Filip Gustavsson will replace Jesper Wallstedt in the net Tuesday night for the Wild at Ball Arena. Wallstedt allowed eight goals in a 9-6 Colorado win in Game 1.

Bednar declined to answer any lineup questions ahead of Colorado’s morning skate. Scott Wedgewood has started the first five games of this postseason run. He allowed just five goals in a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, but allowed six in the Game 1 win. Wedgewood was in the “starter’s net” during the morning workout and was the first goalie off the ice, both of which are typically indicators of who will be between the pipes that night.

Defenseman Josh Manson has missed the past two games for the Avs, but has been skating for a few days now. Bednar would not say if he’s available to play in Game 2. Nick Blankenburg has played the past two games and scored his first Stanley Cup Playoffs goal in Game 1.

Another defenseman, Jack Ahcan, did not play Monday night for the Colorado Eagles in Calder Cup Playoffs action and joined the Avs this morning. Blankenburg played 12 games for the Avalanche after being acquired just before the trade deadline from Nashville. Ahcan played in 11 games for the club earlier in the year when he split time with since-departed Ilya Solovyov as the No. 7 guy on the depth chart.

In other Colorado goalie news, top prospect Ilya Nabokov posted on social media that he has played his final game for Metallurg Magnitogorsk in the KHL, and Daria Tuboltseva of SportsRU reported shortly after that he will join the Avalanche on Wednesday.

Nabokov, the No. 38 pick in the 2024 NHL draft and one of Colorado’s top two prospects, signed a two-year contract with the Avs on May 30, 2025, and was loaned back to Magnitogorsk for this season. Nabokov helped his KHL club win the Gagarin Cup in 2024 and was named the postseason MVP. He had another strong season last year, but his numbers slipped across the board this year and he appeared in just seven of the team’s 15 playoff games.

Colorado has both Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood under contract for next season, along with Nabokov and both of the Eagles’ top two netminders this year, Trent Miner and Isak Posch.

The Tampa Bay Lightning coach was speaking to the media ahead of a Jan. 6 game against the Avalanche, and he said the phrase “three regulation losses.” It wasn’t what he said though, it was how he said it.

There was a little chuckle. It felt inadvertent and instinctual. Like the coach who has won the Stanley Cup twice and a Four Nations gold medal couldn’t help but offer a “this doesn’t even seem possible” reaction.

If Cooper caught one of the clips from Jared Bednar’s postgame press conference Saturday night, it probably brought a wry smile to his face … but also some long-term concern.

Cooper has coached a team like this Avalanche bunch, one that made a historical march through the regular season. Dominant, magical, record-setting, the whole deal — except there was no storybook ending.

The 2018-19 edition of the Lightning was a war machine. Feeding off a devastating Game 7 loss in the Eastern Conference Finals the year before (sound familar), Tampa Bay roared through the season en route to a then-league record tying 62 wins. The Lightning finished with 128 points, 21 more than anyone else.

Tampa Bay had the No. 1 offense, the No.1 power play and was tied for the best penalty kill. The Lightning were “only” tied for seventh in goals allowed per game. Nikita Kucherov paced the league with 128 points, while he, Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point all finished with 40-plus goals.

“Well, we’re going to bring back some memories here,” Cooper said when asked about his 2018-19 team and how he handled the second half of the regular season. “We didn’t run into a whole slew of adversity. To be honest, we would not play well and still win. Everything we touched turned to gold.

“It was just one of those seasons. When you win 62 of 82, that’s kind of what has to happen.”

And then … it all came crashing down. The Lightning took a 3-0 lead after one period of Game 1 in its opening playoff series against the Columbus Blue Jackets and then what came next was one of the most stunning collapses in sports history.

Columbus rallied back to take Game 1, 4-3. Then it just got more progressively shocking. The Blue Jackets rolled in Game 2, winning 5-1 in front of a stunned Tampa Bay crowd.

