The Colorado Avalanche are winless in their last four games. They’ve managed to eke out points along the way thanks to overtime losses, but that’s a small consolation. The reality seems to lie in the suddenly concerning play of netminder Scott Wedgewood.
Wedgewood was brilliant to start the season. He surrendered one goal in five of his first six games. The only less-than-stellar start was on October 11 against the Dallas Stars. The Avalanche lost the game, but squeezed a point out of it.
Then, the wheels seemingly started coming off. Wedgewood gave up for against the Utah Mammoth in another OT loss. But that was only the beginning. His next start was the horrific game against the Hartford Whalers (Carolina Hurricanes), in which he gave up four goals on 11 shots and got the hook.
His last outing was a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins that, well, we can’t pin solely on Wedgewood. The Avalanche offense failed to give Wedgewood any run support, leaving him on the hook for the loss.
While Wedgewood would have had to practically steal the game for the Colorado Avalanche, the question begs: Are the Colorado Avalanche relying too much on Wedgewood?
The short answer appears to be yes. Jared Bednar has rolled with the hot hand. That hot hand has been Wedgewood. But there’s one thing we must take into account. The 33-year-old has never had a starter’s workload. He hasn’t been the sort of workhorse that can start 50 games or more.
That situation means that the Avalanche will need to find more balance in order to manage Wedgewood’s workload until MacKenzie Blackwood is ready to return. Otherwise, the answer will be turning to Trent Miner more than Avalanche fans may want to.
Colorado Avalanche have peace of mind with Trent Miner
I must admit I was among the Colorado Avalanche fans concerned with this precise situation happening. The thought of the club relying on Trent Miner to spell Scott Wedgewood wasn’t exactly something I felt comfortable about.
But the eye test shows that Miner deserves a ton of credit. He came into what could have been a blow up against the Hurricanes. Instead of crumbling under the pressure, Miner backstopped the Avs to the overtime loss.
Miner’s gutsy outing bought the Avalanche enough time to get back into the game. His performance is the sort of outing that can make or break a team’s season.
Allow me a quick sidebar for a moment. Had Miner come in and given up another three of four goals, the Hurricanes could have run away with a 7-1 or 8-2 victory. Such a loss would have looked awful and could have shattered Miner’s confidence.
Miner stabilized the net and gave the Avalanche a chance to win. That’s why the Avalanche remain in second place in the Central Division, despite the winless streak.
On Sunday, Miner gave up four against the New Jersey Devils, including the game-winner in overtime. As I discussed in an earlier piece, that game boiled down to a crucial defensive mistake. Otherwise, the Avalanche had a chance to win the game.
Miner now has a 2.12 GAA and a .909 SV% in his two appearances this season. Yes, it’s just two games. But things could be much worse, much worse.
Everyone wants Blackwood back in the crease soon. But for now, it seems that Jared Bednar won’t have to roll with Scott Wedgewood until the wheels come off. Trent Miner looks poised to step into a meaningful role, one that could lead to a small dilemma down the road.