Avalanche Locker Room: Bednar Disagrees With Colton Ejection

It’s pretty rare for Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar to publicly disagree with the officiating, but it’s safe to say he was not happy with Ross Colton getting ejected during Tuesday night’s victory over the New Jersey Devils.

The Avalanche coach did not think Colton deserved five minutes for cross-checking in the second period, and made that pretty clear. One thing he was really happy with? How his team played.

Miles Wood also spoke after a big game against his former squad, but was more focused on the team winning than his individual performance.

Miles Wood

Wood on playing his former team:

“For me, it was just another game. Like I said before the pregame, first shift might be a little weird, and it was, but as soon as that passed, it was right back to work. Just happy to get the two points here and win.”

Wood on his first goal against a goaltender this season:

“For me, it’s not about scoring. I’m going to say it again, it’s about getting the two points and trying to win. That’s all I want to do in my career right now. Just win as many games as possible. We have a great team here, and that’s all that matters.”

Bednar on the Colton ejection:

“I don’t know. I mean, he’s forechecking hard. I saw it very similar to the Wood hit (on Siegenthaler). The guy’s trying to wheel the net, we’re cutting him off. There’s gonna be contact, you know? I think the difference was Hughes, last second he tries to turn out of it without the puck, so it didn’t look good. He gave him two, I’ll live with the call. After the fact, honestly, I didn’t even see that until I watched the replay, but Meier turns back to go at Colton, and he’s coming at him with his stick high. You gotta defend yourself, and your sticks got to go up, unless you want to take one in the teeth. So, it’s what he does. It’s a reaction play to me. I didn’t think that deserved a five. I don’t like the call to five, but, you try and live through it.”

Bednar on the second period:

“That was just a crazy period, no? I mean, you don’t see that very often. The whole entire second period was pretty much special teams. I thought our penalty kill did a nice job. We could have got more assertive on the shot from the point, and got out there quicker to give them a little less time. You take those two goals, I’m sure Georgie would like at least one of them back.”

Bednar on Ondrej Pavel’s NHL Debut:

“I thought he played fine. I had no problems with his game. He worked hard, he was physical, he’s a reliable checking center. Could have used him probably on the penalty kill, but he hasn’t been up here very long, and the only reps he got was this morning, so you kind of go with the guys you trust the most, if they’re still feeling it. But I thought he did a nice job. I mean, it was not an easy game for your first one, because there were long stretches of that game where not only him, but other players were sitting on the bench…so it’s hard to find a rhythm. You got to work on staying focused, and I thought he did that.”

Bednar on the third line for the Avalanche:

“Wood, Colton, OC, they’ve been fantastic. I mean, they were an excellent line, if you just looked at their shifts, even in Vegas, they were outstanding…That’s why we got those guys. That added grit and physicality, and you see it. Two big hits tonight on their defense, and that can take its toll. Keeps defense on their toes, and maybe creating some turnovers, and in this case, Wood finishing the check, we get a powerplay out of it, after they just scored a big goal. I thought it was a good night from those guys.”

Bednar on the third period, star players:

“I didn’t hate our second either, it’s just, again, we only had half our team playing. I like the way we responded. I thought our big boys were excellent tonight. We’ve been talking a lot about what we need to do to have success, and you know, at times we’re inconsistent with how much commitment we’re putting on our checking game, and it’s just a lot of work. That’s what it is. It’s just hard work and commitment to check the right way. I believe it leads to a lot of offense, I think our guys believe in that too. Early in the year, there’s a little learning curve in remembering how hard the league is and how committed you have to be. I thought our big guys led the way with that tonight.”

“It was our most consistent game as a four line effort this year.”

Bednar on Avalanche forward Ryan Johansen:

“Jo has been working hard. I think he’s an intelligent player, and you take his size, his vision, his hands and his ability to make plays. When he gets in the right spots of the ice, and someone makes a play to him, or he’s able to make a play, he’s a really patient player. He doesn’t panic with anyone trying to check him because of his size and length. Tonight, he gets it in the slot, he didn’t rush it. Probably surveyed the ice to see if he could dish it off to someone, he couldn’t, and then still found a way to put it in.”