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.
Wedgewood made 10 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 goal from the top of the slot.
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 coach Jared Bednar to make the switch.
Blackwood played the whole first-round series for the Avalanche when they lost to the Dallas Stars in seven games last year.
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.
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AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl
Source
Avs make their first goalie change by pulling Wedgewood for Blackwood during Game 3 vs. the Wild
