responded to an 0-2 start by winning seven of their next nine, including a 4-0 shutout of the Avalanche on Thursday.
Marian Hossa scored twice for Chicago and Corey Crawford was perfect in net, stopping 38 shots. Colorado limited the Hawks to just 21 shots, but Hossa got in front of the defense on two occasions and capitalized, beating Semyon Varlamov glove side twice.
Colorado’s best chances came in the second period, including a breakaway by Matt Duchene, but Crawford made several stops at point blank range to shut the door.
The loss drops Colorado to 4-5-0 on the season and into sixth place in the Central. The Avs have Friday off before a back-to-back over the weekend. They host Minnesota for a 1 p.m. game Saturday, then travel to St. Louis for a 3 p.m. puck drop Sunday.
