Deen’s Daily: Wedgewood Perfect in Debut; 4 Nations Face-Off Rosters Will Be Announced Today; Laine Scores

Scott Wedgewood said on Saturday that he had envisioned playing for the Avalanche someday. He wanted a chance to play for a team that he believes is truly never out of it. The team delivered on that. But Wedgewood was a big reason why.

Colorado’s new backup was called upon in relief and was a perfect 22-for-22 in goal after entering the game with just over eight minutes remaining in the first period. The Avs trailed 4-0 at the time but scored five unanswered goals in regulation to complete the comeback.

Wedgewood is probably going to get a bit of a run here to stop the bleeding. I still stand by my thought that the Avalanche roster after the trade deadline will include two goalies not named Alexandar Georgiev or Justus Annunen. We already know Wedgewood will be one of the two.

But as for Georgiev, I’m not entirely sure where the team goes from here. The potential Wedgewood run will calm things a little bit in terms of pressure. But at some point, Georgiev needs to have another decent stretch of games to build a bit of trade value. Even if he’s probably never going to be the main asset in said trade.

Around the NHL

The 4 Nations Face-off rosters will be announced today. Sweden and Finland will reveal their teams at noon MT. Team Canada and Team USA rosters at 4:30 pm. The tournament will be played from Feb. 12-20 in Montreal and Boston and will replace the All-Star Game.

Chicago Hockey Now: Jim Lynch looks at the possibility of Blackhawks players being selected for the tournament.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Dave Molinari makes a case for why Penguins forward Bryan Rust should be named to Team USA.

San Jose Hockey Now: The Sharks no longer look like the team that couldn’t win a game for several weeks to start the season. Are they starting to really believe?

Detroit Hockey Now: The bad news in Detroit: They keep losing. The good news in Detroit: They’re losing in overtime. The Red Wings fell to Boston in OT on Tuesday. That’s their second OT loss in a row, third in the last 10 games, and fourth this season.

Montreal Hockey Now: I wrote yesterday about Patrik Laine’s imminent return. I thought it was coming soon but not this soon. First game, first goal. Welcome, officially, to Montreal, Laine.