DENVER – Veteran goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 38 shots in his Colorado Avalanche debut, and his new team held off a late push from the Nashville Predators to post a 5-2 win on Saturday night.

Nathan MacKinnon scored two goals and an assist, Artturi Lehkonen scored two goals and Ross Colton scored a goal for the Avalanche.

Steven Stamkos and Luke Evangelista scored for Nashville and Juuse Saros finished the game with 29 saves.

Colorado acquired Blackwood from the San Jose Sharks on Monday and he made a great first impression in front of the home fans. He stopped the first 37 shots he faced before Stamkos scored with 6:57 left in the third period.

“He is a big man. Apparently it’s not just his size; “He also has great skills,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said of his new 6-foot-2 goalie. “He moves around the net really well. And tonight he managed the game perfectly.”

It was a solid run for Blackwood in December; He simply couldn’t produce any wins with the struggling Sharks. He actually made 51 saves in a 3-1 loss to the Florida Panthers last Saturday.

“It feels great,” Blackwood said after his victorious debut. “It’s been a tough week coming here, I haven’t run much, but it was a great game to be a part of and I’m so grateful we can get a win in the first game.”

Evangelista made it a one-goal game on a delayed penalty with 4:52 left, but MacKinnon and Lehkonen scored unanswered goals in the final two minutes to secure the win.

Midway through the second period, Stamkos got behind Colorado’s defense and shot into the net alone, but Blackwood made the save to keep the game scoreless. Less than three minutes later, Colton gave the Avalanche the lead.

“It was Blackie’s first taste of Avalanche hockey,” Colton said. “He was great, he made some great saves, held us and that gave us some momentum.”

Blackwood joined the Sharks last season after spending five years with the New Jersey Devils. He hasn’t played more than 47 games in any season, but Saturday’s win was his 20th appearance this season and he could play many more with Colorado.

“You have to appreciate that. It feels great,” Blackwood said of the Colorado fans chanting his name during the win. “So hopefully I can continue to play well in front of them.”

MacKinnon, who now leads the NHL with 50 points this season, is getting back into the swing of things after a slow stretch. He scored just one goal in 13 games in the second half of November, but in December he scored five goals, including one goal in three straight games. He passed Michel Goulet to take third place on the franchise list with 948 points.

Nashville defenseman Roman Josi missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.