Jared Bednar received clarification from the league as to why play was not stopped when goaltender Scott Wedgewood was lying on the ice injured.
That doesn’t mean the Colorado Avalanche head coach completely agrees with what he heard, however.
“We had a good discussion about it today, in my opinion. I think they understood my point. I understand theirs, Bednar simply declared Friday, after his team’s training.
“I don’t want to agree and disagree — there’s a difference of opinion, but I understand their point of view. I think they understand mine. »
Wedgewood was injured in the third period Thursday night after a Buffalo Sabers player fell on his right leg following a collision in front of the net.
Bednar said the play should have been stopped once the puck went to the corner and Wedgewood was still on the ice. The whistle didn’t sound and the Sabers ended up scoring a goal in a game the Avalanche won 6-5 in overtime.
“When the goalkeeper is injured, you whistle,” Bednar said, upset, after the match. The moment the puck was pushed behind the net, there should have been a whistle. You do it for every other player on the ice, but you’re not going to do it for the goalie? This makes no sense to me. »
Bednar said Friday the team is still awaiting test results that could determine the length of Wedgewood’s absence. Bednar felt his goaltender would be re-evaluated on a weekly basis. The team is hoping it’s not a sprained ankle, which would keep Wedgewood out of action for about six weeks.
“He’ll be gone for a while,” Bednar admitted. We just hope it won’t be too long. »
On the play that angered Bednar, Sabers forward Zach Benson collided with Avalanche player Parker Kelly and fell on Wedgewood’s right leg.
Benson got up, took possession of the puck and then scored with Wedgewood still lying on the ice.
That ignited the Avalanche, who tied the game with eight seconds left and won 48 seconds into overtime on a breakaway goal from Devon Toews.
“I think our guys got angry and really determined after that incident,” Bednar said.
Wedgewood’s injury is the latest in a string of injuries for the Avalanche. They are also without Valeri Nichushkin (lower body), Miles Wood (upper body), Ivan Ivan (upper body), Oliver Kylington (upper body) and captain Gabriel Landeskog (knee).
Thanks to the play of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Mikko Rantanen and Toews, the Avalanche have reeled off six straight wins heading into Saturday’s game against the Montreal Canadiens.
“We have a lot of very good players. “That’s why we’ve been a really good team for a long time,” Bednar said. I am hopeful that we will get healthy again at some point. I can’t wait to see what our team looks like. »
In Wedgewood’s absence, the Avalanche plan to lean heavily on Mackenzie Blackwood, who was acquired by the Avalanche last month in a trade with the San Jose Sharks that sent Alexandar Georgiev to California.
Blackwood is 6-1-0 with a 1.93 goals-against average since the trade. He is hopeful he can handle the increased workload.
“You have to be ready to play in situations like that,” said Blackwood, who signed a five-year contract extension on Dec. 27. Obviously, consecutive matches are more difficult, but we do what we can. »
The Avalanche plan to recall Trent Miner from the Colorado Eagles of the American Hockey League to act as second goaltender.
“We’ll see how long Wedgewood is out,” Bednar said. We kept both guys (Blackwood and Wedgewood) in action, because they were both playing really well. Now we’re going to have to rely on one guy. »
