Avalanche Locker Room: MacKinnon ‘Knew’ Landeskog Wasn’t Coming Back, Bednar on Rantanen’s Record-Setting Goal

On the ice, the Colorado Avalanche had to take care of business if they want to win the Central Division. Off the ice, though, the Gabriel Landeskog news was all anyone wanted to talk about.

Nathan MacKinnon said after the game that he knew a month ago the Captain wasn’t coming back. Jared Bednar said they found out today. Was MacKinnon saying it tongue-in-cheek? Maybe. The video below is there for everyone to check out and decide.

Evan Rodrigues scored the game-winning goal, and talked about that, as well as the Landeskog news after the game. In addition, read what Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar had to say after the 4-2 win over Winnipeg.

Bednar on when the Landeskog decision became final:

Today.

Bednar on the Landeskog news:

Yeah, I mean, it’s a huge blow. He’s our captain. One of the top players in the world. But we’ve been without him. You have to prepare to go without him until he says he’s good. Obviously, he can’t get to the point where he feels like he’s going to be able to go and help, so he’s going to explore other options.

Bednar on Cogliano and Malgin’s injuries:

Cogliano’s out, upper-body. No timetable yet. Malgin, probably will miss tomorrow too, no timetable. There’s always concern. Every time someone gets hurt, there’s concern that it could be serious, or longer than what it takes. We just have to keep moving on, moving forward, and hopefully we’ll get good information over the next couple of days on both of them.

Bednar on whose starting on Friday:

I haven’t decided yet.

Bednar on Avalanche forward Artturi Lehkonen’s return:

Thought he was great, for missing the time and under the circumstances, I thought he was fantastic. He’s never going to cheat you on his work and his competitiveness, right? So that goes a long way in this game, and then, you know, he’s a smart player, a good player. He made an impact on this game tonight.

Bednar on Rantanen’s record-setting goal:

Well, it’s pretty impressive when you’re comparing yourself to Joe (Sakic), on one of his big years. I know Joe’s happy for him. It’s a big year for Mikko. To be able to score 55, be as consistent as he’s been all year, 100-plus points, it’s highly impactful to our team.

Bednar on if Cale Makar will play Friday:

I don’t think so.