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Avalanche face big goalie decision for Game 4 vs. Wild after first loss of playoffs

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3 months ago

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ST. PAUL, Minn. — Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar hasn’t faced much scrutiny so far in these Stanley Cup playoffs. His team earned him that luxury by winning six consecutive games to start the postseason.

But after a 5-1 loss to the Minnesota Wild on Saturday, cutting the Avs’ series lead to 2-1, Bednar will have to make a difficult call in net ahead of Game 4.

Does he go back to Scott Wedgewood — who had a .950 save percentage in the first round but has allowed 11 goals in just over seven periods to start the second — or turn to Mackenzie Blackwood?

Blackwood, who came on in relief for Wedgewood early in the second period on Saturday, entered the season as the team’s starter. He missed part of the year with an injury, and Wedgewood was excellent in his place, earning the starting job to open the playoffs.

That doesn’t mean it’s his job for Colorado’s entire run.

“We’ll have a decision to make, but there’s a decision to make every night,” Bednar said when asked about his goalie plan for Monday’s Game 4. “We’ll talk about it and make a decision.”

Together, Wedgewood and Blackwood — nicknamed “The Lumberyard” — won the Jennings Trophy for fewest goals allowed in the NHL regular season. Wedgewood had the edge both in counting stats (.921 save percentage in 45 games compared to .904 in 39 games for Blackwood) and underlying ones (32.42 goals saved above expected, per Evolving-Hockey, compared to 19.08).

Traditional wisdom says Bednar should go back to Wedgewood on Monday. The 33-year-old has played like a No. 1 all season. But Bednar has insisted he isn’t going to approach his goaltenders that way just because that’s how teams have in the past. Plus Wedgewood — a journeyman-turned solid backup-turned standout starter — has never played this much hockey in a season.

It all leaves an air of mystery over Colorado’s net going forward. Is Bednar playing coy as a gamesmanship tactic? Or could he actually make a switch?

“I can’t just go off conventional thinking of, ‘It’s just one goalie,’” he said earlier this series. “For me, it’s not the way our team operated all year, and we had a lot of success. So I feel comfortable going with either guy.”

Wedgewood allowed three goals on 12 shots faced in Game 3. Bednar said he played hard throughout the night but “looked a little too aggressive” on a couple of the goals. The coach pointed to the Quinn Hughes wrister that beat him on a four-on-three, as well as Ryan Hartman’s power-play goal 4:23 into the second period. Bednar thought Wedgewood was too far out of his crease on the latter, allowing the Wild forward to swat a flying puck into the net. That’s when he made the switch.

“I felt like it was a good opportunity for us to get him in and see if it sparked our group,” Bednar said. “Just felt like they had all the momentum and all the speed early in that game, and we needed to do something.”

“You get a pull, you get an energy change,” Wedgewood added.

A little more than nine minutes after taking over the Colorado net — and 20 seconds after Colorado scored its first goal of the game — Blackwood allowed a perhaps rust-induced rebound on a Vladimir Tarasenko shot, with the puck bouncing off defenseman Brock Faber’s pants and in. Blackwood did not allow another goal and halted Tarasenko on a breakaway in the third in his first action since April 14.

“There’s moments where you could do things better, but after missing a lot of time, it was not bad,” Blackwood said.

Added Bednar: “He made some big saves in there, gave us a good chance.”

Blackwood finished with 12 saves on 13 shots. Getting him in also might have knocked away some rust that accumulated over the past month. If Bednar opts to go to Blackwood in Game 4, it’s a different decision than the one John Hynes made in Game 2, when he played Filip Gustavsson for the first time in three weeks.

“Coming into the middle of the game, they’re kind of already jumping and humming, and you’re trying to pick up where they’re at,” Blackwood said. “I think we did a better job as the game went on, but maybe a couple bad bounces and we didn’t have our best stuff tonight.”

Blackwood is correct that Colorado wasn’t at its best in Game 3. Bednar said postgame he felt he couldn’t get offense from any of his non-Nathan MacKinnon lines. Wild goalie Jesper Wallstedt was also excellent, rebounding from a poor Game 1 to make 35 saves.

