Jared Bednar says Avs set for ‘most fun part’ after clinching Presidents’ Trophy
· Yahoo Sports
The Colorado Avalanche finished off the inevitable on Thursday, April 9, with their 3-1 victory over the Calgary Flames.
As a result of the win, the Avalanche clinched the fourth Presidents’ Trophy in franchise history with four games remaining in the regular season. Colorado has been on a steady march to the NHL’s top point total since a 10-game winning streak that ended just after Thanksgiving.
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While his team celebrated the accomplishment, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar focused on what lies ahead.
As shared by the team on X, Bednar said, “It’s one step at a time really, right? Your goal in training camp right away is to win the division. We know how important that can be. …. The conference, the league. Check, check, check. We’ve done that.”
“More importantly, it’s to get your team playing the way that you feel like you can win in the playoffs. … Give our guys credit. They’ve been consistently really good all year. They’re committed to playing the right way. So now we’re getting ready for the most fun part of the season, the playoffs.”
Colorado stands 52-16-10 with 114 points, six more than the Carolina Hurricanes. The Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2020-21, 2000-01 and 1996-97. During only one of those seasons (2000-01) did Colorado win the Stanley Cup.
Now, the Avalanche are tied with the New York Rangers and Boston Bruins for the second-most all-time Presidents’ Trophies with four. The Detroit Red Wings have six.
Colorado faced challenges within its division. For instance, the Dallas Stars (106 points) and Minnesota Wild (102) own the second- and third-most points in the Western Conference.
“We’ve been waiting for the playoffs to start now for a while, and we still have a handful of games to go, obviously, so still time to tighten up our game,” Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog said, per NHL.com.
Nathan MacKinnon leads the way for the Avalanche with an NHL-leading 52 goals. Additionally, goaltender Scott Wedgewood paces the league in goals-against average (2.10) and save percentage (.918).
Looking ahead, the Stanley Cup playoffs begin Saturday, April 18.