{"id":536956,"date":"2026-04-02T17:44:43","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:44:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/536956\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T17:44:43","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T17:44:43","slug":"nathan-mackinnon-avalanche-warned-about-embarrassing-themselves-in-stanley-cup-playoffs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/536956\/","title":{"rendered":"Nathan MacKinnon, Avalanche warned about embarrassing themselves in Stanley Cup Playoffs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The best team in the NHL took on the worst side, as the Colorado Avalanche<\/a> hosted the Vancouver Canucks. On paper, the Avs should have blown the \u2018Nucks out of the water, but hockey is played on ice. Against all odds, the visitors prevailed over Nathan MacKinnon and company, leading to a blunt wake-up call from head coach Jared Bednar.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no excuse. I think if we\u2019re making excuses for that performance, it\u2019s going to be a short [playoff] run,\u201d Bednar said after the 8-6 loss at home to the Canucks, via NHL.com<\/a>. \u201cWe have to play [with effort] for 60 minutes. But we weren\u2019t even close.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bednar\u2019s comments aren\u2019t by chance. After a dominant first half of the 2025\u201326 NHL<\/a> season, the Avs are now showing cracks in their foundation. MacKinnon<\/a> remains red-hot\u2014he scored his 50th goal of the season (121 points) against Vancouver\u2014but the team is struggling in other areas.<\/p>\n

Avalanche\u2019s concerning form<\/p>\n

Indeed, the Avs have won five of their last seven games, but they are just 5-4-1 over their last 10 outings. Moreover, Colorado is looking fragile at home. At Ball Arena in the Mile High City\u2014where the Avs are expected to have a second wind against visiting opponents\u2014the Avalanche have lost five of their last six home games.<\/p>\n

\"Jared<\/p>\n

Jared Bednar of the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena.<\/p>\n

As things stand, Colorado is on track to finish the campaign as Presidents\u2019 Trophy champions. That would mean the Stanley Cup<\/a> Playoffs run through Denver\u2014with MacKinnon\u2019s side enjoying home-ice advantage in every round. Yet if the Avs continue to be a liability on home ice, that advantage could become a burden. <\/p>\n

Moreover, the Avalanche have some unfinished business when it comes to the postseason. They\u2019ve had one of the best cores in the league for years, yet aside from their Stanley Cup run in 2022, the Avalanche have never made it past the second round. Colorado could once again run into its kryptonite\u2014the Dallas Stars\u2014in the 2026 playoffs, and there\u2019s no guarantee the Avs would come out of that matchup alive.<\/p>\n

Bednar wants Colorado to play with hunger again<\/p>\n

Thus, Bednar is wasting no time sending a message to his team. Every dog has its day\u2014that\u2019s a fact. But for a struggling Canucks team to have it against the No. 1 team in the league is something Colorado can\u2019t fathom and won\u2019t let slide.<\/p>\n

The Avalanche have eight games left on the schedule. With their playoff spot already secured, these final games will be crucial in helping them find their mojo. If not, as Bednar bluntly warned, the Avs could be headed for another short playoff run.<\/p>\n

Colorado should know better\u2014these disappointing endings have a way of snowballing, and sooner or later, the team could find itself buried under an avalanche of heartbreak and self-doubt.<\/p>\n

SurveyHow far will Colorado go in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?<\/p>\n

How far will Colorado go in the Stanley Cup Playoffs?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The best team in the NHL took on the worst side, as the Colorado Avalanche hosted the Vancouver…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":536957,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5116],"tags":[193,192,144,5277,5,517,4,60585,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-536956","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-colorado-avalanche","8":"tag-avalanche","9":"tag-colorado","10":"tag-colorado-avalanche","11":"tag-coloradoavalanche","12":"tag-hockey","13":"tag-nathan-mackinnon","14":"tag-nhl","15":"tag-nomsn","16":"tag-stanley-cup"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nhl\/116336360043542962","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=536956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/536956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/536957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=536956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=536956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=536956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}