Avalanche shut out Blackhawks, extend home winning streak to 16

DENVER -- Pavel Francouz made 23 saves and the Colorado Avalanche won their 16th straight home game, 2-0 against the Chicago Blackhawks at Ball Arena on Monday.

Colorado tied the 1975-76 Boston Bruins for the fifth-longest home winning streak in NHL history. The 2011-12 Detroit Red Wings own the NHL record of 23.
"It's just a feather in our cap for the guys," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said. "They're finding ways to win hockey games. We've set a pretty high standard in our room in the way we want to go about our daily basis, how we want our guys to play.
"They all haven't been perfect, but a lot of the games have been really good. They keep pushing that standard and they recognize when it's not great, but they're happy to get the points. Guys understand that we have this streak at home and they want to keep it going."
Nazem Kadri and Mikko Rantanen scored for Colorado (29-8-3), which has won seven straight games, has a point in 13 in a row and is 18-1-2 in its past 21.

Francouz, who made 34 saves Wednesday in a 2-0 win against the Anaheim Ducks, became the first Avalanche goalie to have consecutive shutouts since Patrick Roy did it Jan. 23-25, 2003.
"When we needed a save, we got it," Bednar said. "He looked sharp, he looked quick, composed at the net."
Marc-Andre Fleury made 27 saves for Chicago (15-20-7), which is 0-2-2 in its past four games after winning four straight.
"Just couple mistakes, and when you're playing against a great team, two mistakes will cost you," Blackhawks coach Derek King said. "We played well. We had our opportunities, but that's a really good hockey team. If we thought it was going to be easy, and I don't think we thought it was going to be easy, but there were times we competed the right way and other times where we kind of just dropped our compete a little lower than it should be and they capitalized. We made a couple of mistakes, and that's why they're one of the best teams in the League."
The Avalanche took a 1-0 lead at 11:23 of the second period on Kadri's power-play goal. Kadri shot from above the left face-off circle and the puck dribbled by Fleury.
"I think the way the game developed, I could see a big difference when we scored that one goal and we kind of shut them down," Francouz said. "It was huge, we controlled the whole third period, we were patient, we just did what we needed, and it was a big message for everyone that these are the habits that Mikko talked about getting closer to the playoffs. It was a huge test for us and we passed."

Rantanen made it 2-0 at 6:41 of the third period. Gabriel Landeskog passed from the corner to Rantanen in the slot for a backhand over a sprawling Fleury.
"He had a good pass and I was all alone, which is tough for the goalie but he's quick, so I just tried to wait him out and this time it worked," Rantanen said.
Francouz said he's content to split time in goal with Darcy Kuemper.
"The schedule's tight right now, so I think it helps when we can alternate and not get too tired," Francouz said. "It's worked pretty well for the team and I hope we will keep rolling."
Kuemper is 10-0-1 in his past 13 games.
"Both guys are playing unreal," Rantanen said. "We can put either one in the net and we know we have a chance to win. We have a lot of big games coming up and it's fun to watch those guys play."
Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane compared this game to his team's 4-3 overtime loss to the Avalanche on Jan. 4.
"We all thought it could've been a similar situation tonight," he said. "We grinded pretty hard for 2 1-2 periods. Just maybe didn't have a big enough push there in the third period to equalize the game.
"I think it was a pretty even game overall. We knew we had to come in and try to grind against a team like this, try not to give them much. They have a lot of good players and they're going to create, but I thought we played a pretty even game with them."
NOTES:The Avalanche haven't lost in regulation since Dec. 16, 5-2 at the Nashville Predators. They haven't lost at home since Nov. 3, 5-4 in overtime to the Columbus Blue Jackets. … Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon's assist on Kadri's second-period goal was his 384th in the NHL, tying him with Anton Statsny for sixth place in Avalanche/Quebec Nordiques history. … MacKinnon has scored 33 points (eight goals, 25 assists) in his past 22 games. … Rantanen has scored nine points (six goals, three assists) in his past seven games. … Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar has scored 13 points (three goals, 10 assists) in his past 13 games. … Colorado is 22-0-2 when scoring first.