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 Was this the best game of his NHL career?
"I don't want to talk about myself, to be honest with you," Varlamov
said with a shy smile as he stood in front of his locker after the
game. "Ask my teammates."
The resounding answer was yes.
"'Varly' stood on his head," Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon said
with a grin.
MacKinnon and left winger Maxime Talbot scored in the game's first
77 seconds, and Varlamov did the rest. The 26-year-old netminder
earned his third shutout of the season to lift the Avalanche
(16-16-8).
The Blackhawks (26-12-2) lost for the second time in three games.
They were shut out for the third time this season and for the first
time since Nov. 2 against the Winnipeg Jets.
 Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said allowing two goals in the first
two minutes proved costly. He blamed defensive breakdowns for both
goals as MacKinnon and Talbot skated unhindered through the neutral
zone before going to the net.
"We talked about it the last couple of days, giving up the first
goal, getting off to poor starts," Quenneville said. "Today, you
couldn't even call it a poor start. You're down, you don't even know
you're in the game and you're down 2-0."
Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford turned aside 22 of 24 shots to
drop to 15-8-2 on the season.
Varlamov, 26, stymied the Blackhawks with 17 saves in the first
period, 21 saves in the second and 16 saves in the third. He
continues to shine against Chicago, as he posted a 3-0-0 record with
a .957 save percentage in four appearances vs. the Blackhawks last
season.
Despite the heavy workload, Varlamov said, his teammates helped to
limit high-quality scoring chances.
"The good thing was I saw most of the shots today," Varlamov said.
"The guys in front of me were trying to give me a chance to see the
puck all of the time. I think that was the key.
"We played very well on the rebounds. I had lots of rebounds today,
and my 'D' and my forwards played very well in front of me."
Right winger Patrick Kane led the Blackhawks with seven shots.
Center Jonathan Toews, left winger Patrick Sharp and defenseman
Duncan Keith added five shots apiece.
Sharp said too many of Chicago's shots were from long distance.
"It's frustrating," Sharp said. "I think we can do a better job of
getting to the net."
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MacKinnon opened the scoring 53 seconds into the first period. The
19-year-old center collected a rebound at the bottom of the right
circle and flicked a sharp-angle wrist shot above Crawford's glove
for his seventh goal.
Twenty-four seconds later, Colorado increased its lead to 2-0 on an
odd-man rush by MacKinnon and Talbot. MacKinnon received a stretch
pass from defenseman John Mitchell and slipped a pass across the
crease to Talbot, whose shot trickled past Crawford's pads for his
first goal since Nov. 26.
MacKinnon, who scored 24 goals as a rookie a year ago, said he was
starting to hit his stride after an up-and-down start to the season.
"I feel better," MacKinnon said. "I feel like I'm doing the right
things on both sides of the puck and playing more of a simple game,
a fast game."
Blackhawks left winger Brandon Saad thought he scored with 2:37
remaining in the third period, but referees immediately waved off
the goal. They ruled that a whistle had sounded before Saad punched
the puck across the goal line.
NOTES: Blackhawks LW Kris Versteeg missed his second consecutive
game because of a left hand injury he sustained Jan. 1 against the
Washington Capitals. The team announced that he underwent a
procedure to stabilize a fractured metacarpal, and Versteeg is
expected to be out for a month. ... Avalanche G Semyon Varlamov
started his fifth consecutive game after missing 13 of the previous
16 games. ... To replace Versteeg, Blackhawks LW Patrick Sharp
joined a line with C Brad Richards and RW Patrick Kane. ...
Avalanche D Zach Redmond was a healthy scratch for the fourth
consecutive game. ... Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said he
liked what he saw from C Teuvo Teravainen, a highly touted
20-year-old who played his second game of the season Tuesday. "We
expect him to improve," Quenneville said. "Just be comfortable. Play
with confidence."
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reserved.]
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