Good & Bad
The Aftermath: Avalanche Avoid Serious Injury in Latest Victory At Ball Arena
Adversity has found its way into Avalanche games this season, but it’s never been enough to break the NHL’s No. 1 team.
In the latest round of adversity, Scott Wedgewood, who has been Colorado’s No. 1 goalie for most of the season, exited the ice and went down the tunnel with 7:32 left in the second period of a 1-1 game. The team later announced that it was an upper-body injury.
“He tightened up a little bit. His back. Thought we’d take him out. Better safe than sorry,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “Nothing too serious at this point.”
Mackenzie Blackwood entered in his place and held the fort down for Colorado, albeit without facing many shots.
The Avs scored two goals before the intermission and used a strong middle frame to defeat the Vancouver Canucks 3-1 at Ball Arena.
Nathan MacKinnon had two goals, Brock Nelson added one, and Gabe Landeskog finished with two primary assists. Blackwood made 10 saves in relief to earn the win. Wedgewood had also made 10 saves on 11 shots before leaving.
The Canucks got the scoring started early. Just 2:55 in, Linus Karlsson beat Wedgewood on the backhand off a set up from Arshdeep Bains. The Avs played sloppy for the first parts of the first period and needed Wedgewood to bail them out from going down by multiple goals.
On one play, Brent Burns pinched to poke the puck away and was unsuccessful. Vancouver’s Kiefer Sherwood came in on a breakaway and was stopped with a glove save.
The final few minutes of the period were all in Colorado’s favor. And with 37 seconds remaining, MacKinnon put in a rebound off a shot from Sam Malinski to tie it up at 1-1.
Just 1:24 after Wedgewood was replaced, Nelson found the back of the net after getting set up from Landeskog. The No. 2 centerman has 12 points in his last 10 game. And, again, MacKinnon added a late goal, this time with 34 seconds remaining. MacKinnon was in the slot and yet another pass from Landeskog set up his league-leading 22nd of the season.
Landeskog also has a point-per-game in his last 10 games, scoring four goals and adding six assists. Landeskog has five points in his previous two games.
“To be completely honest, I think it was just a matter of time,” Landeskog said. “That was at least the way I felt, and I’m sure Brock felt the same way.”
Positive: Wedgewood Kept It Close
It’s been a long time since the Avalanche have trailed by multiple goals at any point in any game. I don’t believe Vancouver’s hypothetical two-goal lead would’ve been the end of the world, especially given how Colorado took over the game.
But it was still nice to see Wedgewood hold the fort down and keep things from getting out of reach. The Avs had an uncharacteristic first half of the first period, with several giveaways that led to Vancouver rushing up the ice the other way.
Aside from Karlsson’s tally, nothing else got past Wedgewood, and the Avs did not trail the rest of the way.
Negative: Wedgewood Hurt
Losing Wedgewood would be a significant hit to the lineup, especially with how condensed the upcoming schedule. Thankfully, it doesn’t sound too serious.
The Avs play on the road Thursday and have a back-to-back over the weekend. They’ll need both guys to get through that without overtaxing any of their goalies.
Bednar confirmed that Wedgewood will travel with the team when they fly to Philadelphia on Wednesday. It’s not yet determined if they’ll need a third goalie.
Not only would a lengthy injury ruin Bednar’s ability to rotate two goalies, but it could also hinder his chances to make Team Canada and potentially put a damper on what’s been an incredible season to date.
Pretty low event game. But 2 more pts & keeping a cushion over Dallas is the big takeaway. I’m feeling much better about the long term outlook on things now that Brock seems to have figured out how to score again. And if this continues I’m fully prepared to admit I was wrong in prematurely declaring Landeskog a shell of what he was, or washed. He’s been excellent the last 3 or 4 games. And has looked like the old Landy. There was a sequence last night where he shielded the puck from Tyler Myers. And it was maybe the… Read more »
Management must be thinking about how to retool the bottom 6 D. I’d like to see Girard get dealt, feel like malinski is filling his shoes as the puck moving defenseman on the 2nd pair.
I don’t think they need to re – tool it necessarily. I’m definitely not opposed to trading Girard. But if they do trade him they best not lose Malinski in free agency. And they’ll need another defenseman in the immediate who can play 15 – 20 mins a night & step into the top 4 if necessary.
I like Malinski quite a bit. With that said I don’t see him as a top 4 on a good team.
I agree. Other than a more legitimate 3C to push Drury down to 4C, this roster is pretty dang set
Once asked Mark Rycroft off air how long it realistically takes for a player to get comfortable in a new system after being traded and he said around 40 games. Nelson is at 45 regular season games played with the Avs. The difference between him and guys like Ryjo & Mitts is that if those guys weren’t scoring they weren’t contributing anything. Nelson was doing the little things right and is now starting to finish on more chances and playing with more confidence in the O zone now too. Also really liked the response the team had to Sherwood laying… Read more »
Nice post, but I wish you could pick a more credible source than Rycroft. Not saying he is wrong, but you never know what sort of stuff he is just going to make up.
Call me a heretic, but my eyes say that Nelson has a more complete game than Kadri. His puck skills are about equal and he is a much better 2 way player. And, he has yet to be levied a critical multiple game suspension
Kadri has a physical edge that Nelson doesn’t have. He’s been a beast in the playoffs and that physical edge is really needed when striving for the Cup.
I won’t call you a heretic, or anything else derogatory. But, I respectfully disagree.
Nelson is a good defensive center. But Kadri was a level (or two) above. That annoying guy that, no matter what you do, remains glued to your hip. Add some legitimate offensive skill (more dynamic, I think, than Nelson) and he was, I believe, the perfect 2C for that team.
I’m not papering over the suspensions. Those really did happen, and subtracting a player that important is consequential.
All of that is just my opinion. Doesn’t make me right.
I actually agree with this. I’d take Kadri for a postseason run over Nelson though, for the reason(s) others have already mentioned. Nelson is a better 200 ft player though.