On Tuesday night, the Avalanche defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 for their 6th straight win. The Avs were flat at times, but Georgiev won the game with his 37 saves, including one made by his head to keep the Avs in the lead. However, it was more than a win; it was a night full of milestones for several members of the team. In one night, Johnson, MacKinnon, and Bednar all carved themselves further into the annals of Avalanche history.
Erik Johnson dressed in his 700th game as an Avalanche; he began his NHL career in 2007 and has been with the Avalanche organization since Gabriel Landeskog’s rookie year in 2011. With his 700th game, he is now ranked 7th in franchise history for most games played. Joe Sakic holds the record at 1,378 games played.
Nathan MacKinnon also joined the 700 club, not the Christian broadcasting network, but for scoring his 700th career point. It came halfway through the first period, as MacKinnon was forced down on the play but managed to get the pass off to Lehkonen, who put it past former netminder, Darcy Kuemper to make it 1-0. MacKinnon, the number one draft pick in 2013, is the first player from his draft year to reach 700 points. The second overall pick that year, Alexsander Barkov of the Florida Panthers, trails him by over 100 points with 596 points. At 27 years old, MacKinnon is among the youngest active players to record 700 points. The 26-year-old McJesus (aka Connon McDavid) has 785. For reference, Mac’s fellow Cole Harbor, Nova Scotia native, Sidney Crosby, leads active players at 1,466 points, with Ovechkin three points behind. Wayne Gretzky reigns supreme with the all-time record at 2,857 points.
It was also the 500th game behind the Avalanche bench for head coach Jared Bednar. He entered the NHL in August 2016, a tumultuous time for the Avs, and ended his first season as coach with the worst record in Avalanche/Nordique history. His club has made the playoffs every year since then. Not only was it his 500th game, but with the victory, he also recorded his 266th win, making him the winningest coach in franchise history. Bednar surpassed Michel Bergeron, who coached the Quebec Nordiques for eight seasons in the eighties.
As a player, Bednar went undrafted in the NHL and played professionally in the AA minor league, the ECHL, with a bit of time at the AHL level. He spent most of his playing career with the South Carolina Stingrays and retired in 2002. He quickly began his coaching career as an assistant coach for his former club, the Stingrays, for the 2002-03 season. In 2009, his second year as their head coach, he led the Stingrays to a championship title, winning the Kelly Cup. He moved up to the AHL as an assistant coach and, in 2015, became head coach of the Lake Erie Monsters. The following year, he captured the Calder Cup, awarded to the playoff champions of the AHL. Later that year, he entered the NHL as head coach of the Avalanche.
With 500 games and 266 wins, Bednar is now in his seventh season as Avalanche head coach. Michel Bergeron currently holds the record for most games coached at 554, but with 36 games remaining in the season and hopefully a deep playoff run, he could end the season surpassing Bergeron. When asked about his accomplishment as winningest coach, he said in typical Bedsy fashion, “I’m happy it’s here and gone, so we stop talking about it.”
Bednar has won a title at every level he has coached; however, he hasn’t won the same title twice. I think it’s time we changed that.
The Avalanche look to extend their winning streak tonight versus the Anaheim Ducks and then will face off against their division rival, the St. Louise Blues, on Saturday before adjourning for the All-Star break.