Wedgewood rises to occasion for Avalanche in Game 1 win against Kings

DENVER -- Scott Wedgewood waited a few minutes to field his first question in the postgame press conference. Fitting, since the longtime backup goalie waited 10 NHL seasons before getting his first start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“Obviously, a long career to get to this point. Proud to get the start, a little anxious to get going but 1 p.m. (start) you don’t really have much to think about. Just get up, prep and go,” the 33-year-old goalie said after stopping 24 of 25 shots for the Colorado Avalanche in their 2-1 win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 1 of the Western Conference First Round at Ball Arena on Sunday.

“Once I got a few shots on, settled down, the crowd was into it. First TV timeout I was talking to (Mackenzie Blackwood). Just kind of felt the heart rate was a little high but once we got going, it felt like a normal hockey game.”

Game 2 is here on Tuesday (10 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN360, TVAS, FDSNSC, ALT).

Wedgewood (33 years, 248 days) became the third-oldest goaltender in NHL history to earn a win in his first career playoff start behind Curtis McElhinney in Game 3 of the 2019 Second Round (35 years, 343 days) and Les Binkley in Game 1 of the 1970 Quarterfinals (35 years, 306 days).

If Wedgewood’s heart rate was up, he wasn’t showing it. When the Kings made pushes and the Avalanche were out of sorts defensively, Wedgewood was there making the necessary saves. When he didn’t face shots for decent amounts of time, he dealt with that, too.

“Regular season-wise you can get into some lulls throughout the game. With the energy of the crowd, energy of the game, what’s at stake (in the playoffs), your mind is always going,” he said. “I rely on my checks. Every time they change, who’s coming up ice, face-off, how many lefty or righties they have, once they leave the zone, who’s where, it’s something I break down and then it just keeps my mind from going into the what-if scenarios or your mental talk.

“It’s always if you’re engaged, you’re going. On a (television) time out or whistles, just kind of flush it. Almost like a golf shot: You’ve got something coming at you, dial in, figure it out, get out of your zone, reset, when the line comes over the boards, what’s the situation, who you got? Just seems to keep my brain from being on all the time and getting exhausted and also being completely out of it, which I have a tendency to do."

That calm and focus is what Wedgewood gave the Avalanche throughout the regular season, when he was 31-6-6 with a 2.02 goals-against average, .921 save percentage and four shutouts in 45 games (43 starts).

“Just the confidence that he’s continued to build on a nightly basis has been unbelievable. We have so much trust in him, and he’s super composed,” Avalanche forward Logan O'Connor said. “Bad bounce, sticks with it. Makes a big save, (he) forgets about it. He’s always just looking forward and thinking about the next play. Super positive all the time, whatever the circumstances are.

“We know that if we have breakdowns, which are going to happen, he’s got our back throughout that. Just seeing his game grow, late bloomer, having the best season he’s had in his career right now at the perfect time for our team has been special to watch.”

The appreciative Wedgewood, who was sharing the podium with O’Connor, said “Thanks, dude,” after the complementary answer.

That’s Wedgewood. Just enjoying every moment.

Unlike his goaltending counterpart, Los Angeles’ Anton Forsberg, who was making his first NHL postseason appearance of any kind on Sunday, Wedgewood did have some playoff experience entering this one. He played in four postseason games in his career, including three with the Dallas Stars in 2022-23 and one with the Avalanche last season (18:30 in relief of Blackwood in Colorado’s 6-2 loss to the Stars in Game 5 of the first round).

Wedgewood said it was easier prepping for his first start than coming in relief, “because you can’t do anything about it.”

“The few I’ve gone in, the game’s kind of gotten out of hand. You have to go in there and try to weather it. You feel that build-up, there’s three, there’s four (goals), maybe one more I’m going and you’re anxiously waiting for the coach to call down,” he said.

“For this one, it’s game-day prep and you have a full morning of what you want to do, full warmup, everything kind of stays relatively the same. Then just getting out there when the puck drops, you’re in there with the guys from the get-go. Just rely on the confidence of what I’ve been building and go out there and giving everything I have, regardless of what happens. Just seems to be working right now with the game-day plan I’ve built.”

Wedgewood waited a long time for his moment in the playoff spotlight. He rose to the occasion, just as the Avalanche figured he would.

“He's been great all year,” Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen said. “I mean, both of our goalies have been. It doesn't matter who's in net for us, we know we can trust them when it counts, and ‘Wedgie' was unbelievable today, for sure.”