{"id":595180,"date":"2026-04-20T08:08:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T08:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/595180\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T08:08:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T08:08:10","slug":"scott-wedgewood-helped-avalanche-beat-dirty-kings-at-their-own-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/595180\/","title":{"rendered":"Scott Wedgewood helped Avalanche beat dirty Kings at their own game"},"content":{"rendered":"

On an afternoon Brandt Clarke, Adrian Kempe and Drew Doughty took turns trying to bully the Avalanche, Colorado reached around and gave the Kings a Wedgie.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cA little anxious to get going, but the 1 p. m. game, you don\u2019t really have much (time) to think about it,\u201d Avs goaltender Scott Wedgewood said after stopping 24 of 25 Los Angeles shots in a 2-1 Stanley Cup Playoffs victory.<\/a> \u201cSo just get up, prep, and go. And once we got a few shots on and settled down, the crowd was into it. First TV timeout, I was talking to (fellow goalie Mackenzie Blackwood), just kind of felt like my heart rate was a little high. But once we got going, it just felt like normal again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The nicest thing you could say about Wedgewood \u2014 \u201cWedgie\u201d to the Ball Arena faithful who chanted his name repeatedly Sunday \u2014 was that his first-ever career NHL postseason start, at age 33, looked pretty much like one of his normal, composed regular-season outings in burgundy and blue.<\/a><\/p>\n

For the most part, he kept the action in front of him. If not for a funny bounce in the third period, he would\u2019ve kept every puck in front of him, too. Nineteen even-strength saves, five power-play saves, no muss, no fuss.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have so much trust in him and he\u2019s super-composed,\u201d Avs forward Logan O\u2019Connor said Colorado\u2019s now-official 1A net-minder. \u201cSuper-positive all the time, whatever the circumstances are. And we know if we have breakdowns, which are going to happen, he\u2019s got our back throughout that. And just seeing his game grow, (as a) late bloomer, having the best season he\u2019s had in his career right now at the perfect time for our team has been special to watch.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wedgewood, sitting to O\u2019Connor\u2019s left on the Avs\u2019 makeshift stage, lit up at that one.<\/p>\n

\u201cThanks, dude,\u201d the goalie said.<\/p>\n

\"GoaltenderGoaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) of the Colorado Avalanche looks on during the second period of game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n

It couldn\u2019t have happened to a nicer bunch of bums. And chippy bums, at that. The Kings went into this series with a lot of bark and almost no offensive bite. Los Angeles let its elbows do most of the talking Sunday, and the message was clear: We have no chance in heck to beat you clean, so you wanna throw down some gloves and dance?<\/p>\n

Clarke shoved O\u2019Connor at least once. With eight minutes left in the contest, Kempe bonked Cale Makar in the back of the head, then went to the box for mixing it up with captain Gabe Landeskog, who came to Makar\u2019s defense, shortly thereafter. At least it served the top-seeded Avs a taste of what\u2019s to come \u2014 eight straight weeks of knuckle sandwiches.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbsolutely, the intensity and physicality (are) going to ramp up as the rounds go on here,\u201d O\u2019Connor, the Mayor, a scrapper and poacher built for playoff hockey, noted after scoring his first goal since last April 26. \u201cWe know teams are going to want to try and push us out of games. We feel as though we can push back just as hard. I think that\u2019s one great thing about our group, is the versatility within our locker room.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou want to go (the style of a) 1-0 game, we like to think we can beat you at that. Track meet, if it happens, we\u2019ve got that. Physicality, we have guys that are willing to step up. You know, as that happens, just try not to get frustrated with it. Teams are going to try and get under our skin, get under Cale (Makar\u2019s) skin, whatever it may be, and I think it\u2019s just on us to continue to respond with playing the right way, being disciplined, and continue to just stick to our game plan without getting frustrated.\u201d<\/p>\n

With that, Wedgewood leaned into the microphone and grinned.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot much more I can add,\u201d the goalie deadpanned.<\/p>\n

He added more than enough between the pipes. Wedgewood had to be on his tootsies early \u2014 the first 11 minutes were a snooze-fest, by and large. At the 9:06 mark of the opening stanza, the two teams had combined for as many giveaways (seven) as shots.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think just the atmosphere of it, you know, regular season-wise, you can get into some lulls throughout the game,\u201d Wedgewood noted later.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s always like you\u2019re engaged, you\u2019re going, and then once the TV timeouts or whistles go, I kind of flush it. Almost rely on (flushing) it, kind of like a golf shot. Each play, you\u2019ve got something coming at you to dial in \u2026 And (that) just seems to kind of keep my brain from just being on all the time and getting exhausted and then also being completely out of it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sunday proved more labor than love. The Kings have only two paths for pulling off an upset in this series: Either boring the Avs to death while hoping goalie Anton Forsberg can somehow steal a win; or goading multiple Colorado stars into assault and battery charges, and suspensions, along the way.<\/p>\n

