DENVER — Prior to suffering his second injury of the season, Mackenzie Blackwood led the NHL with the lowest goals-against average among all goaltenders.

That is no longer the case.

After suffering a lower-body injury in a New Year’s Eve win over the St. Louis Blues, Blackwood missed several weeks of action. When he returned to the lineup on January 16 against the Nashville Predators, the rust was evident. He surrendered a goal just 30 seconds into the game to Ryan O’Reilly, who went on to record a hat trick. Blackwood finished the night allowing five goals on 28 shots.

If there was any hope that Blackwood would quickly rediscover his form, Friday night erased it.

The Avalanche closed out their season-long seven-game homestand with another lopsided 7–3 loss, this time to the Philadelphia Flyers at Ball Arena, with Blackwood again in net. Despite outshooting Philadelphia 35–20, Colorado watched six of the Flyers’ 19 shots find the back of the net.

In two starts since returning from injury, Blackwood is 0–2, having surrendered 11 goals on 47 shots — a .766 save percentage that stands in stark contrast to the numbers he posted earlier this season. To put it frankly, Blackwood has been terrible.

Jared Bednar has previously explained that Blackwood is the type of goaltender who needs time and consistent preparation to perform at his best. Postgame, Bednar reiterated that Blackwood hasn’t been getting enough reps, a factor that could help explain his struggles since returning from injury.

“He’s gotta get in the groove. He hasn’t played enough hockey. He’s gotta get going. We’re going to need him to be really good (for the upcoming road trip); he started the year pretty good,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “There’s no question he can play a lot better than what we’ve seen the last couple of games.”

The third period was a complete unraveling for the Avalanche. From the opening faceoff, Colorado mismanaged the puck, and the Flyers wasted no time making them pay. Philadelphia scored three goals in a span of under 10 minutes, two of them coming from Owen Tippett, including a shorthanded marker. Tippett became the second player in as many games to record a hat trick against Blackwood, while Matvei Michkov capped the night with an empty-net goal, giving him two goals in the contest.

Blackwood was a man of few words when asked to explain what transpired.

“Just a couple of good chances and they capitalized.”

Although Blackwood has endured stretches of inconsistent play this season, Bednar has remained firmly in his corner—at times even saying he believes Blackwood has the potential to be one of the league’s top goaltenders. Saturday night was no different. Bednar reiterated his confidence that Blackwood will rediscover his rhythm, but ultimately, it’s up to the goaltender to find it.

“We’re shorthanded, so the whole package isn’t where it was, so we’re going to need our goalies to be better, but we have confidence  (Blackwood) can get there, but he’s got to get playing some hockey here.”