Cale Makar got strong public backing from Jared Bednar after a Colorado Avalanche win that still left real heat on the officiating.
Bednar did not dance around it after Game 2. He said he did not think Makar's play was a penalty, and he said the same about Nathan MacKinnon's call.
That is the story, not just the result. When a coach goes that direct in a playoff presser, he is pushing back on the standard that shaped the night.
The first sequence hit Makar. A fumbled puck on the power play sent Quinton Byfield the other way, and Makar's contact led to a penalty shot.
“I don’t think Cale’s is a penalty… I don’t think it’s a penalty.”
Bednar's read was sharp and blunt. He said Makar did not get the hands, and he framed it as the kind of play officials have to be very sharp to catch or let go.
That matters because Colorado had a chance to lose control of the game right there. Instead, Scott Wedgewood came up with the save and kept it tied.
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Bednar turns Game 2 into an officiating story
The second flashpoint came after the long delay for the broken glass. Colorado went back to the power play for 1:52, then saw it cut short again when MacKinnon was called for interference.
Bednar pushed on that one too. He said MacKinnon was taking his route, trying to get outside, and had nowhere else to go when the players ran into each other.
“I don’t think MacKinnon’s is a penalty either. I don’t think it’s a penalty… he has nowhere else to go.”
That is a coach telling his room he did not like the whistle and was not going to leave his top guys hanging in the aftermath. In the playoffs, that message carries.
The video clip matches the tone. Bednar sits at the podium tight-jawed and controlled, but the frustration is easy to read in the way he walks through both calls.
Colorado still got what it wanted on the scoreboard. The Avalanche won Game 2, took a 2-0 series lead, and survived a night with no rhythm for long stretches.
There is another layer here. The Avalanche went 0-for-3 on the power play, and two of those chances were cut off by the calls Bednar challenged afterward.
He was not excusing every penalty either. Bednar said the rest of Colorado's penalties were penalties, and he pointed to discipline late in the third after a goal against.
That is what made the postgame comments land. This was not blind complaining. It was a coach drawing a line on two moments he thought swung the night for no good reason.
If that tone carries into the next game, this series gets another edge. Bednar has already made it clear that Colorado's bench did not accept the read on Makar or MacKinnon.
Source : 10 Takeaways: Bednar Comments On Two Questionable Officiating Calls Against the Avalanche
Was Jared Bednar right to call out both penalties?
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