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05/10/26 12:35:00
Printable Page
05/10 00:33 CDT Avs make their first goalie change by pulling Wedgewood for
Blackwood during Game 3 in loss to Wild
Avs make their first goalie change by pulling Wedgewood for Blackwood during
Game 3 in loss to Wild
By DAVE CAMPBELL
AP Sports Writer
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) --- The Colorado Avalanche made a change in net for the
first time this postseason, pulling Scott Wedgewood early in the second period
of Game 3 of their second-round NHL playoff series on Saturday night after he
allowed three goals to the Minnesota Wild.
The Wild went on to win 5-1 and hand the Avalanche their first loss of this
postseason.
"I thought Wedgie was playing hard. I think maybe he looked a little like too
aggressive on a couple of those," coach Jared Bednar said. "It just felt like
they had all the momentum and the steam early in that game, and we needed to do
something to kind of get our guys fired up and going, and I was hoping that
would be part of it.
Wedgewood made nine saves before yielding to Mackenzie Blackwood, whose last
game action was on April 14. With Wedgewood getting 43 starts and Blackwood
making 36 starts, the Avalanche goalies shared the William M. Jennings Trophy
given to the team with the best goals against average during the regular season.
Wedgewood, a career backup who took advantage of an early-season injury absence
for Blackwood and wound up leading the league with a .921 save percentage and a
2.02 goals against average, entered Game 3 with a 6-0 record and a 2.12 goals
against average with a .923 save percentage in the playoffs.
But some defensive breakdowns and undisciplined play in front of him set
Wedgewood up for a struggle.
Kirill Kaprizov scored on a four-on-four situation after Colorado's Parker
Kelly and Minnesota's Ryan Hartman took roughing penalties for their scuffle.
Then a hooking penalty on defenseman Devon Toews gave the Wild more than a
minute of four-on-three play that Quinn Hughes capped with his slick toe-drag
goal from the top of the slot, when he circled around the left wing before
sliding into the wide-open middle.
In the second period with the Wild on another power play after Kelly was called
for holding Hughes, Hartman batted in an airborne shot to make it 3-0 and
prompt Bednar to make the switch.
Blackwood, who played the whole first-round series for the Avalanche when they
lost to the Dallas Stars in seven games last year, finished with 12 saves.
So now what? Back to Wedgewood for Game 4 in Minnesota on Monday? Bednar wasn't
ready to declare.
"We'll have a decision to make, but there's a decision to make every night.
Some of them are easier than others," Bednar said.
After backstopping the Wild to a six-game win over the Stars in the first round
this year, rookie Jesper Wallstedt was the natural pick to start this series
against the Avalanche. After the Wild lost the wacky opener 9-6 on Sunday,
coach John Hynes went to Filip Gustavsson for Game 2.
Gustavsson, who has been the team's primary goalie for the last three seasons
and made 49 starts during the regular season to Wallstedt's 33, didn't look
sharp in the 5-2 loss on Tuesday. So the Wild went back to Wallstedt for Game 3
--- with a favorable outcome. Wallstedt made 35 saves.
"I had no doubt he was going to be back --- just kind of who he is," Hynes
said. "He's a competitor. He's got confidence. He's been very solid, and I just
thought he got right back to his game tonight. He's proven throughout the
playoffs that the moments don't get too big for him."
___
AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and
https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
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