Just when you think you’ve seen it all, the referees in the NHL find a way to keep you on your toes.

Guess there’s a first for everything.

Early in the third period of Thursday’s 6-5 comeback win over the Sabres, the Colorado Avalanche scored a quick goal to cut Buffalo’s lead to one. On the next shift, things got crazy.

With the Sabres cycling the puck in the Avalanche end, Parker Kelly nudged Sabres forward Zach Benson into Scott Wedgewood, with most of Benson’s weight coming down on the right leg of Colorado’s netminder. With Wedgewood clearly injured and down on the ice in pain, the refs allowed play to continue. Benson got up, corralled the puck, and deposited the puck into a mostly empty net. 

Chaos ensued after the goal was scored, with Sam Girard trying to get at Benson. But the refs allowed the goal to stand. It was a big goal too, as it gave the Sabres the two-goal lead again.

Avs coach Jared Bednar challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the challenge was unsuccessful. Hardly a surprise, considering it was Kelly who pushed Benson into Wedgewood. The surprise was the ref behind the net staring at a clearly injured Wedgewood and not blowing the play dead. It is extremely rare to see a goal stand with a clearly injured goalie laying on the ice.

After the game, Bednar was not happy.

“The referee said it wasn’t blown because we put their guy into (Wedgewood). I said, I don’t give a s—. He’s hurt,” Bednar said. “They’re standing there, he’s sitting there, he’s hurt. Blow the whistle.”

At some point, it becomes a safety issue with a player laying on the ice. The whistle should be blown immediately when it appears to be a serious injury. Unfortunately, that’s what it looks like for the Avalanche.

Wedgewood needed a lot of help getting off the ice, putting no weight on his right leg as he was taken to the locker room. After the game, Bednar said he would miss some time, but didn’t have a clear timeline.

The Avalanche could have unraveled after that moment of the game. Instead of caving in, they got stronger. Not only did they kill off the penalty for the failed challenge, but they drew two power plays of their own. They scored on one to make it interesting. But Buffalo scored late to restore their two goal lead.

Game over? Not quite.

The Avalanche scored two goals with the net empty to tie it up, and then Devon Toews did it all by himself in overtime. He took the puck away from Tage Thompson, giving himself a breakaway and he made no mistake, keeping Colorado red-hot to start the New Year.

“The defensive play was great,” Bednar said of Toews’ goal. “What he did leading up to that rush chance is what’s impressive and what we know him for, and then to finish it off, great finish. That’s a heck of an effort.”

Sabres 5, Avalanche 6

What happened: The Avalanche completed their second crazy comeback in a month against the Sabres to win their sixth straight game.

What went right: Colorado could have easily become unglued after the fourth Buffalo goal and Wedgewood’s injury. They didn’t. That’s a sign of a veteran team.

“We’ve built that over the years of that intensity and being able to gear it up if we need it. And tonight we did, and brought it,” Toews said.

What went wrong: Well, the reffing was wildly inconsistent, which we’ve come to expect from the NHL. After the Wedgewood injury, everything was called. Before and after that, nothing was called. Still, the Avalanche weren’t happy with their start, but found a way to win.

Between the pipes: Wedgewood made 14 saves on 18 shots before exiting due to injury. Blackwood surrendered one goal on three shots against in his limited time playing.

What’s next: Colorado will host the surprisingly red-hot Montreal Canadiens on Saturday at 5 p.m.