Mackenzie Blackwood Joins An Elite Group Of Athletes Who Refused To Let Illness Win

Mackenzie Blackwood had a fever, a cough and probably every reason to stay at the team hotel. Instead, the Colorado Avalanche goaltender showed up at Scotiabank Arena and turned aside 28 shots in a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Blackwood revealed after the game that he'd woken up sick that morning. His solution? Chicken soup and a decision to play through it.

"Tough one for me," Blackwood told The Denver Post's Corey Masisak. "I woke up sick this morning, with a fever and a cough. I was like, 'I'm going to grind it out.' I made chicken soup."

It's an unusual kind of toughness, but Blackwood isn't the first elite athlete to deliver when feeling considerably less than 100 percent.

Gennadiy Golovkin entered his 2013 fight against Gabriel Rosado battling the flu, yet still stopped him in the seventh round, battering, bruising, and bloodying his opponent until the referee stopped the fight. Michael Jordan scored 38 points against Utah in the 1997 NBA Finals despite being severely ill. Dirk Nowitzki played through flu symptoms and a reported 101-degree fever during the 2011 NBA Finals, scoring 21 points in a pivotal Game 4 victory.

And in the 2017 MLB playoffs, Stephen Strasburg overcame an illness that nearly kept him out of his start against the Chicago Cubs. He responded with seven scoreless innings and 12 strikeouts.

Blackwood isn't even the first Avalanche star this season to put together a big performance while feeling under the weather. On November 29 at Ball Arena, Nathan MacKinnon battled illness but still managed a three-point night against the Montreal Canadiens, scoring once and adding two assists in Colorado's convincing 7-2 victory.

Talk about elite company.

There wasn't much room for Blackwood to ease into Tuesday's game. Toronto scored early, and the Avalanche had to work their way back into things. He made several important stops along the way, none more notable than his second-period robbery of Auston Matthews on a rebound opportunity.

Toronto eventually tied the game 3-3 in the third period, but Colorado answered almost immediately. Blackwood finished with 28 saves as the Avalanche completed their response to the Maple Leafs' earlier 6-3 win in Denver.

He's now 8-1-1 over his last 10 starts, with a 2.20 goals-against average and a .918 save percentage.

If Blackwood maintains this level of play, he could put himself firmly in the Vezina Trophy conversation. Awarded annually to the NHL's best goaltender, the trophy is voted on by the general managers of all 32 teams.