“They get a bounce to go up (4-1), and I think it was an even game after that,” Wedgewood said. “Chop it up to, ‘You’re not gonna win it all.’”

Added Blackwood: “I think we’ll bring it next game, for sure.”

The skaters will need to do just that for Bednar’s goalie decision to matter.

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How to watch Rockies vs. Cardinals: TV channel and streaming options for August 8

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1 minute ago

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August 9, 2026

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The Colorado Rockies will look to stop a four-game losing streak when visiting the St. Louis Cardinals at 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday. Matthew Liberatore (5-8, 4.97 ERA) will start for the Cardinals, who are 58-58 this season and third in the NL Central. Kyle Freeland (3-10, 6.81 ERA) is expected to start for the Rockies, who are 45-71 and fifth in the NL West.

How to watch Colorado Rockies vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Rockies vs. Cardinals odds

  • Favorite Moneyline: Cardinals -175
  • Underdog Moneyline: Rockies +145
  • Total: 8.5
  • Total Over Odds: -120
  • Total Under Odds: +100

Injury reports

Cardinals

Ramón Urías: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Max Rajcic: 60 Day IL (Elbow)

Rockies

Jeff Criswell: 15 Day IL (Shoulder), Jaden Hill: 15 Day IL (Shoulder), Blas Castano: 15 Day IL (Pectoral), Sean Sullivan: 15 Day IL (Undisclosed), Chase Dollander: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Kris Bryant: 60 Day IL (Back), José Quintana: 60 Day IL (Elbow), McCade Brown: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), RJ Petit: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Welinton Herrera: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Pierson Ohl: 60 Day IL (Elbow)

Stats to know

  • Alec Burleson is hitting for a .285 BA, .350 OBP and .477 SLG with a 15.8% strikeout rate and an 8.4% walk rate. His OPS is .827 and he has scored 60 runs. In 486 plate appearances, he has hit 18 home runs and driven in 77 runs (7th in MLB).
  • In 479 plate appearances, Jordan Walker has slashed .284/.342/.489 this season. He has hit 22 long balls and driven in 81 runs (4th in MLB) with a strikeout rate of 24.8% and a walk rate of 7.7%. He has 14 stolen bases on 19 attempts. He has come around to score 68 times.
  • TJ Rumfield has hit 13 home runs this season. He has also tallied 58 RBIs and has scored 50 runs. In 455 plate appearances, he has recorded a .296 BA, .374 OBP and .463 SLG with a 9.7% walk rate and a 14.5% strikeout rate.
  • In 389 plate appearances, Jake McCarthy has slashed .298/.335/.496 this season. He has hit 11 long balls and driven in 64 runs with a strikeout rate of 17.5% and a walk rate of 4.6%. He has stolen 17 bases on 20 attempts and has scored 51 runs.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Photo: Jamie Squire, Ishika Samant, Scott Taetsch, Alika Jenner / Getty Images

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How to watch Orioles vs. Rangers: TV channel and streaming options for August 8

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7 minutes ago

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August 8, 2026

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The Texas Rangers take a three-game winning streak into a home matchup versus the Baltimore Orioles at 7:15 p.m. ET on Saturday. Jacob deGrom (7-7, 3.96 ERA) will start for the Rangers, who are 58-58 this season and second in the AL West. Kyle Bradish (7-10, 3.79 ERA) is expected to start for the Orioles, who are 56-60 and fourth in the AL East.

