After being down 4-0 early in the first, new goaltending addition Scott Wedgewood comes in as relief, and the team rallies for a 5-4 comeback win against the Buffalo Sabres.
The game looked bleak in the first 12 minutes for the Colorado Avalanche. In fact, things looked to be over for this team after a goal from Buffalo forward Buck Malenstyn made it past Alexandar Georgiev.
Scott Wedgewood’s Avalanche Debut
Enter Scott Wedgewood, the newest addition to the Avalanche’s roster. The organization opted for veteran experience to back up Georgiev in a trade with the Nashville Predators, and it looks to be a successful one for the Avalanche so far.
Related: New Avalanche Goalie Makes Debut In Tough Situation Against Sabres
The 32-year-old goaltender went 22 for 22 on saves, successfully “shutting out” the Buffalo Sabres during his first look in the crease. His biggest save came towards the end of the first period but stayed solid through the following 40 minutes.
The Avs and Scott Wedgewood shut the door on the Buffalo Sabres with an INSANE 5-4 comeback win.
Wedgewood’s first look with the Avalanche was nothing short of impressive. This was easily his best save of the night.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/tyVHY4oUWR
— Bailey Curtis (@baileyycurtis) December 4, 2024
Clad in gear that still bears the colors of his previous team, including a Predators-themed helmet with Avalanche stickers in various places, Wedgewood looked solid through the 48 minutes he played tonight. Though he looked a little frantic at first, his growing confidence in net led to him being named the 3rd star of the game. More heartwarmingly, he also received the big hat in the locker room after the game, a team-voted honor given to the player with the most noteworthy performance.
Wedgewood seemed thrilled with the result following the hat’s presentation from forward Valeri Nichushkin:
“Boys, I said it when I got traded here: you’re never f–king out of it. That was fun.”
A Monster of a Third Period
The Avalanche found some life in the second period with a go-ahead goal from forward Nathan MacKinnon, but the real star of the show was the four-goal third period. MacKinnon also scored the tying goal, but Artturi Lehkonen and his net-front presence won the game for this Avalanche team.
Joel Kiviranta and Logan O’Connor also had goals that Buffalo failed to answer during the third, despite Ukka-Pekko Luukkonen’s stellar performance.
Head Coach Jared Bednar credited the leadership group during his postgame availability when talking about eventually finding their game:
“We went in a said a couple of things [and gave] more details we needed to get to and what we needed to see from every guy if we were going to get back in that game…but for the most part, they took it on themselves. They knew we needed to get more competitive than we were in the first period and start playing our game. We were just sitting back and hoping they’d give the puck back to us and they never did, they put it in the back of our net… Not the start we wanted, but it’s nice to see our team dig in and come back to grab the two points.”
What’s Next?
Colorado’s next stop on their road trip takes them to Raleigh, North Carolina, where they’ll face off against the Carolina Hurricanes in their second and final meeting of the season.
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