Jared Bednar says the Avalanche will be ready for playoff rematch with Dallas

The Colorado Avalanche wrapped up the regular season in Anaheim over the weekend with a 4-2 victory over the Ducks, highlighted by a four-goal third period. With the team down a lot of key players, the young guys were able to handle the adversity on the road and find an extra gear down the stretch. The Avs had nothing to play for Sunday, as they were already locked into their first round matchup against the Dallas Stars before the puck dropped in Anaheim.

The Stars got the best of the Avalanche a season ago after the Avs couldn’t get the job done in Game 6 at home in double overtime, and Jared Bednar is looking to avenge that defeat.

“We’ll be ready. We’ve got a whole week off here to get prepared for Dallas,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said after the win Sunday. “We know they’re a very good team, obviously. They’re finishing in the top three in the league and they’ve been tough competition for us for the last few years. They got the better of us last year in the playoffs, but this is why you play. That’s the new NHL, you’re going to play a really good team right away because you’re playing in your division, our division is super tough. So we’ve got to be at our best. We feel like if we play our best hockey for that two-week stretch we have a good chance to win.”

This year’s series will look much different than last years. Gabe Landeskog is tracking to be on the ice this time around, Valeri Nichushkin is active after he was suspended just hours before puck drop of Game 4 last year, and the Avs have a new tandem in between the pipes.

On the other side, Dallas will have Mikko Rantanen, one of the most talented players to ever rep the burgundy and blue. Emotions will be high after his saga of contract extension talks with multiple teams around the trade deadline resulted in him leaving the Avalanche to go play for a division rival for roughly the same amount of money.

This will be the seventh time the two foes have met in the postseason. Dallas has won four for the six matchups and the last two, both of which came in heart breaking fashion in a Game 7 loss in the 2020 Western Conference Semifinals and the Game 6 loss in the Conference Semis a year ago.

While the Avs’ regular season has come to a close, other teams are still playing games through Thursday, so the schedule for the series has not been announced yet. With Dallas being the higher seed, the clash will start in the Lone Star State on either Saturday or Sunday.