Avalanche coach takes puck to the face, will miss final regular-season games

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar will be seeking his second Stanley Cup title with his team, but he will have to take a seat off the ice for the remainder of the regular season.

Bednar was struck in the face with a puck on Saturday night during a 3-2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. The team said that Bednar suffered facial fractures and a corneal abrasion, but is expected to make a full recovery, without needing surgery, and be back on the bench for the playoffs.

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"It’s certainly a little unnerving. It’s scary when the pucks are flying in there," assistant coach Nolan Pratt said after the game. "It happens all the time, and unfortunately tonight, so it takes a little second to sort of recalibrate and then get back to it."

Pratt and Dave Hakstol will likely coach the team for the final two games of the regular season. The Avalanche will hit the road for games against the Edmonton Oilers and Calgary Flames.

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The Avalanche, who won the Stanley Cup title in 2022, clinched the top seed in the Western Conference on Thursday night with 115 points.

Colorado star Nathan MacKinnon is leading the NHL with 52 goals this season and is third in the league with 74 assists. He’s also third in points with 126, trailing the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov (128) and Oilers star Connor McDavid (133).

The Avalanche have made the playoffs in all but one season under Bednar.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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