The series shifted to Ohio, and the Blue Jackets just kept rolling. They won Game 3, 3-1, to push the juggernaut to the brink. Then, the final blow — Tampa Bay rallied in Game 4 to even the score at 3-3 in the second period before Columbus regained the lead a minute later and eventually completed the sweep with a 7-3 victory.

Tampa Bay was outscored 19-8 in the series and 19-5 after the first period of Game 1.

“The problem was, when adversity hit in the playoffs, we didn’t handle it very well,” Cooper said. “I think that adversity carried on to the next couple of years for us that we got to learn from some things that happened in our past.”

The 2025-26 edition of the Avalanche has found a little bit of adversity. Colorado has lost four of the past six games, and doubled the amount of regulation losses since Cooper’s dumbfounded laugh. His team gave the Avs one later that night.

That Tampa Bay team lost back-to-back games just twice in the regular season, and one set included defeats in overtime and a shootout. This Colorado squad did lose four games in a row early in this season, but 0-1-3 with three points collected doesn’t really hit the same.

This past stretch — losses to Florida and Tampa Bay, then two decisive wins, an overtime loss to Toronto and a stinker against Nashville — led to Bednar’s first truly negative assessment of his team this season.

Colorado’s coach said he hated everything about the 7-3 loss to the Predators, save for a decent stretch in the second period, maybe a brief burst in the third. He made it clear he wasn’t happy with the team, and it wasn’t just an off night. He’s seen some trends slipping in the wrong direction, particularly the defensive commitment that has been a hallmark of this club’s historical success in the first half.

“I’m not going to dissect everyone as an individual,” Bednar said. “I mean, I appreciate the question, but we were no good. There were a lot of guys that were no good. So I’m not going to just pick apart a couple guys. We’ve got to be better than that. That was not even close to the standard of hockey that we want to play.”

It’s not hard to see that one of the issues is the players who are missing. The Avs were able to navigate missing Valeri Nichushkin for a handful of games earlier this season — something that has troubled them in the past. But losing Devon Toews and Gabe Landeskog in back-to-back games has hurt.

Having both goaltenders working through minor issues led to a great story with Trent Miner getting his first win and shutout, but it also led to Mackenzie Blackwood having a so-so night in his first game in more than two weeks.

There are still nine games before the Olympic break, and it’s unclear when Toews or Landeskog or Joel Kiviranta will be back. When the Avs stormed to an absurd 31-2-7 record, one thought was, well, individual results in the second half of the season aren’t going to matter all that much as long as Colorado keeps its place at the top of the Central Division and has home-ice advantage locked up.

That might still be true, but this next stretch of games carries far more significance than anyone could have expected just a few weeks ago.

This Colorado Avalanche juggernaut has found some adversity. Now, it is time to sort it out and bank some memories that could be immensely valuable during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

“I’ve been in this league 13 years now and (magical seasons) don’t happen very often,” Cooper said. “I’m very thankful I was able to be part of one of them. It is unique. It is special.

“But, you never really want adversity, but in the end, you kind of hope it does happen at some point. You don’t want it to be too easy, because the playoffs are really, really hard.”

But Nathan MacKinnon‘s slap shot 87 seconds into overtime hit off the inside of the post, giving Toronto new life. The Maple Leafs made the most of it, eventually using William Nylander’s winner through Miner’s five-hole in a 4-3 overtime defeat for Colorado on Monday.

With that, the Avs’ Mile High Magic finally unraveled, snapping the team’s 17-game home winning streak. However, with a point earned in the OT loss, Colorado extended its home point streak to 22 this year, at 19-0-3, the longest home point streak in franchise history.

The last time the Avs lost in Denver was a 5-4 shootout defeat to Carolina on Oct. 23, and head coach Jared Bednar said an incomplete effort by his team led to the Maple Leafs’ victory on Monday.

“It was a back-and-forth, evenly played overtime, but they capitalized on their big chance, we didn’t,” Bednar said. “… We don’t play our best against a team that’s playing their best, yet we get a point. Part of me believes we’re fortunate to get that point.”

