The Colorado Avalanche might have a problem on their hands following Saturday night’s Game 3 against the Minnesota Wild. The 5-1 loss, which was really 4-1 without counting the empty-netter, saw netminder Scott Wedgewood get the hook early in the second period.
Wedgewood had given up three goals and 12 shots. But pulling Wedgewood wasn’t really an indictment of a poor performance. It was intended to spark a turnaround in the team. That turnaround, unfortunately for Colorado, never came.
The situation now begs the question: Should MacKenzie Blackwood get the start in Game 4 on Monday night?
The short answer would be yes. The Avalanche should give Wedgewood a breather and let Blackwood take over. After all, the Wild did the game following Game 1. After Jesper Wallstedt surrendered eight goals, the Wild went with Filip Gustavsson for Game 2.
But that didn’t work out too well for Minnesota. The Wild went back to Wallstedt for Game 3 and got a different outcome.
That’s why the broader answer should be Wedgewood getting the start in Game 4. The Avalanche need to show Wedgewood that the team believes in him. Jared Bedar let Wedgwood hit the ice for Game 2 after surrendering six goals in Game 1. Wedgewood was fantastic in the 5-2 win last Tuesday night.
So, why not do the same? Even with the stakes being so high at this point, the club cannot afford to let Wedgewood’s confidence go down the drain.
Avalanche should turn to Blackwood under these circumstances
There are two circumstances in which the Avalanche should turn to Blackwood. First, an obvious situation would be if Wedgewood is battling something. If he is, it makes total sense for the Avalanche to let him sit for now.
However, it doesn’t seem like Wedgwood is hurt. If anything, fatigue may be catching up to him. And that brings us to the second point.
Wedgewood will likely have a very short leash on Monday night. A couple of quick goals in Game 4 could very well mean the end for Wedgewood. The club has Blackwood ready to go. In fact, his relief appearance actually gave the Avs a chance to get back into the game.
Yes, there was a bit of a fluky goal. But beyond that, Blackwood really settled things down for Colorado. It was the offense that just couldn’t get it going.
The Wild deserve credit for adjusting their game plan. That’s what championship-caliber teams do. But you have to think that the Avalanche will come out with the big lumber in Game 4. The series cannot go back to Colorado tied at two.
Game 4 will be on Monday night at the Xcel Energy Center. It will easily be the most important game in the entire series. The winner could pretty much snatch the momentum for the remainder of the series.
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