Deen’s Daily: Wedgewood Injury Isn’t Severe; Avs Offense Runs Dry; Ovechkin Scores Again

Were the Montreal Canadiens able to end Colorado’s winning streak just like they did last year? What’s the latest on Scott Wedgewood? Alex Ovechkin has been on a scoring tear lately. How close is he to Wayne Gretzky’s record?

All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — January 5. 

Colorado Hockey Now

The Avalanche lost both games to the Montreal Canadiens last year, despite them being one of the worst teams in the league. They weren’t supposed to take them lightly this time around. Montreal entered the game having won six of its last eight. Martin St. Louis’ club recently got big road wins in Tampa Bay, Florida, and Vegas. And now they can add Denver to that list.

The final score was 2-1 in the shootout. And just like the game prior, there was a play involving a collision with a goalie that went against the Avalanche. Twice, actually.

Oh, the irony.

On a better note, head coach Jared Bednar confirmed that Scott Wedgewood does not have a high ankle sprain. It’s good news on his recovery. He’ll be in a boot until Monday before getting reevaluated. That’s when the team will formulate a plan for him to return to play.

Bednar again said Wedgewood is out week to week.

Around the NHL

Ovi: Washington’s star forward got one step closer to Wayne Gretzky’s goals record after scoring in the third period of a 7-4 victory over the New York Rangers. At 39 years old, Ovechkin has a whopping 19 goals in 23 games. If he can score 23 goals in the next 38 games, he’ll become the NHL’s leading goal-scorer and will accomplish the feat in fewer games than the 1,487 that The Great One played.

Montreal Hockey Now: Catch the Habs’ angle of the game. Which includes a snippet on one of their top players being benched.

San Jose Hockey Now: The Sharks rewarded goalie Yaroslav Askarov with a big win. The rookie netminder made 28 saves to defeat the New Jersey Devils. More notably, Nikolai Kovalenko opened the scoring, getting his first goal since being traded last month.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Red Wings gave the Avalanche some help, defeating the Winnipeg Jets 4-2. Suddenly, Todd McLellan’s Wings are on a four-game winning streak.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pens might have some good news coming in the form of a top defenseman returning to the lineup.