Avalanche news: Big win before break, Wedgewood stellar, Avs hit 60

The Colorado Avalanche head into the Christmas break with a huge win. The club downed the upstart Utah Mammoth 1-0 in a hard-fought matchup. The Avs took over the game for the most part. Except for a few stretches in which the Mammoth controlled the play somewhat, the game was mostly in favor of the Avs. Still, the Mammoth outshot the Avs 32-26, but that still wasn’t enough to at least tie the game.

Mammoth netminder Vitek Vanacek deserves credit as he kept his team in the game all night long. Still, the Mammoth were unable to break through the Avalanche’s strong defensive play. The outcome was a game filled with numerous highlights.

So, let’s take a closer look at today’s edition of the Avalanche news.

Big win before break

The win over Utah was not a typical Avalanche win. A win is still a win. But a more garden-variety win for Colorado involves scoring their opponents into submission. In the game, the Mammoth hung tough all night long.

The Avs had a couple of close calls in the game. The closest one came on an unusual save by Scott Wedgewood late in the second period.

The difference on the night was a beauty of a goal by Samuel Girard. Here’s a look:

The sequence started with an awful Utah turnover in the neutral zone. The puck came back the other way, with Girard fighting at the Utah blue line. It’s funny because it was Girard, a defenseman, battling with Clayton Keller, a forward, on the play. In the end, the forward was unable to stop the defenseman from scoring. While such plays typically happen the other way around, it was Girard who made the difference on the night.

Girard’s goal was crucial beyond the scoreboard. It was his second of the season, marking two in his last four games. Before that, he had not scored all season. So, the goal was certainly a huge one both for the club and personally.

Wedgewood stellar

Scott Wedgewood was phenomenal on Tuesday night. He recorded his second clean sheet of the season, stopping all 32 shots he faced.

But his biggest save was this one in the second period, as shown on the Avalanche’s official X account:

The shot seemed to have gone past the goal line while inside Wedgewood’s glove. However, no goal was called. It’s worth pointing out that the puck must conclusively cross the goal line in order for the shot to be called as a goal.

That wasn’t the case, as the puck was not visible. So, Wedgewood saved the day and gave the Avalanche two crucial points on the night.

As a sidebar, you have to think that this performance may bring Wedgewood’s name back into the Olympic conversation. As mentioned in past articles, MacKenzie Blackwood is one of the four finalists for Team Canada’s goaltending spots. But given Wedgewood’s performance on Tuesday night, he might have brought his name back into the mix.

Avalanche hit 60 points

The Avalanche’s Tuesday night win was their 27th of the season. The win, plus seven loser points, brings the Avs to 61 points on the season. The total is remarkable and inches the Avalanche closer to the all-time regular-season point record. The club is now on pace for 138.9 points this season.

That total would blow past the 2022-23 Boston Bruins’ 135 points. The Bruins went 65-12-5 that season. Their 36th game was a 4-3 overtime loss to the Buffalo Sabres. That game brought the Bruins’ mark to 28-4-4 for 60 points. As such, the Avs are actually ahead of that pace by just one mark.

It’s worth pointing out that the Bruins railed off a six, seven, eight, and ten-game winning streak in the second half of that season. So, the Avs’ current six-game streak seems to be right on the mark.