Avs make their first goalie change by pulling Wedgewood for Blackwood during Game 3 in loss to Wild

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — The Colorado Avalanche made a change in net for the first time this postseason, pulling Scott Wedgewood early in the second period of Game 3 of their second-round NHL playoff series on Saturday night after he allowed three goals to the Minnesota Wild.

The Wild went on to win 5-1 and hand the Avalanche their first loss of this postseason.

“I thought Wedgie was playing hard. I think maybe he looked a little like too aggressive on a couple of those,” coach Jared Bednar said. "It just felt like they had all the momentum and the steam early in that game, and we needed to do something to kind of get our guys fired up and going, and I was hoping that would be part of it.

Wedgewood made nine saves before yielding to Mackenzie Blackwood, whose last game action was on April 14. With Wedgewood getting 43 starts and Blackwood making 36 starts, the Avalanche goalies shared the William M. Jennings Trophy given to the team with the best goals against average during the regular season.

Wedgewood, a career backup who took advantage of an early-season injury absence for Blackwood and wound up leading the league with a .921 save percentage and a 2.02 goals against average, entered Game 3 with a 6-0 record and a 2.12 goals against average with a .923 save percentage in the playoffs.

But some defensive breakdowns and undisciplined play in front of him set Wedgewood up for a struggle.

Kirill Kaprizov scored on a four-on-four situation after Colorado's Parker Kelly and Minnesota's Ryan Hartman took roughing penalties for their scuffle.

Then a hooking penalty on defenseman Devon Toews gave the Wild more than a minute of four-on-three play that Quinn Hughes capped with his slick toe-drag goal from the top of the slot, when he circled around the left wing before sliding into the wide-open middle.

In the second period with the Wild on another power play after Kelly was called for holding Hughes, Hartman batted in an airborne shot to make it 3-0 and prompt Bednar to make the switch.

Blackwood, who played the whole first-round series for the Avalanche when they lost to the Dallas Stars in seven games last year, finished with 12 saves.

So now what? Back to Wedgewood for Game 4 in Minnesota on Monday? Bednar wasn't ready to declare.

“We’ll have a decision to make, but there’s a decision to make every night. Some of them are easier than others,” Bednar said.

After backstopping the Wild to a six-game win over the Stars in the first round this year, rookie Jesper Wallstedt was the natural pick to start this series against the Avalanche. After the Wild lost the wacky opener 9-6 on Sunday, coach John Hynes went to Filip Gustavsson for Game 2.

Gustavsson, who has been the team's primary goalie for the last three seasons and made 49 starts during the regular season to Wallstedt's 33, didn't look sharp in the 5-2 loss on Tuesday. So the Wild went back to Wallstedt for Game 3 — with a favorable outcome. Wallstedt made 35 saves.

“I had no doubt he was going to be back — just kind of who he is,” Hynes said. “He’s a competitor. He’s got confidence. He’s been very solid, and I just thought he got right back to his game tonight. He’s proven throughout the playoffs that the moments don’t get too big for him.”

AP NHL playoffs: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Minnesota Wild right wing Ryan Hartman (38) tries to gain control of the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak (27) and goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (39) defend during the third period of Game 3 of an NHL Stanley Cup hockey second-round playoff series Saturday, May 9, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood (39) waits for play to resume during the third period of Game 3 of an NHL Stanley Cup hockey second-round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild, Saturday, May 9, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov, second from right, celebrates with defenseman Quinn Hughes (43) and left wing Matt Boldy (12) after scoring during the first period of Game 3 of an NHL Stanley Cup hockey second-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, May 9, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Minnesota Wild left wing Kirill Kaprizov (97) celebrates with teammates after scoring during the first period of Game 3 of an NHL Stanley Cup hockey second-round playoff series against the Colorado Avalanche, Saturday, May 9, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) — Sean Strickland won UFC’s 185-pound championship for the second time in his career on Saturday night, defeating Khamzat Chimaev via split decision in a bout that never rose to the level of vitriol and threats of violence outside the cage both fighters engaged in ahead of the main event of UFC 328.

Strickland won two scorecards 48-47 while Chimaev took the other scorecard at 48-47 in front of a crowd of 17,783 fans at the Prudential Center.

Strickland, the second former middleweight to regain the title, mimed putting the belt around his waist after the fifth round ended to wrap a fight where neither fighter ever seemed in serious danger. He had help with his shiny new fashion accessory when Chimaev did the honors for him inside the cage.

