Good and bad: Wedgewood gets its first Avalanche shutout against its former team

Scott Wedgewood stopped them all again. Only this time he did it in a full 60-minute effort.

The Avalanche’s newest goalie made a save at the New Jersey Devils 25 on Sunday, leading them to a 4-0 win. It’s the first shutout for one of Colorado’s goaltenders this season and it’s only his second start and third appearance since taking over.

Ross Colton, Logan O’Connor, Artturi Lehkonen and Parker Kelly scored for the Avalanche, which improved to 16-13-0 after winning two road games in two nights. Colton’s goal, his first since returning from injury, was the game-winning goal with just 4:06 remaining in regulation time. Like the night before in Detroit, Colorado scored first and didn’t relinquish the lead until the end of the game. The Avs led for more than 49 minutes on Saturday and 55 minutes on Sunday. They had a strong defensive performance in both games and played their system well.

Jared Bednar’s club held the Devils to just 25 shots. They weathered an early storm for the third straight game before asserting themselves defensively. New Jersey had eight shots in the first 10 minutes, but the Avs’ only shot beat goalie Jake Allen. Colorado then took control and held them to just four shots over the next 30 minutes of play. Wedgewood had to miss two shots in the second period. Entering the third period, Colorado had a 3-0 lead and an 18-12 shots advantage.

And all of this within seconds of each other. Now the Avs have a chance to win 4 of 5 on their road trip to Pittsburgh on Tuesday.

Good: Scott Wedgewood

Let’s take a look at the numbers for Colorado’s goalies.

Wedgewood has a sparkling save percentage of .951 in three games. In relief, he came into the game with his team down 4-0 and went a perfect 22-for-22 as the Avs came back to win 5-4. You have to give credit to the superstars and the team’s entire offense for pulling off such a great win after coming from behind.

But at the same time, Wedgewood played a big role in ensuring it only took five goals to take the two points.

In the shutout, Wedgewood repeated what he did in Carolina and weathered an early storm, allowing the Avs to score first for the third straight game. And as with his substitute game, he didn’t concede a goal and delivered a perfect 26-for-26 result.

Georgiev played well on Friday. Wedgewood played well on Saturday.

Good: Mittelstadt and Colton chemistry

Casey Mittelstadt’s recent struggles have been well documented. Against the Red Wings, he finally got on the scoresheet for the first time in eight games, with a second assist on Valeri Nichushkin’s goal. But he still wasn’t quite playing his game. Bednar paired a returning Colton on the left wing, which pushed Nikolai Kovalenko down the lineup.

Something about the move seemed to revitalize the Avs’ No. 2 center. He had two main assists.

On the opening goal, he looked more like the skilled playmaker he usually is, making plays behind the net to give Colton the lead. There’s something about the duo playing with Nichushkin that’s slowly growing on me.

On the third goal, Mittelstadt picked up a loose puck that was fumbled away by New Jersey and immediately went up the ice to send Lehkonen upfield alone. His confidence shines through and leads to better decisions.

Bad: Devil at home

This was something I highlighted before the matchup began, but the much-improved New Jersey Devils are having a brutal time at home this season. They have a record of 7-6-2 and have been suspended in three of their last seven games at the Prudential Center.

Meanwhile, they are 11-4-0 on the road and have won eight of their last ten.