Miner, getting consecutive starts in net for the first time in his NHL career with Scott Wedgewood banged up and MacKenzie Blackwood still on injured reserve, played decently following his shutout in a 4-0 win over Columbus on Saturday. The first two goals he gave up were a result of a teammate’s poorly placed skate, and on a breakaway. And then Nylander’s game-winner came on an odd-man rush.

For Avalanche’s Ilya Solovyov, first NHL goal is a story he’ll celebrate with wife, young son

"I think I had moments I had where I was good, and there were some moments I'd like to have back, too," Miner said.

The offense, meanwhile, came up just short of enough production to secure an 18th straight home win, which would've tied the 2021-22 championship team for the longest such streak in franchise history. MacKinnon had three points while Martin Necas and Makar both had two, but the Avs came up empty on a critical power play in the final minutes of the third and then couldn't put the puck home on several good chances in the extra frame.

"I thought I heard the mesh of the top corner of the netting (on MacKinnon's OT shot)," Makar said. "Luckily, I turned around and saw they were coming up the ice. We stopped (that one)... but we've got to find a way to not have odd-man rushes in overtime, because those are going to kill you."

Just past the midway point of the opening period, Toronto got on the board first thanks to what was essentially an own goal by the Avs. Easton Cowan got the credit for the Maple Leafs after Cowan's crossing pass from the left side of the goal line deflected off the skate of Brent Burns, who was camped on the right side of the net, and the puck rolled past Miner for a 1-0 visitors' lead.

Burns could hardly believe it, and neither could Miner as the Ball Arena crowd wilted to a soft murmur as the Avs faithful attempted to process what just happened. Meanwhile, the Colorado offense was pressuring Toronto with nothing to show for it.

"I loved the start to the game," Bednar said. "We had, I'd bet, five or six really good looks to the game in the first five or so minutes, and their goalie made some big saves for them. I thought we started dwindling at the end of the first with our checking game. We were giving up some chances where we'd normally be checking the puck back in some of those situations, and that's what we kept doing in the second."

A couple of minutes after Toronto's first goal, Cale Makar drew a penalty for tripping, but Miner held the score at 1-0 with a couple nice saves.

Shortly after that effective penalty kill, Necas ripped off a highlight play to even the game.

In the Avs' offensive end, Necas made Toronto defenseman Jake McCabe fall to his butt with a slick corkscrew move, then Necas zipped a cross-ice pass from one faceoff circle to the other, where the puck found Makar. The reigning Norris Trophy winner wristed it home, a series of events that had the crowd amped up in the opposite of the what-just-happened vibe of the Burns' own-lamp lighter.

"That was a great pass by Marty to get it started for us tonight," Makar said.

About 90 seconds later, after Toronto's Morgan Reilly essentially tackled the Avs' Parker Kelly in front of the Maple Leafs' net to draw an interference penalty, Colorado made quick work to take its first lead.

Makar promptly won the faceoff, passed to MacKinnon, and then Nate The Great found Brock Nelson for a goal five seconds into the power play to make it 2-1.

Just over two minutes into the second, Toronto took the momentum right back when Bobby McMann got a one-on-one breakaway following an Avs misplay off a faceoff in their offensive zone, and McMann beat Miner on the bottom right shelf. Colorado had its chances to retake the lead throughout the rest of the second, but Toronto's Joseph Woll turned away all seven Avs shots.

"In the second, we let them control the game a little bit in our end," Makar said.

The first half of the third period was somewhat sleepy, then dual penalties on Scott Laughton (high sticking) and Martin Necas (holding) led to a four-on-four scenario, and Toronto retaking control. Only 16 seconds after those penalties, Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews beat Miner on the top right shelf with a wrister from the right faceoff circle.

But Toronto's lead didn't hold for long. Two-and-a-half minutes later, the Avs' top line came through, with MacKinnon feeding Necas for a tap-in goal right in front of the net to re-electrify the crowd.

"That was a hard-working, determined shift," Bednar said. "We got to the inside, won a forecheck. Those were the kind of things we were doing at the start of the game. ... I definitely like the response to go out onto the ice and get that goal back."

