Aarif Deen
Samuel Girard’s season didn’t start on time. He was in the lineup on opening night, but he didn’t get the same type of preparation as the rest of his teammates.
The Avalanche’s 27-year-old defenseman missed all of training camp recovering from an injury. He didn’t return until late in the preseason and dressed in one game. Then he played the first two games of the year before an injury kept him out for another month.
“His season is just getting going. That’s the truth,” head coach Jared Bednar said. “You miss the end of summer training, training camp, come back, play a couple of games, and then you’re out for another significant length of time. I think that now you’re hitting the part of the season where everyone’s up and running at full go, and you’re playing catch-up. So that takes a little bit of time.”
It’s safe to say that Girard is all but caught up at this point. He’s fit nicely on the third pair with Sam Malinski after Josh Manson was moved to the left side to play with Brent Burns following Girard’s injury in October.
In 21 games, Girard is up to eight points. Six of those have come in the last six games.
“He’s always done a nice job coming back from injuries, but now we’re starting to see his game really start to come around, and hence the production,” Bednar said.
Colorado’s third pair was a highlight in a game that didn’t have many highlights. It was Scott Wedgewood who shined in goal, and Bednar was adamant that he was the best player on the ice. I don’t think any of us can disagree with him.
But even aside from Girard’s goal, that pairing with Malinski is starting to click. We’ve already seen Burns and Manson break out, and now the two Sams are rounding out what looks like arguably the deepest defense core this team has had since winning the Stanley Cup.
“They were moving the puck efficiently. They were defending hard. They weren’t giving up a lot,” Bednar said. “They didn’t have any troubles versus a rush. Like, there are so many different categories that we evaluate those guys on. But that game tonight — they’ve played some really good games here recently, both of them and as a pair. That’s a good sign for the team.”
READ MORE: The Aftermath: Wedgewood Shines, Sends Avalanche Into Break on High Note
10 Observations
1. What makes Girard and Malinski work well together?
“They’re both elusive guys. They both can move the puck,” Bednar told me. “They play similar styles, so they kind of know what each other needs and where they need each other to be. So when they’re both having good nights, it looks like tonight.”
2. Girard didn’t speak postgame, which was strange. But I felt it would be a good opportunity to get Malinski’s take on his D partner. How is Malinski feeding off Girard?
“It’s been great, I played with him a bit last year, and I think we’ve taken another step this year,” Malinski said. “He’s great, he just moves so well on the ice. There are so many situations where it’s a tough play for him, but he’s able to skate out of it. He’s really good with his feet and for his size. He defends super well, too. It’s been a ton of fun playing with him.”
3. My focus postgame was on the comfort level of Girard and how he and Malinski communicate so well to have one guy stay back and cover while the other pinches. They’ve really grown in that regard.
But I don’t want to bury the lede. Wedgewood was a man on a mission. He was insane. What an unbelievable shutout performance. He made 32 saves and at least nine of them, by my count, were highlight-reel worthy.
“I don’t think I could say enough good things about him,” Malinski said. “The way he played tonight and the way he’s played this entire season has been really special to watch.”
Same, Sam.
4. Wedgewood is 16-1-4 on the season with a .924 save percentage and two shutouts. He’s also got a crazy 29-5-5 record since joining the Avalanche.
“I feel like my role is maybe elevated a little bit, playing more than just, you know, 18 to 22 games, right? I also played my way into my own confidence. You play well, you build confidence. You get back in the net, you build confidence.”
That quote above, about playing his way into his own confidence, was gold. What a great perspective.
5. I’m going to make an effort to no longer write about the hot start the Avalanche are having to the season. Simply because, we’re 36 games into this thing. It’s no longer a start. It’s just who they are.
The Avs are 27-2-7 at the Christmas break. Read that sentence again. Then pinch yourself to realize you’re not dreaming and read it a third time. This is an incredible run of hockey. It’s a privilege to cover this team, and watch them play this well.
“I’m really proud of the guys, because they’re just they’re finding a way to be in every game, even if they don’t have their best stuff,” Bednar said. “Like, I don’t think tonight we had our best stuff, but we had a good first, we had a good third, and we got a big goal in the second from G> Again, someone new stepping up every night and being able to get the job done. Guys are playing with the right intentions, and they’re getting rewarded for it.”
6. How about the run at home? They’re 15-0-2 at Ball Arena and have won 13 straight games. Both losses were in shootouts back in October.
I’ll continue to mention this until the streak inevitably ends — if it ends. So here it goes:
We are 17 home games into the season. That means 306 skaters have come to town and not a single one of them left with a game-winning goal. Shootout deciding goals do not count as game winners in the official stat book. Every other arena has had a skater on the home team and a road team get credited with a game-winning goal at some point.
But in Denver, all 15 guys with a GWG at Ball Arena play for the Avs.
That. Is. Wild.
7. The top six got another new look in the third period. With Gabe Landeskog already on the top line, Bednar swapped Martin Necas with Valeri Nichushkin in an attempt to spark the offense. That means Nathan MacKinnon was now playing with the two wingers who have mostly played with Brock Nelson.
8. Speaking of Necas, he had the entire arena fooled on his breakaway in the first period. Most of the fans jumped up to celebrate a goal before realizing that it had hit the crossbar.
To be honest, even as the play continued, I was scrambling to find a replay because I was convinced it hit the inside bar. I was wrong.
It was a great play at center ice by Landeskog to send Necas in.
9. Landeskog was up over 20 minutes for the third straight game and had a team-leading five shots on goal.
10. I don’t celebrate Christmas, but I’m sure a lot of my readers do. Whether you do or not, I appreciate every one of you and thank you for allowing me to be your voice in the pressbox.
As the song goes, this is truly the most wonderful time of the year.
Merry Christmas and happy holidays.