Scott Wedgewood turned aside all 22 shots he faced, backstopping the Colorado Avalanche to a 1–0 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Sunday and stretching Coloradoâ€s winning streak to nine games.
The shutout marked Wedgewoodâ€s first of the season and the ninth of his NHL career.
Cale Makar supplied the lone goal for the Avalanche (16-1-5), who have now collected points in 13 straight contests (11-0-2) and completed a polished back-to-back after blanking the Nashville Predators 3–0 the previous night.
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Spencer Knight made 25 saves for Chicago (10-8-4), but the Blackhawks dropped their third consecutive game.
Much like Saturdayâ€s game against Nashville, the Avalanche were largely not in control of the puck. The only thing different was that there was not a goal within 15 seconds of the game. With under five minutes to go in the first, the Blackhawks held the Avalanche to just one shot on net.
After killing an earlier penalty, Colorado received their second infraction of the period when Brock Nelson roughed up Frank Nazar, spinning him around and knocking his helmet off in the defensive zone. It would have been a clever move if Nelson didnâ€t get caught, but unfortunately, the officials were not fooled by the move and the Avs were shorthanded once again.
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Colorado killed the penalty, but the Hawks werenâ€t out of the fight just yet as Ryan Donato got his hands on a loose puck in front of the net and spun around and fired, but Wedgewood made the kick save.
Burns drove the puck down the right wing in the early stages of the period, but he was turned away by Knight.
Makar delivered the breakthrough at 18:21 of the second period. After Spencer Knight turned aside Tristen Nielsenâ€s initial attempt, the rebound caromed directly into Makarâ€s path, and he snapped it home from the left face-off circle.
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The entire sequence unfolded off a miscue by Knight, whose attempted outlet pass found Nielsen in the slot. Nielsenâ€s quick shot not only generated the rebound that led to the goal but also earned him his first NHL point.
Wedgewood preserved the slender 1–0 advantage in the dying moments, stoning Frank Nazar from point-blank range with 43 seconds left.
And after absorbing an 11–2 shot deficit in a sluggish first period, Colorado wrested back control of the game, outshooting Chicago 24–11 over the final 40 minutes to maintain their dominant ways.
On Saturday, Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 35 saves en route to a 3-0 Avs win and now Wedgewood has followed up with another shutout. We’ve run all out of superlatives.
The Avalanche are back at Ball Arena on Wednesday to face the San Jose Sharks. Coverage starts at 7 p.m. local time.
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