Nazem Kadri and Jaden Schwartz each score twice as Colorado Avalanche defeat Chicago Blackhawks 5-2

By Vancouver Television Sports Desk

CHICAGO — Nazem Kadri and Jaden Schwartz each scored twice as the Colorado Avalanche defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 5-2 at the United Center on Monday. Kadri’s two-goal performance included a power-play goal, and Colorado built separation after taking the lead late in the middle frame.

Colorado entered the game with a record of 9-5-1 and extended a current surge by winning three straight. The Avalanche also improved to 4-1-0 over their last five games. On the other side, Chicago fell to 4-10-1, dropped its third straight, and was 1-5-1 in its last seven games.

The opening goal came quickly. Wyatt Kaiser gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead just 57 seconds into the game with a shot from the blue line that deflected off Colorado defenseman Cale Makar and beat Mackenzie Blackwood. Makar had a last-ditch effort to stop the puck, but it slid past his coverage despite the touch.

Chicago doubled its advantage at 7:05 when Roman Kantserov finished a 2-on-1 breakaway with Connor Bedard. Bedard carried into the offensive zone from the left side and passed to Kantserov, who scored on a one-timer while going to one knee in the right face-off circle.

Colorado got a critical moment on the scoreboard after a goal review. At 13:22, Martin Necas appeared to score, but the play was overturned for goaltender interference following a coach’s challenge involving Gabriel Landeskog. After the ruling, the Blackhawks maintained a 2-0 lead.

Kadri narrowed the deficit at 15:23 of the first period. Landeskog fired a sharp-angle shot that went short-side, and although Blackwood made the initial save with his goaltender’s body position, Kadri was able to dive in and poke the rebound behind the goalie to put Colorado within two goals.

Schwartz responded for the Avalanche soon after to level the game. He tied it 2-2 just 26 seconds later at 15:49, scoring from the left circle after receiving a feed from T.J. Hughes, who was positioned in the left corner.

Colorado took its first lead of the night in the second period with Kadri’s power-play goal. At 13:38, Kadri scored with the man advantage after Cale Makar fired the puck in from the high slot. Kadri picked the puck out of the air and tipped it in to give the Avalanche a 3-2 advantage.

Schwartz added the next cushion at 19:49 to make it 4-2. Sam Malinski’s wrist shot from just inside the blue line deflected off Schwartz’s stick in front, and the puck went through Chicago goaltender Spencer Knight’s five-hole.

The final margin came shortly after. At 17:38, Devon Toews scored into an empty net to complete the 5-2 result.

In addition to the scoring, the game also included a player departure that influenced the end-of-period lineup. Chicago forward Patrick Kane left the game at 14:53 of the second period with an undisclosed injury and did not return.

Between the pipes, Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 21 saves for Colorado, while Spencer Knight made 24 saves for Chicago in the loss.