DENVER — Like a seasoned prizefighter, Scott Wedgewood saves his best stuff for the championship rounds.

But with just under three minutes remaining, Martin Nečas’ delay-of-game penalty handed the New York Islanders a jolt of momentum. They compounded it by pulling Ilya Sorokin for an extra skater, turning a routine 5-on-4 into a high-pressure 6-on-4. Suddenly, Colorado was absorbing wave after wave as New York threw the kitchen sink at Wedgewood.

Horvat and former Av Jonathan Drouin worked a bit of elegant tic-tac-toe before Drouin threaded a pass into the bumper for Kyle Palmieri. His one-timer looked destined for the back of the net—until Wedgewood erased it with a decisive, stand-up stop.

Then, with roughly 13 seconds left on the kill, Matthew Barzal took over at the left circle, trying to shed Artturi Lehkonen before firing a cross-ice feed to Horvat at the opposite dot. Horvat leaned into it; Wedgewood answered with what may have been his save of the night.

After surviving the onslaught, the Islanders had emptied the tank. From there, Colorado simply had to close out the final minutes—and did so with poise. Nečas eventually sealed the night with an empty-netter, and Brock Nelson added an insurance tally to punctuate a 4–1 victory Sunday at Ball Arena.

Wedgewood, who leads the NHL in wins, like a true team player, credited the PK unit.

"We landed a one-two punch here," he stated. "Just awesome. When we give stuff up, it's not a blatant breakdown; they're going to have to get a shot, they have the man advantage. And when you can keep them in a situation where I don't have to overly rotate or get completely backsided, it's a lot easier to make those saves.

"We're aggressive at the right time; we jump at the right time, we move as a unit. And that frustrates teams. You got to get yourself in a good position."

Wedgewood Revived

Since arriving in Colorado last season, Wedgewood has been nothing short of rejuvenated. Now in his eighth NHL campaign, his previous statistical high-water mark came with the Dallas Stars in 2022–23, when he posted a 9–8–3 record with a 2.72 goals-against average and a .915 save percentage.

But his move to the Avalanche redefined his ceiling. In 19 appearances last year after arriving from Nashville via trade, Wedgewood went 13–4–1 with a career-best 1.99 goals-against average and a .917 save percentage. This season, he has picked up exactly where he left off: through 15 games, he owns an identical .917 save percentage, an 11-1-2 record, and a 2.17 goals-against average—numbers that signal not just a resurgence, but a full-scale renaissance in Denver.

It’s easy for skeptics to dismiss Wedgewood’s resurgence as merely the byproduct of playing behind a strong team, but that line of thinking is reductive and ultimately disingenuous. Wedgewood has been open about his growth: the penalty kill, once one of his biggest challenges, has become a defining strength. And on Sunday, that progress was on full display.

There were several defensive lapses against the Islanders that left him to clean up dangerous chances, and he handled those moments with poise. At some point, the performance speaks for itself. Wedgewood has earned the praise.

It appears that the skill and talent have long been present for the 33-year-old, but perhaps he had not been channeling them with sufficient aggression. Tom Brady has remarked at leadership conferences that he performed best when fueled by anger. Similarly, Wedgewood’s more assertive style has begun to yield tangible dividends, though he executes it with a quiet, understated precision.

Aggression Beats Passiveness

"I played aggressively; I don't concede on the PK, which I've tended to do over the years," he admitted. "I'm loving (my time in Colorado). The Wedgy chants, the way this crowd and homebase has embraced me has been awesome. I get to joke around and be myself and they seem to eat it up, so that's obviously a lot easier. It's tough when you have a tough crowd and you're trying to tell jokes."

Jared Bednar noted in his post-game remarks that Wedgewood was the difference in this one, just as he has been throughout the season.

“Wedge did his best work on the penalty kill,” Bednar said. “Their power play was snapping it around, and our kill was good—but Wedge is our best penalty killer. To me, that’s the difference in the hockey game.”

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