Avalanche’s Jared Bednar leaves game after taking puck to face
Having already clinched the Presidents’ Trophy, the Colorado Avalanche are merely playing out the string until the end of the regular season. The last thing they want to see is an injury, even if it’s suffered by their head coach.
During Saturday’s 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, Colorado head coach Jared Bednar took a puck to the face, forcing him to head back to his team’s dressing room.
Jared Bednar took a puck to the right cheek. He’s awake and alert, but will go to a local hospital for some further evaluation and a CT scan, per a team spokesperson
Bednar is expected to visit a local hospital near Denver for evaluation and a CT scan.
The incident occured early in the third period, when Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar approached the red line and tried to dump the puck into Colorado’s end. Avalanche forward Jack Drury checked Kolesar’s stick at the last moment, causing him to inadvertently fire the puck into the Colorado bench and strike Bednar in the right cheek.
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar caught a stray puck in the head, helped straight to the locker room Yikes #Denver7
After briefly getting looked at on the bench, Bednar was helped to the dressing room by members of the team’s training staff.
With the Avalanche having already clinched the top seed in the Western Conference, they can afford to have him miss the team’s next few games while he recovers, but they’d obviously love to get him back in time for their first game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Bednar isn’t the only person the Avalanche are hoping returns to health in time for the postseason. Center Nazem Kadri, the team’s primary trade deadline acquisition, suffered a injury after taking a shot to the hand on April 7th, though Bednar later updated that they expect Kadri to be back before the playoffs.
Bednar was hired as Colorado’s head coach ahead of the 2016-17 season. He has led the Avalanche to nine consecutive postseason berths, including a Stanley Cup championship in 2022.
Colorado will visit the Edmonton Oilers on Monday.