The Colorado Avalanche are right where they want to be after five games of the 2025-26 campaign. With a 4-0-1 record, the club has raced out in front of the standings, earning 9 out a possible 10 points. The solid start has already been reflected in early power rankings and chatter from former coaches-turned-analysts.
The Avalanche are known for their high-octane offense led by Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar. Indeed, Colorado's best weapons have come out of the gates looking dangerous. The top line has already been especially lethal.
As true as that may be, the story so far has been best defined by backup netminder Scott Wedgewood. Mile High Sticking's Katie Bartlett called Wedgewood Colorado's 'locker room whisperer' in a preseason profile. That piece recounts Wedgewood's arrival last season and details how he rallies the team with veteran intangibles.
The role of a backup goaltender is to help stabilize play amid adversity. With starting goalie Mackenzie Blackwood on the shelf to start the year, this team was already facing major uncertainty. Luckily for Colorado, 'Wedgie' has been a wall. On Friday, however, returned from a very short stint with the Colorado Eagles for a practice. His return to the lineup hasn’t been announced yet, but it’s coming soon.
In five starts this season, Wedgewood has been excellent. He has allowed just one goal apiece in each of Colorado's four wins so far. His one outlier of course being the team's one loss, which came in a 5-4 overtime heartbreaker against the hated Dallas Stars.
That loss was rough because of the rivalry and recent agonizing history. But in all honesty, I wasn't as bothered by the loss as one might assume. That's because the Avalanche’s offense looked great in that matchup. In fact, it was the best offensive Avalanche-style hockey the club has played. It took a rare off-night for Wedgewood coupled with an All-Star performance from Dallas' goalie Jake Oettinger, and Colorado escaped with a point.
Most importantly, when my mind flashes back to the start of last season, the difference is night and day by comparison. The 1-4 start from 2024-25 was the complete opposite of where Colorado finds themselves today.
Goaltending is the bedrock of team confidence
Immediately after last night's 4-1 win over Columbus went final, I knew what I would write about. The complete reversal in record is stark and undeniable. But it actually goes deeper than fans might realize.
To illustrate the point, consider this incredible stat: Through five contests this year, Scott Wedgewood has surrendered a total of 8 goals against. In last season's opening night horror-show, Colorado saw the exact same number of pucks find the back of the net. That was with a combination of Alexandar Georgiev and Justus Annunen in net, and a final empty net score to cap off the 8-4 humiliation.
That's right, the Avalanche of last season gave up as many goals in one game as this current iteration has in 15 full periods! Colorado Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland deserves a ton of credit for the total overhaul at goalie in late-2024. The impact was immediate, but it could be that the true value is only beginning to show.
In my final preseason article, I mused that Wedgewood might be the best backup in the NHL. Right now, I'm feeling more than vindicated for that opinion. Just how good has Wedgewood been? Currently, his save percentage is a rock-solid 0.939%. Only one starting goalie ranks higher: Igor Shesterkin. If the only guy in front of you in such a crucial stat is a former Vezina Trophy winner, that says a lot.
Beyond the raw numbers, Wedgewood has helped the Avalanche from a mental standpoint, and that too is showing up in important trends.
The single rough outing from Wedgewood could have been a sign that he was not ready for this expanded role so soon. Monday's win in Buffalo put that worry right to bed. Rather than letting a disappointment snowball into a concern, Wedgewood came up big with a bounce-back win. It was all the more impressive considering the early pre-noon start time.
I always expect nervous energy and chaos in those games. The break in normal routine often results in high scores and surprising outcomes. Monday's game actually seemed likely to deliver that after a hectic start, but thankfully Wedgewood settled in and the team as a whole settled down. The Avalanche won comfortably 3-1.
The Avalanche should see games like that against the Buffalo Sabres. The Sabres, after all, have the longest current playoff drought in the NHL at 14 seasons. Yet again, if you recall last year, Colorado and Buffalo had some uncharacteristic barn-burners. Yes, the Avalanche got the better of the games, but they needed heroic comebacks in each win.
First, it was the aforementioned Wedgewood bailout debut which Colorado edged 5-4. The following tilt was an even crazier 6-5 affair that saw Wedgewood get run into on a goal that infuriated Avs' fans and the the normally even-keeled head coach, Jared Bednar alike.
I bring all of this recent history because even though the season has just gotten underway, it's already apparent that this team is different. They aren't perfect by any means. They still have issues to iron out on the power play. They aren't even healthy, as Blackwood's situation proves. Yet, with crucial depth in net, this Colorado Avalanche team looks prepared to pile up points and position themselves as an early Stanley Cup favorite.