3 Takeaways: Rare goaltending performance for the Avalanche | Colorado avalanche

For some reason, the Colorado Avalanche are better in the second half in a row than they were in the first. On Sunday, they had perhaps their most dominant performance of the season, giving the New Jersey Devils very little room to maneuver en route to a 4-0 win. This came just 24 hours after they beat the Red Wings in Detroit.

Here are three takeaways from the win.

Rare goalkeeper weekend

The Avalanche have had a hard time finding a good goalie this season, and when they perform well, they usually can’t do it the next game. That could be a reason why the team has been inconsistent this season.

Scott Wedgewood gave Colorado its first shutout of the season, just one night after Alexandar Georgiev stopped 29 of 30 shots in Detroit. This is just the fourth time this season that the Avalanche have played back-to-back games with their goaltenders posting a save percentage of .900 or better.

While goaltending is at its worst in the NHL in a decade, and this is a good example. As we saw this weekend, this team could do damage with just one good goaltender.

Kiviranta’s season

Joel Kiviranta was just a guy during the regular season last year, but once the playoffs started his game took off again. Some of that has carried over to this season as he plays his best and most consistent hockey in an Avalanche uniform.

Earlier this week, Jared Bednar paused on the radio and raved for a few seconds about how well the Finnish winger was playing. His play along the wall and on the penalty kill has given him consistent ice time on the third line this season.

Middleton returns to the NHL

Keaton Middleton was with the Avalanche for the last time in 2021, although he has always remained loyal to the organization. With Josh Manson injured, the Avalanche decided to draft him in case they needed a strong, physical defender.

Surprisingly, they have played him against John Ludvig in the last two games, both wins. He struggled against Detroit and didn’t see much ice time in the third period. He was better against the Devils, including a nice play in the third period to break the onslaught of the strange players.

It’s unlikely he’ll stay with the team once the guys are healthy, but anytime you can get wins with your ninth defenseman on the depth chart, you have to feel good.

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Avalanche 4, Devils 0

What happened: After fending off an early Devils push, the Avalanche controlled the game en route to a shutout victory.

What went well: The second period may have been the most dominant period of the season for the Avalanche. New Jersey only had two shots on goal in the middle period and only had one chance to score, which came late. Meanwhile, the Avalanche controlled the puck at will on the Devils’ end, eventually tying the game away when a tired New Jersey team was caught in transition, leaving Artturi Lehkonen alone for a breakaway.

What went wrong: Very little went wrong in Colorado on Sunday, but the Avalanche were a little slow out of the gates. At one point the score was 9-1 in favor of New Jersey.

Luckily for the Avalanche, that one shot went into the net, giving them a lead to work with.

Avalanche scorers: Colton (9), O’Connor (4), Lehkonen (7), Kelly (2)

Between the pipes: Wedgewood stopped all 26 shots faced for his first shutout in an Avalanche uniform. He has now blocked every shot in two of his three appearances for the team.

What’s next: Colorado ends its road trip on Tuesday against the Pittsburgh Penguins at 5 p.m