ST. LOUIS — Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar isn’t getting ahead of himself despite his team’s latest achievement.
Following Tuesday evening’s 3-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues that secured both the Central Division title and the Western Conference’s number one playoff seed, Bednar was already looking toward the team’s ultimate championship aspirations.
“We’re not all the way there yet,” Bednar said. “You know, like the goal for us started with winning the division, the conference, we still need another win to get first overall. Like, we’d be crazy not to chase that at this point, right? It’s important, if you get to where you want to go, you might as well try and get your home ice, especially after a season like this.”
This marks Colorado’s third conference-leading finish in the past five years, though their first since the 2023 season. While that 2023 campaign ended in a disappointing first-round playoff exit, the Avalanche captured their third Stanley Cup championship in 2022 after also finishing atop the Western Conference.
Despite posting an impressive 51-16-10 record for 112 points, Colorado has actually performed better away from home this season, going 27-7-5 on the road versus 24-9-5 at Ball Arena. However, goaltender Scott Wedgewood emphasized the importance of playoff home-ice advantage.
“Just atmosphere, altitude … you’re in your own bed the night before,” Wedgewood said. “You know, you still got to perform. It doesn’t mean you win because you’re at home, but like I said in between rounds, you’re able to knock a team out in five or six, you’re home for that many more days.”
Colorado stands one victory away from claiming the President’s Trophy, which goes to the league’s best regular-season team and guarantees home-ice advantage throughout the entire playoff tournament.
“Then obviously the fans, you get them going with a couple of hits, playoff hockey’s intense, and it’ll pay in your favor,” Wedgewood said.
With five regular-season games remaining, Bednar wants to see more consistent play from his squad, acknowledging recent inconsistencies in their performance.
“We’ve proven that we can do it when we want to set our minds to it, which is really important,” Bednar said. “I don’t have to see it for 60 minutes for every game the rest of the way, but we need to see it enough to secure our goal and making sure everyone’s confident in the way we play.”
