Wedgewood makes 25 saves, Avalanche shut out Devils

Scott Wedgewood made 25 saves, and the Colorado Avalanche won 4-0 against the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on Sunday.

The shutout was Wedgewood’s seventh in the NHL and first since Jan. 19, 2023, for the Dallas Stars. He is 2-1-0 in three games (two starts) since being acquired in a trade from the Nashville Predators on Nov. 30.

Ross Colton scored his ninth goal in 12 games this season, and Casey Mittelstadt and Calvin de Haan each had two assists for the Avalanche (16-13-0), who have won three of four, including 2-1 at the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.

“I think it was our best game of the year on the defensive side of it,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “To be honest with you, I just felt like we looked really organized, really disciplined, above the puck early. A really good offensive team we’re playing there and I felt like we made it difficult on them to generate any type of speed and find open ice all the time.”

Jake Allen made 19 saves for the Devils (18-10-2), who had won three of four and six of eight.

“We didn’t skate today. We didn’t win enough puck battles,” New Jersey coach Sheldon Keefe said. “They do a good job. They’re up tight on you, the gap is tight. We didn’t play through that well enough.”

Colton put Colorado ahead 1-0 on its first shot on goal at 4:07 of the first period, scoring on a wrist shot just to the right of the crease off a pass from Mittelstadt behind the net. He returned Saturday from missing 17 games with a broken foot.

“Ross has been awesome,” Mittelstadt said. “I think just his energy and his presence, I think, has been huge for me. He keeps it pretty light and I’m pretty serious. So, I think we balance each other out pretty well. Just great to have him back around the room. I think, like I said, he’s always cracking jokes and keeping things light.”

Jesper Bratt had a goal for New Jersey waved off at 6:11 because of a high stick.

Timo Meier then nearly tied it at 7:18, batting at a puck in the crease until it slid into the net. However, after a review and it was determined the play was over before it crossed the goal line.

“I think we started the game well, but the other 10 minutes (in the first period) wasn’t good at all,” Devils captain Nico Hischier said. “So, we had D-zone mistakes that ended up in the back of our net. They had a plan after that. They didn’t give us a lot on the rush, were above us, and we had a hard time with it.”

Logan O'Connor redirected a shot from de Haan to make it 2-0 at 14:52 of the first.

Artturi Lehkonen extended the lead to 3-0 with a wrist shot over Allen’s glove on a breakaway at 14:36 of the second period.

The Devils were outshot 10-2 in the second.

“I think if we get control of the game early, it changes it,” Keefe said, “because they can’t sit back like they did most of the night and just kind of clog it up. They have to play and open the game up a little bit.”

Meier could have cut Colorado’s lead to two goals at 4:26 of the third period, but his shot toward an open net went off the leg of Devon Toews.

Parker Kelly scored an empty-net goal at 16:05 for the 4-0 final.

“Connected group, start to finish,” Bednar said. “And you know what? We created a lot of really good scoring chances too. I really liked our second period when it comes to what we created, but we were able to chip away and build a lead. The commitment didn’t go away on the defensive side.”

NOTES: Wedgewood was selected in the third round (No. 84) by the Devils in the 2010 NHL Draft and played parts of three seasons with them across two stints (2015-16; 2020-21 to 2021-22). He has allowed five goals on 144 shots (.965 save percentage) in six games against his former team (4-0-0). ... New Jersey was 0-for-3 on the power play and is 0-for-5 in its past two games after going 7-for-11 in its previous three.