Blackwood Saves the Day, Avs Beat Rags in OT

Without Blackwood, the Rangers win in Denver.

Sometimes the result is more important than the journey to reach it.

That was the story of Tuesday evening’s game at Ball Arena with the Avalanche surviving the New York Rangers, 3-2, in overtime.

It’s fitting that the game winner was scored by a defenseman  since it was Colorado’s blueline that was its worst facet of the game. Like the final result wiped away the sting of a deserved loss, the goal from Devon Toews will do wonders to erase the memories of the Avs’ poor play on the back end. 

The two points earned in the standings were the result of three aspects of Colorado’s game: the penalty kill in overtime, the all-out effort of Logan O’Connor on the game-winning shift and the play between the pipes of Mackenzie Blackwood.