Players have rotated through the lineup and the injured list for the Colorado Avalanche, so another player going down likely won’t faze them.
Not with the way the team has been playing.
The latest injury is to backup goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who hurt his right leg in Thursday night’s 6-5 come-from-behind win over Buffalo in overtime.
Wedgewood’s injury means Mackenzie Blackwood will get a bigger workload, starting Saturday when Colorado hosts the Montreal Canadiens in Denver.
Wedgewood sustained the injury after Sabres forward Zach Benson fell on him early in the third period. Wedgewood was helped off the ice and could miss up to six weeks, depending on the severity of the injury.
“They’re hoping it’s not a high ankle sprain, which would be an automatic six weeks or someplace in that range,” Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said Friday. “If it’s a little lower, or if it’s his foot, we’ll see what the image shows today, but it could be two to three weeks. We don’t know, but it’s not going to be a game or two. He’s going to miss some time.”
Wedgewood joins Valeri Nichushkin, Miles Wood and Ivan Ivan on the injured list, but the Avalanche have kept winning despite the adversity. Colorado has won six straight games, including rallying from down three goals to the victory over Buffalo.
The Avalanche have leaned on their stars, and they’ve come through. NHL scoring leader Nathan MacKinnon has 64 points (14 goals, 50 assists), and Mikko Rantanen is No. 3 in the league in scoring at 56 points (22 goals, 34 assists).
Cale Makar had two goals on Thursday night and leads all defensemen with 48 points (13 goals, 35 assists).
They will have an advantage Saturday because Montreal will play for the second consecutive night. The Canadiens lost 4-2 at Chicago on Friday night, which snapped their three-game winning streak.
Patrik Laine (flu-like symptoms) and David Savard (upper-body injury) were late scratches against the Blackhawks.
Montreal has won six of eight games heading into Saturday’s game. Cole Caufield leads the team with 20 goals, and captain Nick Suzuki sets the pace with 37 points (11 goals, 26 assists).
The Canadiens have not made the playoffs since reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in 2021, but the recent surge has given them reason to believe they can get back there this season.
“I think it’s an evolution a bit, it’s a progression,” coach Martin St. Louis said recently. “Our team recently really believes in what we’re doing. It’s not a magic trick. We’re doing simple things consistently. On the other side of that, there’s magic that happens if you have consistency.”
Saturday will wrap up a six-game road trip that has included wins over Florida, Tampa Bay and Vegas. Facing one of the hottest teams in the league in Colorado likely won’t bother Montreal.
“I feel like we’re at a point where we can compete and beat anybody in the league with the way we’re playing and the confidence that we have,” Kirby Dach said.
–Field Level Media
