First Shift: Stars look to Wedgewood to help wrap up back-to-back on strong note

One of the great things about Scott Wedgewood’s contributions to the Stars is that he is a catalyst for good feelings.

It’s a big part of being the backup goalie, and Wedgewood does it as well as anyone. His most recent goalie mask is a great indication. The 31-year-old decided to go with a Mario Kart theme after he and his teammates dressed up like characters from the computer game for Halloween.

“We kicked a lot of things around, but that one seemed perfect,” said Wedgewood.

He and his wife Brittany are expecting a daughter next year, and so the mask includes “Baby Peach” in a car with Wedgewood’s two dogs, Captain and Bucky. So, in a big way, all of his family is honored.

Wedgewood also included cartoon characters of teammates Jason Robertson and Jake Oettinger that were drawn by Stars Social Media Manager Courtney Kramer.

“At Halloween, the six of us dressed up as a Mario Kart Party, and it really fits,” Wedgewood said before describing the mask. “We changed the gold star to a green star, and I like those things that join to the team. That just seemed to all fall together with the drawings of Robo and Otter, and it really is a great theme. My wife and I are having a daughter, so that’s why we have Baby Peach in the car with our two dogs.”

It’s a lot, but it’s also just enough. Wedgewood has created several masks in his NHL career and said he puts a lot of thought into each one. He and mask artist David Gunnersson (@DaveArt) got together and hammered out the details, with Wedgewood drawing it out in stick figures and Gunnersson bringing it to life.

“It turned out really good,” Wedgewood said. “I think the star is an underrated part, and the checkered flag on the back indicates it’s a race and we are planning to win in the end.”

The mix of teammates and his immediate family is a great one for the goalie. He said the mask is sort of like a gender reveal for he and his wife. And as for honoring Robertson and Oettinger, well, “I’m joking with them that now that they’re on the mask, they’re almost like uncle figures. So college tuition is on them.”

Wedgewood and Oettinger form a goalie tandem and rely on each other. Robertson likes to stay late in practice and work on his shooting with Wedgewood. Those relationships are important.

“It’s a great relationship, we help each other,” Oettinger said.

Stars coach Pete DeBoer said having Wedgewood (who is 6-1-1 on the season) as a complement to Oettinger has been crucial to the Stars’ success.

"It’s become more important over the last few years, load management in that position. I think it’s a tougher position than it’s ever been to play,” DeBoer said. “When you look at the goaltending success in the league, a lot of those teams have good tandems that can spot each other off. I think we wanted to come into the season with our fingers crossed that we keep both guys healthy, and if they were healthy, we wanted to make sure that we were playing both of them."

Wedgewood is making that happen on a routine basis. He often gets some of the tougher assignments, and he will again on Saturday. Dallas played at home Friday against the Ottawa Senators, and Oettinger got that start. However, he left the game early in the first period with a lower-body injury and was relieved by Wedgewood. After a night of travel, the Stars play against one of their divisional rivals in St. Louis, and Wedgewood will get the nod there.

“You can only talk about Wedge so many times,” said Tyler Seguin, who is a childhood friend of Wedgewood. “He’s a wall. I’ve been seeing it since I was 5 or 6 years old, and it never seems to change.”

And that’s one of the reasons his mask is so reflective of his relationship with the team.

“It’s like with Spiderman: With great power comes great responsibility,” Wedgewood said. “For me, with great opportunity comes great creativity.”

Key Numbers

19
Dallas has allowed the fewest second period goals in the NHL at 19. St. Louis has yielded 36, ranking 27th in the league.

8.1 percent
St. Louis ranks last in power play success rate at 8.1 percent. That includes 2 for 33 (6.1%) at home.

50
Stars forward Jamie Benn has 50 points (22 goals, 28 assists) in 52 career games against the Blues.

He Said It

“It’s not about me, it’s never going to be about me. It’s about the group of players out there. When I look at the game, I’m proud of the way we played. This group has gone through a lot in the last 48 hours and it wasn’t perfect, but they responded well here tonight.”

- St. Louis coach Drew Bannister on winning his NHL debut Thursday in a 4-2 victory against Ottawa.

This story was not subject to the approval of the National Hockey League or Dallas Stars Hockey Club.

Mike Heika is a Senior Staff Writer for DallasStars.com and has covered the Stars since 1994. Follow him on Twitter @MikeHeika.