DENVER -- The Colorado Avalanche have faith in goalie Mackenzie Blackwood's ability to bounce back in Game 6 of the Western Conference First Round against the Dallas Stars at Ball Arena on Thursday.
"He's a demanding guy," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Tuesday. "[He] puts a lot of pressure on himself to be good, and that's one of the reasons why I like him. He wants to stop everything, so he'll reset and be ready for Game 6."
Blackwood gave up five goals on 18 shots before he was pulled after the second period of a 6-2 loss in Game 5 on Monday that has Colorado trailing the best-of-7 series 3-2. Scott Wedgewood made eight saves in relief.
"I thought [Blackwood] had a little bit of a tough night," Bednar said. "Obviously, bad start, two sort of uncharacteristic goals, and then you get down three. You might as well get [Blackwood] some rest, let him reset and start it early, so pulled him out."
Blackwood, 28, is known for his calm and steady demeanor, which helps him let go of tough starts or undesirable endings.
"I've had bad goals go in before, but it [stinks] when there's two in the first period in a playoff game," he said after Game 5. "That's unfortunate, but not much you can do about it now. You just want to play great all the time and sometimes it doesn't go your way, so you just have to try and stay the course.
"You have to trust that you know you have a good game, good foundation, and you know bad stuff may happen, but you can bounce right back and play well again."
The Avalanche were able to reset following a 2-1 overtime loss to the Stars in Game 3 and won 4-0 in Game 4. Bednar wants them to do it again, to use it as a blueprint with their season on the brink.
"We're not trying to win two games, right? We're trying to win the next game, and we're trying to repeat a performance that we know we have [in us]," Bednar said. "This is a series with ebbs and flows, and there's some ups and downs and some heartbreak in there for both teams, because you have two really good teams going at it, so you got to refocus and get ready to go for the next one. We win that game, then we'll worry about Game 7.
"I expect us to do the exact same thing we did for Game 4. Our backs were against the wall there. That's a must-win game, similar to this one, and we came out and played really well. We were focused. We took the time [to prepare] like we have another two day break, same as that. To reset, get over that loss, and get ready to go for the next one."
Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said Monday, "We're resilient. Now we get to go home and play an important Game 6 on Thursday."
