Bednar on mentality heading into Game Three

'You just have to win one game'

Avalanche coach knows importance of tying series in Edmonton

DENVER -- Jared Bednar knows the importance of Game Three of the Western Conference Final against the Edmonton Oilers. The Avalanche coach knows that a win on Saturday night would tie the series at 1-1 and give Colorado the momentum heading back to Denver for Games Four and Five.

"You just have to win one game," Bednar said after the Avalanche's morning skate on Saturday. "That's the mentality you have to have. You can't look too far ahead. You can't think about winning the series. You just have to focus on winning one game."

The Avalanche have been in this situation before. In the first round of the playoffs, they lost the first two games of their series against the Nashville Predators. But they rallied to win the next four games and advance to the second round.

"We've been in this situation before," Bednar said. "We know what it takes to win in this league. We just have to go out there and play our game."

The Avalanche will be without defenseman Cale Makar for Game Three. Makar suffered a concussion in Game Two and is not expected to return until Game Four at the earliest. Bednar said that Makar's absence will be a blow to the team, but he is confident that the Avalanche can still win without him.

"Cale is a great player, but we have a lot of depth on our team," Bednar said. "We have guys who can step up and fill his role. We're not going to make any excuses. We're going to go out there and play our game."

The Avalanche are confident that they can tie the series in Edmonton and take the momentum back to Denver. If they can do that, they will be in a good position to win the series and advance to the Stanley Cup Final.

"We're a confident group," Bednar said. "We know what we're capable of. We're going to go out there and play our game. We're going to win one game. And then we'll take it one game at a time."