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![\"Julio](\"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/86fd85207b03e7c85723c2ebdfb61b52bc997ef3a63739bac3de7eaee6f480f2.jpg\")
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Julio Cortez \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
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Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar has guided his club to a 48-13-10 record so far this season, the best in the NHL.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike almost everybody else in the league right now, we\u2019re playing important games,\u201d said Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar. \u201cWe have our goal set on first place \u2014 it\u2019s been set there all year \u2014 and we\u2019re still fighting and trying to accomplish that goal. We feel like home ice is a big thing. You can avoid a couple of really strong opponents.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no easy rounds, but you know that if you get (first place) and get there, you\u2019re starting at home and letting a couple of other really good teams beat up each other in the first round.\u201d<\/p>\n
Similar to when the Jets jumped out to a 15-1 record to start the season, the Avalanche were strong out of the gate and had only one regulation loss through 25 games at 19-1-6.<\/p>\n
Despite the incredible start, the Avalanche have been pushed by both the Dallas Stars (who pulled within two points just last week) and the Minnesota Wild. That\u2019s the reality of the quality of competition in the Central Division, which had three of the top-5 teams in the NHL going into Friday\u2019s action.<\/p>\n
So even though they knew they were bound for the Stanley Cup playoffs for several months, the Avalanche still found a way to avoid going into cruise control mode. Part of that fine tuning includes Bednar sorting out which line combinations work best with the playoffs just around the corner.<\/p>\n
The depth down the middle for the Avalanche is incredible, with Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson, Nazem Kadri, Jack Drury and Nic Roy among the options available to Bednar when all are healthy.<\/p>\n
While the top-end talent is elite, the complementary scoring has also been there, with 10 skaters already in double digits for goals and three more at eight or nine.<\/p>\n
Combine that with a solid defence corps and one of the best goalie tandems in the NHL with Mackenzie Blackwood and Scott Wedgewood and you\u2019ve got an impressive collection of talent pursuing the ultimate goal.<\/p>\n
Having nine players on the current roster that captured the Stanley Cup in 2022 certainly helps heighten the focus.<\/p>\n
Having the likes of MacKinnon putting together a season worthy of the Hart Trophy (48 goals, 117 points), Cale Makar in the Norris Trophy discussion and captain Gabriel Landeskog back at full health doesn\u2019t hurt either.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur record with (Landeskog) and without him is significantly different this year,\u201d said Bednar. \u201cIt\u2019s hard to explain because he touches our room and touches the game in so many different areas. Just having him around, he\u2019s a sounding board for all our guys, he helps keep us on track. We don\u2019t seem to ride the emotional roller-coaster when he\u2019s in the lineup.\u201d<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Gene J. Puskar \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog is the bedrock of the club, with his presence consistently contributing to better overall season records.<\/p>\n Landeskog\u2019s journey back from a series of knee surgeries is well documented, but after returning for the Stanley Cup playoffs last spring, he\u2019s managed to stay mostly healthy, appearing in 50 games so far while also competing for Sweden at the recent Olympics in Italy.<\/p>\n \u201cFor us, we set a high standard early on in the season,\u201d said Landeskog. \u201cWe try to make sure our game is as tight as it possibly can be for the majority of every 10-game segment.\u201d<\/p>\n The Avalanche will enter the post-season as the favourite to win the Stanley Cup, even though the path through the Central Division is going to be incredibly tough.<\/p>\n Being able to lean on some of those past experiences is a valuable resource.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s the most important thing you can bring. Playing in a (Stanley Cup) final game, there\u2019s no simulation for it, unless you play in it,\u201d said Kadri. \u201cWe all understand how great of an opportunity that we have. None of us are taking it for granted.\u201d<\/p>\n Around the glass He may be struggling on the ice this season, with just one goal through 51 games, but Jets forward Gustav Nyquist continues to clean up at the ping-pong table.