Blackhawks shut out for first time this season, MacKinnon tops 1,000 points as Avalanche wins

DENVER — Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas scored in the third period, Nathan MacKinnon topped 1,000 points for his career, and the Colorado Avalanche beat the Blackhawks 3-0 on Monday night for their sixth straight win.

Joel Kiviranta added an empty-netter in the final minute, and Scott Wedgewood stopped 20 shots for his eighth shutout and second this season. The Avalanche finished a perfect 6-0-0 homestand.

Spencer Knight finished with 18 saves as Chicago lost for the eighth time in 11 games (3-5-3).

MacKinnon reached the milestone 31 seconds into the third on Lehkonen's goal, and then got another assist nearly three minutes later when Necas made it 2-0.

MacKinnon appeared to get No. 1,000 earlier in the game with a first-period assist on a goal by Necas, but it was negated after a challenge for offside — knocking MacKinnon back to 999 points.

Takeaways

Blackhawks: As badly has this season has gone for Chicago, the Blackhawks hadn't been shut out. It finally happened in the team's 65th game.

Avalanche: Colorado wasn't exactly dominant against a Chicago team with the league's second-worst record, but once the Avalanche took a multigoal lead, it seemed pretty safe.

Key moment

Chicago had a two-man advantage for 1:52 in the middle of the second period after the Avalanche were called for two penalties in eight seconds. But the Blackhawks couldn't score.

Key stat

MacKinnon became the 100th player to reach the 1,000-point club.

Up next

Blackhawks visit San Jose on Thursday, and Avalanche play at Minnesota on Tuesday.