The Colorado Avalanche aren’t losing faith in Mackenzie Blackwood after one difficult night, with head coach Jared Bednar standing by his goaltender while pointing to the defensive mistakes that contributed to Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Blackwood stopped 17 of 22 shots at Ball Arena, allowing three goals on four shots in a difficult second period. The performance raised questions about his consistency, but Bednar made it clear after practice that he remains confident in the goaltender.

“Blacky’s been great every day on the ice,” Bednar said. “I feel like he’s looked sharp and, like I said the other night, I can’t fault him for any of those goals.”

Bednar also confirmed that Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood will each start one of Colorado’s next two games against the Dallas Stars, giving both goaltenders an opportunity during the back-to-back.

“I have full confidence that he’ll be ready to go,” Bednar said of Blackwood.

It’s a vote of confidence for a goaltender coming off a tough outing, but the Avalanche aren’t ignoring what went wrong against Toronto. For Bednar, the loss was as much about the team’s defensive execution as it was about the performance in net.

Colorado gave up several dangerous scoring chances against Toronto, particularly around the net, where opposing forwards found room to make plays.

Bednar said the team reviewed its mistakes and identified a recurring problem with protecting the area in front of its goaltender.

“We addressed some of the things we didn’t do well fundamentally,” he explained. “It was really one thing repeated in different situations. We just didn’t protect the house well.”

The Avalanche had done a better job in that area against Winnipeg and at times against Calgary, according to Bednar, but those improvements didn’t carry over consistently against Toronto.

“We feel like if we give up outside shots, our goaltenders will make the save, especially if we’re taking care of sticks in front,” he continued. “We didn’t do that as a team.”

The message was clear: Colorado expects its goaltenders to make saves, but the players in front of them have a responsibility to limit the quality of the chances they face.

Nazem Kadri shared a similar assessment after practice, expressing confidence in Colorado’s offense while acknowledging that the team needs to clean things up defensively.

The Avalanche hit plenty of posts against the Maple Leafs. In other words, Colorado was mere inches from adding even more to the scoreboard. With that said, Kadri wasn’t particularly concerned about the team’s ability to score.

“On the offensive side, I don’t think we could have done any more,” Kadri said.

The defensive breakdowns were another story.

Kadri acknowledged that Colorado allowed Toronto too many quality chances, particularly against a group of forwards capable of making the most of even small mistakes.

“We want to refrain from giving up Grade A opportunities to skilled forwards,” Kadri said.

He also stressed the importance of helping the goaltenders, reinforcing Bednar’s point that the responsibility for improving defensively belongs to the entire team.

The Avalanche don’t need to overhaul their offensive approach, Kadri suggested. They need to make sure their defensive mistakes aren’t undoing the good work they’re doing at the other end of the ice.

Brett Kulak was more blunt about the defensive mistakes, calling the time and space Toronto found in high-danger areas “pretty unacceptable” for the Avalanche.

Kulak added that the early-season timing gives Colorado an opportunity to review the mistakes and correct them before the games become more consequential.

Blackwood’s performance against Toronto comes with added scrutiny given his $5.25 million annual salary, particularly with Wedgewood available as an alternative.

Wedgewood has shown he can handle a significant workload, recording a 31-6-6 record, a 2.02 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage in 45 appearances last season.

Still, Bednar’s comments suggest the organization isn’t ready to judge Blackwood solely on one disappointing game. The coach has seen what he wants from the goaltender in practice and believes the team needs to take responsibility for the chances it allowed.

The upcoming back-to-back against Dallas gives both netminders a chance to contribute, but Colorado’s bigger challenge is making sure the same defensive mistakes don’t follow them into the next game.

Blackwood has the backing of his coach, and the Avalanche aren’t abandoning their goaltender after one rough night. Now the team needs to deliver a stronger defensive performance in front of him.

Because while confidence matters, the Avalanche know it has to translate into better results on the ice.

Blackwood is set to man the crease Tuesday night when the Avalanche face the Stars at American Airlines Center, while Wedgewood will get his shot the following night in Denver.

Puck drop is slated for 6:30 p.m. local time both nights.