<\/p>\n \u201cHe beats everyone,\u201d Jets goaltender Eric Comrie revealed Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cIf he wanted to, he beats everyone 11-0. He\u2019s as good as a ping-pong player \u2014 and I\u2019ve played against some good ping-pong players \u2014 as I\u2019ve ever seen. He gets to the point where he embarrasses people.\u201d<\/p>\n Comrie made the revelation while a ping-pong tournament was happening inside the club\u2019s gym area following their optional skate, a few hours before they took flight to Denver to start their latest road trip.<\/p>\n \u201cOur second best player is Nino Niederreiter, and he beat him 11-0. Like not even trying,\u201d said Comrie.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Philip G. Pavely \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets forward Gustav Nyquist (left) is the club\u2019s ping-pong king, according to his teammates.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m actually searching up now on ChatGPT for ping-pong lessons. It went from golf lessons to ping-pong really fast. My whole Instagram algorithm went to ping-pong. I\u2019m trying to learn different serves and different things. Honestly it\u2019s making me worse. I\u2019m in my head.\u201d<\/p>\n Comrie said he recently asked Nyquist if he\u2019s ever met his match in this particular sport.<\/p>\n \u201cHe told me that every team he\u2019s played on he\u2019s never actually faced any competition. Except for Daniel Alfredsson. He\u2019s the only guy that\u2019s given him a challenge,\u201d said Comrie.<\/p>\n Maurice milestone<\/p>\n Move over Scotty Bowman.<\/p>\n Old friend Paul Maurice made some hockey history this week when he became just the second NHL coach to ever spend at least 2,000 games behind the bench.<\/p>\n Maurice, who has led the Florida Panthers to back-to-back Stanley Cups, hit the milestone in Tuesday\u2019s 5-4 shootout win against the Seattle Kraken.<\/p>\n A video tribute included messages from several former colleagues, managers and players, including defenceman Nate Schmidt, who played for Maurice in both Winnipeg and Florida and is now with the Utah Mammoth.<\/p>\n \u201cAppreciate everything you\u2019ve done for me. Hopefully I can see you around soon,\u2019\u2019 said Schmidt. \u201cChamps forever. Cheers.\u2019\u2019<\/p>\n A third straight championship doesn\u2019t seem in the cards, with the injury-riddled Panthers unlikely to make the playoffs, but Maurice told reporters he wouldn\u2019t change a thing.<\/p>\n \u201cThis place has been great. The fans have been great here,\u201d he said. \u201cI really appreciate the acknowledgement from the Florida Panthers and the fans. I truly appreciate that.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t Lynne Sladky \/ THE ASSOCIATED PRESS FILES<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice (left) became the second NHL coach to ever spend 2,000 games behind the bench Tuesday night. The former Winnipeg Jets bench boss needs 140 more games to overtake No. 1 all-time record holder Scotty Bowman. <\/p>\n The man who originally hired him for his first job at the tender age of 28, Jim Rutherford, also weighed in.<\/p>\n \u201cCongratulations, Paul. You have come a long way from that first game you coached in Hartford when I asked you to start coaching in your mid-20s,\u201d said Rutherford, who is now the president of hockey operations in Vancouver.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a long road for you, you are highly respected by the players who have played for you, by the people who work with you, and you have had great success now winning two Stanley Cups and coaching 2,000 games. As a friend, and on behalf of all the people you have touched in the game of hockey, I want to say thank you. And we are very proud of you.\u201d<\/p>\n Maurice could eventually overtake Bowman, who coached in 2,141 games, for No. 1 all-time.<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/kenwiebe<\/p>\n winnipegfreepress.com\/mikemcintyre<\/p>\n \n\t\tWinnipeg Free Press | Newsletter\n\t<\/p>\n \t\t\tThe Warm-Up<\/p>\n Winnipeg Jets Game Days<\/p>\n On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop.<\/p>\n \t\t\tSign up for The Warm-Up<\/a><\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t Ken Wiebe Raised in the booming metropolis of Altona, Man., Ken Wiebe grew up wanting to play in the NHL, but after realizing his hands were more adept at typing than scoring, he shifted his attention to cover his favourite sport as a writer.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 Read full biography<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t Mike McIntyre Mike McIntyre grew up wanting to be a professional wrestler. But when that dream fizzled, he put all his brawn into becoming a professional writer.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0 Read full biography<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.<\/p>\n \t\t
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\nPing-pong king<\/p>\n
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