Matthews then got called for tripping on Necas, leading to a late-period power play that Colorado couldn't capitalize on en route to the defeat in overtime.

The Avs are off the next few days before their homestand continues on Friday against Nashville.

When Ilya Solovyov buried his first NHL goal, he leapt into the arms of Brent Burns with a smile as wide as the Front Range. He gave the Colorado Avalanche some breathing room in a 4-0 win Saturday afternoon against the Columbus Blue Jackets, and it was a special moment for the 25-year-old defenseman.

Solovyov is happy to be in the NHL, but he has toiled in the background for weeks at a time this year as the club’s seventh defenseman. When one of the best moments of his career arrived, it was clear who he gets to cherish it with was as important as the milestone itself.

“I was just happy for myself, proud of the work that I’ve done for the two months when I’m not playing,” Solovyov said. “Happy for my family as well who support me, especially my wife (Vlada). She’s probably (seen) not the best of myself these two months, but she tried to help me as much as she can, and we’ve done it.”

When Solovyov arrived in Denver just before the regular season began, his wife and young son, Saveliy, had to stay behind in Calgary. That’s life in the NHL on the waiver wire.

The Flames decided they didn’t have room for him. The Avalanche wanted an extra defenseman. So he was on the move. When Solovyov got his first chances to play for the Avs, a nine-game stretch when Samuel Girard was hurt early in the season, his family had to watch from Alberta.

When the Avs went to Edmonton on Nov. 8, it was the first time he saw his wife and son in more than a month. They moved to Denver a few days after that, but all six Colorado regulars were healthy so he was sitting … and sitting. And waiting.

“These two months I have a lot of time, a lot of games to look at the team and how the guys are here,” Solovyov said. “Like what they want to do on the ice, and I just try to learn it and be in the right moment, in the right position.

“I think that the work that I’ve done these two months, it’s really helped me right now. I feel way more confident, much easier than the first nine games.”

The wait ended up being 63 days before his next opportunity at the NHL level, which came because of Devon Toews’ injury in Raleigh, N.C., earlier this month. It was a lot of long days.

One of the most important people in his life during that time, beyond his family, was Avalanche skills coach Mark Popovic. It’s part of his job duties to work with the players who are injured or being healthy scratched.

“He’s helped me a lot,” Solovyov said. “I don’t know how many miles I’m skating on the ice. It was two months, so it was pretty good. He tries to help me as much as he can. He gives me drills which should help me to stay in game mode.

“I think the biggest part of that is to not lose yourself if you’re not playing for too long. So that’s what I did.”

Given how long he went without playing, the Avs were able to send him to the Colorado Eagles in the AHL for a conditioning assignment. He didn’t have to go, but Avs coach Jared Bednar was happy that he did.

It was just three games, in mid-December, but it broke up the long stretch without any game action.

“He played better the longer he was there and then all of a sudden he comes up and it’s just a couple of weeks before he gets in,” Bednar said. That kind of helps my comfort level in putting him in, and probably helps him as well.

“His first game was OK. His next one was a little better, and he’s just been getting gradually better. It’s good on him. It takes a lot of work when you’re sitting out behind the scenes to keep yourself ready and to keep yourself sharp mentally so you’re ready to play. And he’s put in that work.”

Not only did the work pay off, but Solovyov is now on the first point streak of his NHL career. He had an assist at Tampa Bay and then one in the first of this seven-game homestand against Ottawa before his goal against Columbus.

He had four points in his first 25 NHL games between Calgary and Colorado, but now has three in the past three. And the best part — his family is in Denver to enjoy it.

“It’s unbelievable, honestly,” Solovyov said. “They finally have a moment to look at me, look how I play. I got two points in two games. They are probably more happy than me. Maybe tonight we will sit somewhere and celebrate. It’s first goal, why not?”

Solovyov wasn’t the only one celebrating the patience and hard work it takes after the Columbus game. Avs goaltender Trent Miner collected his first NHL win and shutout nearly 2,400 days after being drafted by the club.

