Avalanche Must Resist Panic And Stick With Scott Wedgewood
Colorado’s defensive collapse sparked a mid-game goalie swap, but turning to Mackenzie Blackwood ignores the numbers. Scott Wedgewood’s stellar road record makes him the safest bet for Game 4.
Goaltending controversies in the Stanley Cup Playoffs are usually born from panic. This one feels more complicated — because the safest answer for the Avalanche may still be the goalie who just got pulled. Colorado didn’t merely lose Game 3 on Saturday night.
It lost control of the pace, the structure and the emotional temperature of the game, allowing Minnesota to dictate nearly every meaningful stretch of a 5-1 dismantling at Xcel Energy Center. Yet despite the noise surrounding the crease afterward, the Avalanche’s problems ran far deeper than Scott Wedgewood. Scott Wedgewood following Game 1.
“We needed to do something to get our guys fired up and going,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of his decision to pull goaltender Scott Wedgewood and replace him with Mackenzie Blackwood during a 5-1 loss at Minnesota late Saturday night. “I was hoping that would be part of it. ” The move changed the goaltender.
It did not change the game. Minnesota Owned The Margins Kirill Kaprizov spent the night orbiting Colorado’s crease, disrupting sightlines, extending possessions and creating constant discomfort around the net front. Minnesota won races to loose pucks, controlled the walls and repeatedly forced the Avalanche into reactive hockey instead of attacking with pace.
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