DENVER — Jared Bednar is typically the picture of a smooth operator — calm, cool, and collected.
But even the Stanley Cup-winning head coach has his limits. Wednesday night pushed him there.
The Colorado Avalanche, the NHL’s top team, were stunned on home ice, falling 8–6 to the league’s last-place Vancouver Canucks — a result as jarring as any they’ve produced this season.
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Vancouver entered the night on a six-game losing streak, scoring just 11 total goals over that stretch. They also carried one of the worst penalty kills in NHL history since the stat has been tracked. Still, Colorado conceded a shorthanded goal and unraveled defensively in a way that’s becoming increasingly concerning.
In short, the Avalanche were outplayed, outworked, and out-executed for the first 40 minutes. While they showed pushback in the third — something Bednar acknowledged — it did little to soften the larger issue.
“I (liked) the way we played in the third, but the reality of it is, if you want to win in this league, you have to play that way for 60 minutes,” he told The Hockey News. “And we weren’t even close.
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“Wasn’t a great first, it got worse in the second. Yeah, if you want to hand out like badges for good effort and stuff like that, I think we’re beyond that. Effort for 20 minutes and doing the right things for 20 minutes isn’t good enough.”
When asked if there were any positives to take, Bednar didn’t hesitate to shut that down.
“Close as I get to a positive is what we just talked about. Again, we’re past that. If this was the start of the season; we’re making all sorts of mistakes…and build on what we did in the third period, is like trying to get a standard of play and the way you need to play an exhibition with a bunch of kids, but not now.
“I think if we’re making excuses for that performance, it’s gonna be a short run.”
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To put it plainly: everything.
Mackenzie Blackwood got the start and allowed six goals on 19 shots, with several falling into the category of stoppable. But the defensive structure in front of him was just as culpable, repeatedly breaking down and leaving Grade-A looks unchecked.
“He’s one of 20. That’s all I can say,” Bednar said. “One of 20 guys that wasn’t good enough.”
Sam Malinski scored twice, while Nathan MacKinnon, Gabe Landeskog, Brent Burns, and Parker Kelly each added a goal. After falling behind 6–2 and pulling Blackwood, Colorado mounted an impressive rally to tie the game at 6–6.
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Then, much like the revamped power play from the last month, it vanished.
Just 23 seconds after the equalizer, Marcus Pettersson — without a goal since November — restored Vancouver’s lead, a backbreaking sequence that perfectly encapsulated Colorado’s night. An empty-netter followed to seal it.
The Avalanche missed a chance to take another step toward clinching the Central Division with a win over the Dallas Stars on Saturday. They remain firmly in control, but a performance like this — against the worst team in the league — does nothing to inspire confidence. If anything, it amplifies the inconsistencies that have lingered beneath the surface all season.
Vancouver struck on the opening shift, setting the tone immediately. Nathan MacKinnon answered less than a minute later with his 50th goal of the season, becoming the first player in the NHL to reach the milestone this year.
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But the response didn’t spark stability.
The Canucks regained control before the first intermission, scoring on both the power play and while shorthanded. Colorado managed to hang around with a late goal, but the warning signs were already there.
They only intensified in the second.
Vancouver poured in three unanswered goals, chasing Blackwood from the game. At the time of the third tally, the Avalanche had just three shots in the period — a telling snapshot of a team disconnected in all three zones. Defensive coverage was loose, the forecheck ineffective, and nearly every dangerous look against ended up in the net.
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Then, suddenly, life.
Malinski opened the third-period scoring after Scott Wedgewood took over in relief. Fourteen seconds in, Parker Kelly struck to cut the deficit to two. Brent Burns made it a one-goal game at 13:21, and Malinski completed the comeback at 13:58, tying it 6–6.
Ball Arena came alive. Momentum had fully flipped. The Avalanche had erased a four-goal deficit.
And then, just as quickly, it was gone.
Twenty-three seconds later, Vancouver answered to reclaim the lead — and that was all she wrote.
If Colorado has any intention of making a deep playoff run, this has to be a wake-up call. Cale Makar’s absence is notable, but as Bednar made clear, it’s no excuse. Not now. Not with the postseason looming.
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Because if this version of the Avalanche shows up in two weeks, Bednar’s warning may prove prophetic: it will be a short run.
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