The Colorado Avalanche have been up and down all season. The burgundy and blue have frustrated Avs nation for most of this season en route to a 15-13 record and looking at the playoffs from the outside as it stood, at least prior to the Devils game.
If the performance against New Jersey is any inclination of the Avalanche performance the rest of this season, then Avs nation will be thrilled moving forward.
The Avalanche dominated the Devils Sunday night in New Jersey, shutting them out 4-0. They did it with a lot of secondary players, so to speak.
When fans think of the Avalanche, they think of the stars like Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. The Avs have been relying on those stars quite a bit this season, albeit through injuries that have hit the team.
A complete team needs scoring from all four lines and needs to play quality team defense to support its goaltending. Colorado hasn’t done that all together much this season, as the roughly .500 record shows.
It appears the acquisition of Scott Wedgewood has solidified the minds of the team, however. A trade that was likely glossed over by most of the NHL fandom seemed to strike a chord with the team. It’s calmed them down and made them play a complete game.
The journeyman netminder has been around the league for some time now and brings a calmness about him that permeates the rest of the team. His initial performance in an Avs uniform—with a trademark Predators goalie mask—settled the team down and helped them come back from a 4-0 deficit to win against Buffalo as he stopped all 22 shots he faced. He gave up four on 34 shots against Carolina, but that’s a tough building to play in and the Avs fell that night.
He saved 25 shots against New Jersey earning the shutout and the team was calm in their own zone as they played their best defensive game of the season. It’s no coincidence. Wedgie’s impact has been clear and immediate on the team.
It’s very likely he’s helping incumbent Alexandar Georgiev as well. The Bulgarian born netminder had a challenging game against Buffalo when he was yanked for Wedgewood but bounced back well against Detroit. It was likely Georgie’s best game of the season against Detroit, saving 29 of 30 shots and backstopping a gutsy victory for the Avalanche.
The Avalanche played a complete game against New Jersey, seeing points from Logan O’Connor, who had a beautifully deflected goal beat Jake Allen, as well as a goal from recently returned Ross Colton. Parker Kelly scored an empty netter. Sam Malinski, gaining the trust of coach Bednar, had two blocks and two shots on goal.
Another player who aided by adding two assists was Calvin de Haan, his fourth and fifth this season. If the Avalanche can continue to get contributions from bottom-six or lower pair players, then they can become that complete team that Avs nation is clamoring for.
They’re now almost 30 games into this season. The time of saying that they’ll put it all together needs to be here. With the acquisition of Wedgewood and the recent team meeting, it appears the Avalanche players have reset themselves, and realize the time is now to make a move up the standings.