The NHL season is long. Too long, some would argue. But when you're forced to dress a different lineup every night, it can feel even longer.
Just ask Jared Bednar.
"It's been a grind. This year's been a grind," the Avalanche coach said earlier this week.
Can you blame him?
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For various reasons, mostly injuries, the Avalanche have used 40 different players this season. Most of the injuries they've dealt with have been up front, which has forced the team to use 25 different forwards. The only two forwards in the organization with NHL contracts who haven't seen an NHL game this season are Jean-Luc Foudy and Matthew Phillips.
And there are still 37 games left to be played.
Still, through it all, the Avalanche sit firmly in a playoff spot and have the 10th best points percentage in the NHL. Amidst all the injuries, the early season struggles of their goaltending and re-integrating a twice suspended player back onto the roster, the Avalanche have a very realistic shot at having home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
Since Dec. 1, only one NHL team has more points than the Avalanche - the Edmonton Oilers, Colorado's opponent on Thursday.
It's time to give Bednar his flowers for navigating his team through the chaos, even if he'd rather give credit to the guys that play for him.
"You get out to a bad start and then you're grinding just to get back in the fight," Bednar said. "I'm pretty proud of what our team's done to this point in the season. It hasn't been perfect, certainly hasn't been easy, but the dig-in and buy-in from our players to this point this season has been really good."
The Jack Adams Award, given annually "to the coach adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success," is rarely given to the coach of a team that was expected to be good. Instead, it's usually given to someone whose team surprises or even overachieves thanks in large part to their goaltending. Five of the last seven winners of the award were let go by their teams because they couldn't sustain the winning.
If the award was actually given to the best coach in the NHL, Bednar and Jon Cooper, two of the three longest tenured coaches in the league, would each have at least one. Instead, they'll just have to settle for some Stanley Cup rings.
Bednar is not perfect. No NHL coach is. But he's a darn good one.
That's why he's been in Denver for almost a decade. That's why he's the winningest coach in franchise history. And that's why, despite what some outside folks might think, he still hasn't lost that room.
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He may never win a Jack Adams Award because expectations are too high in Denver. That doesn't mean he's not worthy of one.
What I'm hearing
-- When the Avalanche acquired Juuso Parssinen, Bednar made it very clear that the young forward was having a tough season in Nashville. After an adjustment period in Colorado, he's played very well.
Is it a surprise that he's picked up everything so quickly?
"I don't think so," Bednar said. "I think a fresh start will help you reset, so I expected it to go better right away than it did in Nashville, and we've seen that. Now it's time for him to continue to grow."
-- Mikko Rantanen said the trash talking between the Finns and the Canadians on the Avalanche hasn't begun just yet when it comes to next month's 4 Nations Face-Off.
But it will happen.
"Probably the last time when we see them before we go different directions," he joked.
What I'm seeing
-- The power play has become too predictable over the last month or two. Opposing teams were giving the Avalanche the bumper spot early in the year and Colorado was feasting on it, but that hasn't been available for a while now. In addition, Colorado's top players have become too stagnant, and when you're not moving, you're easy to defend.
-- Ivan Ivan was cleared and has gone to play for the Colorado Eagles. Bednar said earlier this week that his play will determine if he comes back to the NHL, but the Avalanche aren't getting much from their fourth line now. It seems likely that the young forward will return.
Ivan had a goal and an assist in his second game with the Eagles.
What I'm thinking
-- If the playoffs were to begin today, the Avalanche would play the Vegas Golden Knights. That doesn't sound like a fun scenario for Colorado, but I'm not sure it will be easy no matter who they play.
-- The Eastern Conference is just bad. The two Wild Card spots are occupied by teams on pace for less than 88 points. That's not the case in the Western Conference, as one of the division winners is likely to face a team currently playing at around a 100-point pace.