So, Tuesday night in Columbus was hardly what Colorado Avalanche fans want to see.
While the Avs were playing on back-to-back nights, the complete and utter meltdown in the second period was simply unacceptable, paving the way for an embarrassing 7-2 loss.
And that’s precisely what head coach Jared Bednar manifested following the game. The veteran coach made it clear that he’s unhappy with the situation and that something has to give.
A visibly frustrated Jared Bednar said they've been patient early on, but he's going to have to change his approach now.
— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) November 4, 2026
"This game's showing up too much for me. There has to be a line. We're 20% through the season, so it's not a small window."
All right, fair enough. But what can Bednar realistically do?
The tools coaches typically employ in such situations are line changes, healthy scratches, and reduced ice time.
But let’s get real for a minute. Is any of that going to make a significant difference in the concerning trends we’ve seen?
Yes, bottom-six guys like Jaden Schwartz have stepped up. Nazem Kadri has been a tough customer of late. And even Martin Necas has shown a bit of a mean streak. But none of that has been enough to keep efforts consistent.
Perhaps the easiest place to start would be on the blue line. Brent Burns is beginning to show his age, while Sam Malinski hasn’t really followed up on his breakout year. Brett Kulak has been barely noticeable on the ice, which is actually a good thing.
However, it’s been Cale Makar and Devon Toews who have been up and down the entire season. They’ve had knockout games like Makar’s four-assist performance a couple of nights ago. But the NHL’s best defensive pair hasn’t been quite themselves recently.
All of those elements ring true. But there’s one crucial element that could be the biggest reason for this entire discussion.
Goaltending continues to be an issue for the Avalanche
Goaltending continues to be the biggest issue moving forward. While MacKenzie Blackwood has held his own for most of the season, Scott Wedgewood has looked shockingly bad. His four goals on nine shots against Columbus painted that picture.
Now, Tuesday night’s debacle would have easily fallen on Wedgewood if Blackwood had come in and shut the door.
But he didn’t. Blackwood allowed three more goals, derailing any momentum the club could have gotten. Had the Avs’ starting goalie shut things down at 4-1, there might have been hopes of a comeback.
The game got away from the Avalanche at 6-1 late in the second period, and, well, it was tough to envision Colorado coming back unless there was some sort of miraculous turnaround.
The bottom line is that no single player on the team can bear the brunt of this situation. If I didn’t know any better, I’d say it’s time to have an uncomfortable talk about Jared Bednar. That discussion, nonetheless, is something the organization will put off for a while.
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