In sports, it is not uncommon to have friends throughout the league that you play in. Perhaps the most common connection is with Colorado Avalanche star center Nathan MacKinnon and Pittsburgh Penguins’ own Sidney Crosby. However, there is another connection that one of Colorado’s players let the media in on.
Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood mentioned Saturday that he actually skates alongside Minnesota Wild defenseman Quinn Hughes throughout the summer.
With the added point that Wedgewood saw a stat that Hughes may have the best puck possession time this postseason, the Avs’ goaltender credits Hughes’ skating ability and that he “skates with him in the summer almost every day.”
It doesn’t necessarily take that kind of thing to be good against any one player, though. I doubt that either player is going to tell the other about how they play their respective positions, but just seeing tendencies through game film is the biggest thing for any player, no matter the sport.
Hughes is second in points per game throughout a career among active defensemen. The player in first place is, to nobody’s surprise, Cale Makar. Wedgewood is going to have to be on his game to stop Hughes.
The same will be for Jesper Wallstedt of the Wild. These goalies have been lights-out for their team.
Overall, the Avalanche should have the upper-hand in this series. Both Wedgewood and Hughes have plenty at stake for their team. Wedgewood wants to continue to prove that he’s the Avalanche’s top option in net, not only for this year but next season, as well. Hughes wants to make the Wild sure that trading for him was the best thing for the team and earning a Stanley Cup is a great way to do that.
Hughes has never scored against the Colorado Avalanche, which is good news. Hopefully, the Avalanche can continue that trend for four games and knock off the Wild in the shortest amount of time possible to keep fresh for the rest of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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