While Solovyov can enjoy the journey and his recent accomplishments with his wife, he is already looking forward to relaying what he’s learned to his son … when he’s ready.

“My son is too young right now. He might not recognize it yet,” Solovyov said. “I will have a good experience to tell him about when you shouldn’t drop your (shoulders). There are a lot of moments in life when you have to work through it, and I can teach him pretty well.”

He answered a bunch of questions from a horde of media members on Saturday afternoon, several more than once. He was polite and concise.

When he left Ball Arena after collecting the first NHL win and shutout in a 4-0 win for the Colorado Avalanche, he definitely had a chance to savor the moment.

“It was exciting,” Miner said. “Talking with my family and my friends and everyone reaching out. It was pretty special to hear from everyone. I’ve been here for quite a while, so to get to do this with this group … I was very fortunate to be a part of winning that game.”

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Miner's first NHL win, a 29-save shutout against the Columbus Blue Jackets came 26 days before his 25th birthday. It was also 2,395 days after the Avalanche selected him with the 202nd pick in the 2019 NHL draft.

Players who go 100 picks earlier than that in NHL drafts are more likely to never play in the NHL than to have their dream come true. The 202nd guy in any draft class is a significant long shot.

Scott Wedgewood went 84th in his draft, and it took him until his sixth post-draft season to reach the big leagues. Miner made it last year, but it took almost 14 months from his NHL debut before he got to celebrate backstopping his club to a win.

"It was unbelievable," Wedgewood said. "Super happy for him and everything that comes with it. When you're a kid, you're hoping for just one game in the NHL. You want to say I played one game. I made it. When you get the opportunity to play a couple and you don't win, it can hurt you mentally.

"He's had to come in in relief. He's played a couple back-to-backs. You start behind the eight ball with those opportunities. To see him get a clean start against a good team and he goes out there and wins us a hockey game does it in that fashion, it's super cool. You just couldn't be happier for him."

Wedgewood spent a large chunk of one season in the , but Miner has spent parts of three years in the league two rungs below the mountaintop. In his first three full seasons a pro, Miner played five, one and 18 games for the in the AHL.

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He wasn't waiting his turn in Loveland. He was desperate to prove he could play there, let alone 50 miles south in Denver.

That happened last year. Miner became the undisputed No. 1 goalie for the Eagles, leading them into the Calder Cup Playoffs. He made his NHL debut in relief and got his first NHL start, but the Avs lost 3-1 in Chicago.

Earlier this year, Miner was great in relief and helped Colorado rally from a 4-1 deficit to get a point, but lost in a shootout. His first start was solid, but not what he wanted.

Even this time up with the club, he's had to wait. Wedgewood played four straight games, including three in four nights, after Mackenzie Blackwood was injured.

"He's a relentless worker and he is a battler," Avs coach Jared Bednar said. "Goalies may be a little different, but there's a handful of players that come out of the ECHL and it takes them a while but then they're grinding in the American League. When they make their way to the NHL, you can pretty much guarantee the guys that do that, they're battlers and they're going to give it everything they've got.

"He's tried to make the most of his opportunities. When you see a player develop and you know he's putting in all that work, it's a great feeling as an organization. We are certainly really happy for his development and what he was able to accomplish (Saturday)."

Miner still didn't have an "oh-my-God-what-just-happened?" moment Saturday night after the game. He's spent a lot of time waiting for this, but this wasn't the end of the journey for him.

The battle continues. Blackwood will be back soon. Ilya Nabokov's arrival is imminent. Miner has fought and clawed his way up to No. 3 on Colorado's depth chart, and there's another bare-knuckle brawl in his near future for that spot.

Still, the kid from Brandon, Manitoba, who wanted to play one game in the NHL has not only done that, but proven he can do play at this level. He's happy, but not satisfied.

"For sure," Miner said. "When you get drafted by an organization and sign with them, and you've been with them for a couple of years, you just want to do it with that team. Everyone here has been so amazing to me that ... I'm just so lucky to be with this group and win with them (Saturday)."