It's the Wedgewood That Makes it Good

The Colorado Avalanche were coming off an amazing win in San Jose against the Sharks; an interesting battle between the two goalies who were traded for each other: Mackenzie Blackwood and Alexandar Georgiev. So the Avs were 1-1 in the three-game road trip, and we concluded our trip to the Pacific Time Zone with a stop in the epicenter of Orange County, California: Anaheim. This meeting was the second of the season between the Avalanche and the Anaheim Ducks, with the first one taking place on October 18, with the Avs defeating the Ducks in OT for our first win of the season after a shocking 0-4 start.

It's always interesting when the Avs face the Ducks, and this is regardless of the fact that for the last six years, the Avs have been a juggernaut while the Ducks are still trying to find something after their last playoff appearance in 2018. The Ducks haven't really found it quite yet, but I feel they are about one or two seasons away. They're close. Regarding the goalie matchup, it was Scott Wedgewood in net against John Gibson, and the period was pretty wild for the most part. Ross Johnston and Keaton Middleton got into a scrap early in the period, just a few minutes later, the Ducks received the first power play of the game. It was killed off, and we had to kill off another one. We were outshot for the entire period, but thanks to Wedgewood, it was scoreless after 20.

Ducks did not waste time in the second period, as Leo Carlsson struck for Anaheim at just 2:40. Ducks went back on the power play later on, but it would be the Avalanche who answered, as Parker Kelly scored shorthanded, with Logan O'Connor assisting. We killed off the rest of the penalty, and we were totally energized. At 10:57, Valeri Nichushkin gave us our first lead of the game, with the assists coming from Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon, and the period ended with the Avs up 2-1 after killing off a Ducks PP.

In the third period, a clear slash gave the Avs a power play, and it was Makar who struck with his tenth goal of the season, with MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen assisting. So it was 3-1, and the Avs were in control. Wedgewood continued fighting off shots, but Alex Killorn's shot got past him at 13:05 to make it a one goal game. Gibson was pulled for the extra attacker, and I saw the Ducks come really close to tying it up. Thankfully, MacKinnon shot it in the empty net to make it 4-2, and that score held up.

Another successful road trip for the Avalanche, and over a month after picking up our first win of the season against the Ducks, we picked up our 20th win of the season against the Ducks. Even better, we moved into 3rd place in the Central Division! Holy guacamole! The month of December has treated the Avs well so far, especially since we've been road warriors for most of the month. 7-3 in December--six of the seven wins on the road, and we can end December (as well as 2024 overall) on a good note.

The Avs return home on Sunday to face the Seattle Kraken, and after the holiday break, it's off to Salt Lake City on Friday, and then on New Year's Eve, the Avs will host the Winnipeg Jets in the first game of a four game homestand.

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