Los Angeles spent most of Sunday slowing the tempo and trying to drag a faster, better team into the mud with them. With 4:31 left in the second period, Nathan MacKinnon wristed a low line drive from the right faceoff circle that Forsberg parried but couldn\u2019t corral. Enter Artturi Lehkonen, who swooped into the crease to clean up with Doughty still riding his back, remaining upright and curling the rebound around Forsberg\u2019s right leg to finally light the tamp. When No. 62 cocked his head back to scream in chorus with the crowd, it felt like sweet relief as much anything else.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re a tight-checking team, physical team, good team,\u201d Avs scrapper Jack Drury said. \u201cBut we are, too.\u201d<\/p>\n

And until the final three minutes, Wedgewood met the moment as a No. 1 Cup goalie. With five minutes left in a scoreless first period, No. 41 turned away an Artemi Panarin wrister. With 3:11 left in a scoreless first period, The Avs veteran stoned a Trevor Moore wrister, then hung in while Doughty missed an open net.<\/p>\n

\u201cWED-GIE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWED-GIE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWED-GIE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"GoaltenderGoaltender Scott Wedgewood (41) of the Colorado Avalanche keeps an eye on the puck during the second period of game one of the first round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday, April 19, 2026, at Ball Arena in Denver. (Photo by Timothy Hurst\/The Denver Post)<\/p>\n

Forty seconds into the second stanza, Wedgewood produced another nice save on a wrister by hard-charging Alex Laferriere. He held firm on the Kings\u2019 first power play following the Avs\u2019 unsuccessful replay challenge midway through the stanza.<\/p>\n

\u201cWED-GIE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWED-GIE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWED-GIE!\u201d<\/p>\n

As the Avs led 2-0 with 11:13 left in the third, the Colorado goalie found himself literally wedged into his left post while the Kings stabbed at his ankles. Nothing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWED-GIE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWED-GIE!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWED-GIE!\u201d<\/p>\n

According to NaturalStatTrick.com, the Kings should have \u201cexpected\u201d 2.5 goals for their chances by the end of the second period.<\/a> And 2.94 goals for the game. Los Angeles also whiffed on two open nets in the first 40 minutes. Luck be a Landy!<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat did you think of Scott Wedgewood\u2019s first NHL playoff start?\u201d Avs coach Jared Bednar was asked.<\/p>\n

To this, the stoic Bednar raised an uncharacteristic (and bruised)<\/a> eyebrow.<\/p>\n

\u201cEver?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYup,\u201d the scribes murmured.<\/p>\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t know that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat said, what can you say about his game?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought he was fantastic,\u201d Bednar replied. \u201cYeah, did everything he needed to do. Obviously, bigger stakes, more emotion, but played the exact same way that he\u2019s been playing for us all year.\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ever the cad, Bednar still wouldn\u2019t commit to saying Wedgewood when asked if 41 would be his starter for Game 2 on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot going to answer that,\u201d the Avs coach groused.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t have to. The scoreboard did it for him. There\u2019s a reason the Kings are walking kinda funny into Game 2 on Tuesday night.<\/p>\n

Want more sports news? Sign up for the Sports Omelette to get all our analysis on Denver\u2019s teams.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"On an afternoon Brandt Clarke, Adrian Kempe and Drew Doughty took turns trying to bully the Avalanche, Colorado…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":595181,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[109666,1222,151099,17718,69843,1223,76495,6755,82033,47314,2558,64730,3031,6522,65879,39780,385,211153,84076,8223,99,362,118362,5265],"class_list":{"0":"post-595180","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-artturi-lehkonen","9":"tag-avalanche","10":"tag-avalanche-takes","11":"tag-ball-arena","12":"tag-cale-makar","13":"tag-colorado-avalanche","14":"tag-gabe-landeskog","15":"tag-hockey","16":"tag-jack-drury","17":"tag-jared-bednar","18":"tag-latest-headlines","19":"tag-logan-oconnor","20":"tag-los-angeles","21":"tag-mackenzie-blackwood","22":"tag-more-avalanche-news","23":"tag-nathan-mackinnon","24":"tag-nhl","25":"tag-parker-kelly","26":"tag-scott-wedgewood","27":"tag-sean-keeler","28":"tag-sports","29":"tag-sports-columnists","30":"tag-stanley-cup","31":"tag-stanley-cup-playoffs"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=595180"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/595180\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/595181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=595180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=595180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=595180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}