Avalanche blanks Blackhawks behind Pavel Francouz’s second straight shutout

Avalanche goaltending and the club’s overall ability to defend are on an impressive roll.

Goalie Pavel Francouz produced his third career NHL shutout, and second in a row, to lead the Avalanche to a 2-0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday night at Ball Arena.

It marked the fourth consecutive game Colorado allowed two goals or fewer, with just four goals allowed overall during that stretch.

Forwards Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen scored goals to help extend Colorado’s home winning streak to 16 games — tied for the fifth-longest in NHL history. The Boston Bruins also won 16 straight at home in 1976.

The Avs, who have the NHL’s best record of 27-4-3 since Oct. 28, are 12-0-1 in January, tying the club record for the most wins in any month.

And Colorado, which took a 2-0 lead on Rantanen’s team-leading 22nd goal at 6:41 of the third period, collected a point for the 18th consecutive game (17-0-2) at Ball Arena — now the longest such streak in club history.

Chicago (15-20-7) played much better than its record. Colorado (29-8-3) was scoreless through half of the game until Kadri struck. The first goal of the game finally came at 11:24 of the second period, completing a rabid Avalanche power play while Chicago defenseman Seth Jones was in the penalty box for interference.

Kadri one-timed a short touch pass from Nathan MacKinnon and the puck went off goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and rolled across the goal line.

Defenseman Cale Makar got the second assist by feeding MacKinnon in the left circle. MacKinnon’s short touch pass is a designed play that’s worked recently, including Saturday’s overtime victory over Montreal in which Sam Girard fed Alex Newhook from the left circle.

The Avs outshot Chicago 14-7 in the middle frame and took a 1-0 lead into the third. The low-scoring affair was surprising, given Colorado’s explosive nature.

The Avs entered the game leading the NHL in scoring at 4.15 goals per game and their 165 goals (including shootouts) were most through 39 games in club history and third most of any team in the last 25 years. Colorado led all teams in reaching six goals (nine times) and seven tallies (seven). The Avs also led the NHL in third-period goals (58) and shorthanded goals (six).

Footnotes. The Avs are 21-0-2 when scoring first. … This was the third of four regular-season meetings between the Avs and Hawks. They complete the season series on Friday in Chicago, a single-game trip for Colorado. … Rantanen and MacKinnon entered the game with 18 points this month, tied for the NHL’s most behind Florida’s Jonathan Huberdeau (20). … The Avalanche scratches were defensemen Ryan Murray (injury) and Bo Byram (personal leave). Murray, who has missed the last five games, skated in a red non-contact sweater Monday morning and is nearly ready to return. There is no update on Byram’s potential return. … Forward Darren Helm remains on injured reserve and is week-to-week. Forward Stefan Matteau and defenseman Jacob MacDonald remain on long-term IR and their contracts don’t count against the salary cap. … Colorado is scheduled to practice at Ball Arena on Tuesday. It hosts the Boston Bruins on Wednesday to complete the three-game homestand.

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