UFC beefed up security at hotels, public events and around the cage for this one following one of the more loathsome displays — specifically, Strickland — of trash talk in recent fight history. Strickland threatened to shoot Chimaev and labeled him a terrorist because of his ties to Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov.

Chimaev, who lost for the first time in 16 pro fights, is of Chechen ethnicity and fights under the United Arab Emirates banner, had countered by saying he would “take off” Strickland’s head.

The fighters tapped gloves to start the fight to prove they were professionals and the prefight hostilities never spilled over into the cage.

The 35-year-old Strickland, who won the 185-pound belt in September 2023 and lost it in his first title defense, apologized after the fight to fans of all ethnicities and acknowledged he “went too (damn) hard” in weaponizing stereotypes to sell the fight.

Joshua Van mauled Tatsuro Taira into a bloody mess in the co-main and successfully defended his 125-pound championship in the first title fight in company history contested between two Asian fighters.

Van dominated with elite boxing and won via stoppage at 1:32 of round five and had the crowd roaring in his first title defense since he beat Alexandre Pantoja at UFC 323.

Van (17-2) seized control in the second round with a violent right hand to the jaw for the knockdown and he repeatedly bashed Taira (18-2) in the face. Van failed to finish the round but continued to rip shots the rest of the rounds to the face and body that left Taira’s face and chest smeared with blood.

Van and Taira marked the first time UFC has a title fight with both competitors born in the 2000s.

The 24-year-old Van, of Myanmar, has won seven straight fights and 10 of 11 since he signed with UFC — and few bigger than in the co-main event of UFC’s 11th stop in Newark.

Taira failed in his try to become the first Japanese fighter to become UFC champion.

UFC held its last major card before its June 14 show at the White House to fete President Donald Trump, a proud proponent of cage match politics. The show — what UFC CEO Dana White dubbed a “1 of 1 event” — is timed for Trump’s 80th birthday and as part of the nation’s 250th anniversary. Trump, who frequently attends major UFC events, did not attend Saturday night at the Prudential Center.

In other fights of note on the main card, Sean Brady defeated Joaquin Buckley via unanimous decision; King Green chocked out Jeremy Stephens; and Alexander Volkov defeated Waldo Cortes-Acosta via unanimous decision.

On the undercard, 42-year-old Jim Miller used a submission victory to boost his record totals for UFC fights and career victories in his first return to the cage since his teenage son beat a rare form of childhood cancer.

A New Jersey native, Miller defeated Jared Gordon in a lightweight bout at UFC 328 with a rear naked choke at 3:29 of the first round and his family cheering him on from the Prudential Center. Miller extended his record with 28 career wins in 47 fights under the UFC banner.

Miller also earned his 20th finish, second most in UFC history.

Wyatt Miller, 14, was diagnosed last year with rhadbomyosacroma, a rare type of cancer that starts as a growth of cells in soft tissue and is more common in childhood. Wyatt underwent two courses of chemotherapy and five weeks of proton radiation at Rutgers University Cancer Institute and was eventually given a clean bill of health.

“My son went through some really difficult times the last couple of months,” Miller said inside the octagon. “He ended up kicking the (heck) out of cancer. He’s all good today. He’s cancer free. One of the things I told him when he first got diagnosed was, Millers have been called a lot of names over the years, but fragile’s never been one of them. He fought his way through it.”

His son’s cancer scare kept Miller out of the cage for 13 months, an eternity for a fighter who made a habit of competing multiple times a year. Miller lost to Chase Hooper in his last fight at UFC 314 in April 2025.

AP MMA: https://apnews.com/hub/mixed-martial-arts

President Donald Trump meets with UFC fighters, Wednesday, May 6, 2026, in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

FILE - Khamzat Chimaev of the United Arab Emirates, celebrates after he beats Kamaru Usman of Nigeria, in the UFC middleweight championship fight at the Ethihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili, File)

FILE - Sean Strickland, UFC middleweight champion, arrives on stage to face off with Dricus Du Plessis during a mixed martial arts news conference ahead of UFC 297 in Toronto, Thursday, Jan. 18, 2024. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP, FIle)

FILE - Jim Miller reacts after defeating Damon Jackson in a UFC 309 mixed martial arts lightweight title bout, Nov. 16, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger, File)