Deen’s Daily: Kelly Recounts Wedgewood’s Injury; Wedgewood Week-to-Week?; Habs Face Avalanche After Loss

The Avalanche held a full practice despite playing a physical game against Buffalo the previous night. Was there an update on Scott Wedgewood? Also, Parker Kelly recounts the collision that sent Zach Benson into Wedgewood. Montreal’s winning streak ended against a struggling team in the first of a back-to-back before they take on the Avs later tonight. 

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — January 4

Colorado Hockey Now

Friday’s practice was full of surprises. Even though the Avs aren’t going to have a morning skate today, I didn’t expect them to have a full-team practice given how physically taxing the game vs Buffalo was. But everyone was out there except for Josh Manson and Scott Wedgewood.

Jared Bednar said they have a plan for Manson to get him through to the 4 Nations Faceoff break next month. Manson isn’t at 100% right now and took quite a few big hits against the Sabres. He’ll be skipping several practices and morning skates until the long break. And as for Wedgewood, he appeared at practice — off the ice, and watched his team from the glass.

The surprise was that he wasn’t wearing a boot or a brace. Although the update on his status isn’t yet clear, this in itself is a good sign. Trent Miner was called up to backup for Mackenzie Blackwood against the Montreal Canadiens at Ball Arena.

Once the players came off the ice, I caught up with Parker Kelly in an exclusive 1-on-1 interview. Kelly, as you know, is the player who bumped Zach Benson into Wedgewood to cause the injury. You’d be surprised to learn what he felt about the play. He was open and honest and had a lot to say.

You can read all about it here, behind the CHN+ paywall. These are the types of articles you get with a CHN+ membership. For $4.49/month, you can become a member. Or for a better rate, you can use promo code Deen10 for $10 off an annual subscription. That means it’s just $29.99 for a full year of access. You can’t beat that!

Colleen Flynn also wrote about how the Avalanche channeled their anger into high-stakes energy to complete the comeback against the Sabres.

Around the NHL

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins clawed their way back into a game against Florida to force a shootout. There were quite a few encouraging signs in their effort.

Florida Hockey Now: Check out the Panthers’ angle of the shootout battle, on a night where they celebrated the 90s.

Boston Hockey Now: Mark Kastelic was somewhat of a forgotten piece in the deal that sent Linus Ullmark to the Ottawa Senators. But he’s staying in Boston for quite a few years.

San Jose Hockey Now: Check out this fascinating piece on Alexandar Georgiev, who is working with Sharks goalie coach Thomas Speer to try and fix his game. This one is also behind the paywall, but a CHN+ subscription gives you access to all National Hockey Now paywall content, including this story.

NYI Hockey Now: This season hasn’t gone as planned for Patrick Roy’s club. How should Lou Lamoriello handle the trade deadline?

New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils need depth scoring and GM Tom Fitzgerald was recently in San Jose scouting Sharks games. The two teams have a recent history of trades, which includes the deal that initially brought Blackwood to San Jose as well as the blockbuster deal that sent Timo Meier to New Jersey. What could Fitzgerald be looking for?

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton was fined by the NHL for diving.

Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs got two goals past Blackhawks goalie Victor Soderblom, who shined in a big win for Chicago after the embarrassing performance at the Winter Classic.