The Colorado Avalanche failed miserably early on in Wednesday night’s game against the Vancouver Canucks. Though the final score was 8-6, the game obviously should never have gone the length in which it did. The Canucks are the worst team in the league and in high contention to own the first overall pick in the 2026 draft.
Head coach Jared Bednar spoke with the media as he always does following the team’s games, and he wasn’t happy… At all. He pulled goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood for Scott Wedgewood after the former allowed six goals in 35:21 while in net. However, as Bednar stated, it wasn’t all on Blackwood.
Jared Bednar said that Mackenzie Blackwood was one of 20 players that wasn’t good enough tonight
— Meghan Angley (@megangley) April 2, 2026
The list of things that went wrong was “too long”
Sometimes the truth hurts, and it hurts bad after this loss. In no universe should the Avalanche have even allowed the Canucks to almost put the game away early. In fact, it should have been the complete opposite. You’re talking about the best team in the league against the worst team in the league.
Bednar also pointed out another harsh truth: That a performance like this won’t fly in the postseason. They’ll be headed home early if it happens again.
There simple were too many mistakes. Sure, you can put some of the blame on the fact that the Avs didn’t have superstar Cale Makar, but Makar is simply one player. The truth is that the Avalanche just did not do enough to earn any praise from Bednar. Participation trophies mean nothing. In fact, it almost felt like hardly any Avalanche was participating.
The Avalanche also allowed another shorthanded goal against Vancouver. It was the 13th goal of the kind allowed by the Avalanche this season. Unfortunately, the Avs lead the league in that category with 13 short-handers allowed.
It blows my mind how a team could be so bad at a power play for the majority of the season, and then, once they figure it out, it comes to everyone’s attention that they’re bad at allowing shorhanded goals. In fact, as one of the top penalty killing teams in the league, make it make sense…? I’m shocked.
The Avalanche play the Dallas Stars next, on Saturday. With a couple of days to get their heads on properly, they need to switch gears. In the film room or on the ice, it is not going to be a fun time in between games. The Avs need a reality check right now, and Bednar will absolutely give it to them.