The Colorado Avalanche pulled out a 2-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers in the shootout on Monday night in a game that could have been a preview of this year’s Western Conference Final.
The Oilers came in with designs of locking up the Pacific Division, while the Avalanche were looking to tune up for the postseason.
The matchup was a good one. The clubs traded chances at both ends of the ice, with the game ending in a 1-1 tie after overtime.
It’s worth pointing out that the Oilers got lucky. The Avs hit the post four times during a crucial 4-on-3 power play in overtime.
In the end, the Avalanche won in the shootout. And it came down to Scott Wedgewood having another brilliant outing. It was the sort of outing that could have cemented his candidacy for the Vezina this season.
Monday night’s performance dropped Wedgewood’s GAA to 2-07 and ticked up his save percentage to .920. Those numbers are head and shoulders above the next contenders. That’s why there shouldn’t be much debate over Wedgewood’s candidacy. He clearly should earn the nomination.
The question is: Should Wedgewood win the Vezina this season?
The answer to that question depends on how voters view the award.
Wedgewood could bank on down years from other top-flight goalies
Wedgewood could land serious consideration for the Vezina amid other top goalies’ relatively down years. For instance, New York Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin has had a subpar year as part of an overall down year in New York.
Sergei Bobrovsky of the Florida Panthers and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Tampa Bay Lightning have been good but not outstanding.
Ilya Sorokin of the New York Islanders was a frontrunner throughout most of the season. However, the Islanders' collapse and missing the playoffs down the stretch will likely kill his chances for the Vezina.
Other goalies like the Boston Bruins Jeremy Swayman and the Dallas Stars Jake Oettinger should also get consideration.
But is this really the year that a goalie like Wedgewood can win the Vezina? We’ve seen stranger picks for the award.
In the salary cap era, we’ve seen goalies like Braden Holtby, Mikka Kiprusoff, and Linus Ullmark seemingly come out of nowhere to win the award.
So, why can’t Wedgewood get considering like Holtby did back in 2016? It’s an interesting proposition to consider. By all accounts, Wedgewood should be the favorite for the NHL’s best goalie this season.
It would be a remarkable feat for a once journeyman goalie who’s really come into his own over the last two seasons.
Here’s hoping that Vezina voters see just how much Wedgewood has meant to the Colorado Avalanche this season.
Add us as a preferred source on Google