How to watch Baltimore Orioles vs. Texas Rangers

Orioles vs. Rangers odds

  • Favorite Moneyline: Rangers -154
  • Underdog Moneyline: Orioles +125
  • Total: 7.5
  • Total Over Odds: +100
  • Total Under Odds: -120

Injury reports

Rangers

Kyle Higashioka: 10 Day IL (Flexor tendon), Josh Jung: 10 Day IL (Calf), Jose Corniell: 15 Day IL (Elbow), Jack Leiter: 15 Day IL (Ankle), Jakob Junis: 15 Day IL (Groin), Danny Jansen: 60 Day IL (Forearm), Robert Garcia: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Jalen Beeks: 60 Day IL (Back), Michael Helman: 60 Day IL (Hand), Carter Baumler: 60 Day IL (Ribs)

Orioles

Samuel Basallo: 10 Day IL (Shoulder), Blaze Alexander: 10 Day IL (Hand), Zach Eflin: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Felix Bautista: 60 Day IL (Shoulder), Keegan Akin: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Chris Bassitt: 60 Day IL (Back), Ryan Helsley: 60 Day IL (Elbow), Ryan Mountcastle: 60 Day IL (Foot), Jordan Westburg: 60 Day IL (Ucl), Colin Selby: 60 Day IL (Shoulder)

Stats to know

  • Ezequiel Duran is hitting for a .274 BA, .328 OBP and .457 SLG with a 23.4% strikeout rate and a 7.1% walk rate. His OPS is .785 and he has scored 51 runs. In 406 plate appearances, he has hit 13 home runs and driven in 63 runs. Duran has been crafty on the base paths, recording nine steals on 11 attempts.
  • In 465 plate appearances, Brandon Nimmo has hit 12 long balls, tallied 43 RBIs and scored 48 runs. He is batting .274/.342/.444 and has posted a 21.3% strikeout rate and an 8.2% walk rate. Nimmo has recorded six steals on seven attempts.
  • Pete Alonso has hit 23 home runs this season. He has also tallied 71 RBIs (14th in MLB) and has scored 68 runs. In 502 plate appearances, he has recorded a .247 BA, .341 OBP and .454 SLG with an 11.4% walk rate and a 24.9% strikeout rate.
  • In 522 plate appearances, Gunnar Henderson has hit 18 long balls, tallied 47 RBIs and scored 65 runs. He is batting .217/.297/.391 and has posted a 22.8% strikeout rate and an 8.6% walk rate. Henderson has recorded eight steals on 12 attempts.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Photo: Jamie Squire, Ishika Samant, Scott Taetsch, Alika Jenner / Getty Images

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How to watch Storm vs. Fire: TV channel and streaming options for August 8

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14 minutes ago

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August 8, 2026

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Dominique Malonga leads the Seattle Storm (6-27) into a matchup against the Portland Fire (12-19) after putting up 31 points in a 92-86 loss to the Liberty. The game is on Saturday, August 8, 2026, tipping off at 8:30 p.m. ET on NBA TV, FOX12+, CW Seattle, KOMO 4, and Amazon Prime Video.

How to watch Seattle Storm vs. Portland Fire

Seattle vs. Portland odds

  • Spread: Seattle -1.5 (-115), Portland +1.5 (-105)
  • Favorite Moneyline: Seattle -120
  • Underdog Moneyline: Portland +100
  • Total: 179.5
  • Total Over Odds: -110
  • Total Under Odds: -110

Injury reports

Storm

Katie Lou Samuelson: Questionable (Knee)

Fire

Sania Feagin: Out For Season (Knee),

Bridget Carleton: Probable (Foot),

Sarah Ashlee Barker: Out For Season (Knee),

Teja Oblak: Probable (Knee)

Stats to know

  • The 82.7 points per game the Storm record are 9.1 fewer points than the Fire give up (91.8).
  • Portland’s 86.5 points per game are just 1.8 fewer points than the 88.3 Seattle allows.
  • Flau’jae Johnson averages 13.9 points, 4.9 boards and 2.9 assists per contest, while shooting 39.2% from the field and 26.8% from downtown with 1.2 made treys per game.
  • Bridget Carleton puts up 14.3 points, 2.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game.

This watch guide was created using technology provided by Data Skrive.

Betting/odds, ticketing and streaming links in this article are provided by partners of The Athletic. Restrictions may apply. The Athletic maintains full editorial independence. Partners have no control over or input into the reporting or editing process and do not review stories before publication.

Photo: Julio Aguilar, Ethan Miller, Steph Chambers / Getty Images

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