Jared Bednar’s NHL coaching debut shared some similarities with that of Patrick Roy’s first game behind the Colorado Avalanche bench three years ago.
Bednar won his first game as bench boss of the Avalanche. So, too, did Roy. On both occasions, the Avalanche scored six goals and beat a Western Conference opponent.
But Roy also erupted at former Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau, causing a confrontation between the benches -- an incident that resulted in Roy, the former fiery Avalanche goalie, being fined $10,000.
Nothing like that for Bednar, who has worked his way up to the NHL from the coaching ranks in the ECHL and AHL. But it’s a positive start for Colorado, which underwent a sudden coaching change in August.
“I’ll tell you, that was a fun game,” said Bednar, as per NHL.com.
“It was an exciting game. I really liked it, I enjoyed being behind the bench. I thought our fans were amazing. I’m going to enjoy it, at least for tonight. It’s a good night, a successful night for our team. I don’t want to give up that many goals, but it was a fun game.”
Joe Colborne also had the hat trick in his first game as a member of the Avalanche.
But what the new coach won’t be happy with is letting the Stars back into the game -- Dallas, with that high-flying offense, is certainly capable of sizable comebacks -- after Colorado scored five straight goals to take a three-goal lead.
“I liked the way we played offensively. I thought we were skating and on our toes, creating chances. I think we have to get better defensively,” he said.
“We made some mistakes defensively up ice that gave them some numbers and gave them some scoring chances early in the game and also a little bit later.”