Wedgewood Sһіneѕ іn Avаlаncһe’ѕ 4-1 Vіctory Over Penguіnѕ

On Tuesday night, we saw good friends Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon match up for the first time since winning the 4 Nations Face-Off final, with the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche meeting at Ball Arena in Denver.

Game Recap

In the first period, both goalies shut the door. The Penguins and Avalanche combined for 19 shots, 21 scoring chances, 13 high-danger chances and 2.42 expected goals. However, after 20 minutes, the game remained scoreless thanks to Alex Nedeljkovic, who saved eight shots, one from a high-danger area, and Scott Wedgewood, who made seven high-danger saves in the period and saved 1.65 goals above expected.

In the second, the Penguins continued to keep pace with the Avalanche. However, five minutes into the second frame, the Avalanche opened the scoring on the Penguins’ first actual defensive breakdown. Cale Makar found himself with the wall in the offensive zone, and he rimmed the puck around behind the net to MacKinnon. With the Penguins’ focus on the two Avalanche superstars, it left Arturri Lehkonen alone in the slot, who buried the game’s first goal, his 25th of the season.

Following the Avalanche’s first goal, the Penguins had two power play opportunities throughout the period. However, they were unable to score on either man advantage. Still, shortly after getting back to even strength, the Penguins tied the game at one on a goal from their leading goalscorer, Rickard Rakell. This goal was set up by two excellent passes, one from Crosby and the other from Bryan Rust.

Going into the final frame, the game was tied 1-1 until the Avalanche scored on their first power play opportunity. The goal came when MacKinnon stayed out for an extended shift with the Avalanche’s second power play unit. He fed Valeri Nichushkin at the side of the net, who fed a beautiful cross-crease pass to Casey Mittelstadt, who beat Nedeljkovic to take a 2-1 lead with four minutes to play in the second period.

The Avalanche iced the game with two empty-net goals, one from Lehkonen, his second of the game, and the final one from Jack Drury, which made a 4-1 final in favor of the Avalanche. Wedgewood made 10 of 11 high-danger saves in the win and saved 2.18 goals above expected to lift the Avalanche to victory.

This win marked the Avalanche’s third straight victory, and they outscored opponents 14-3 in those wins. With the loss, the Penguins have lost three straight and seven of their last eight games.