If Jared Bednar has any New Year's resolutions, he's not telling.
He's also not leaving anything behind with the calendar flipping to 2025.
"I think you have to learn from all things that you go through throughout the course of a season," he told the media. "Remembering all the good times and bad, how we work through it, how we didn't some nights, that's part of the growth process to our team."
It's been a heck of a lot more good than bad of late. With their 5-2 win over the division-leading Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday, the Avalanche are currently on a 9-2 run.
It's not just the record that Bednar has been happy with.
"I think it's (been) our best stretch of hockey," Bednar said after his team won in Utah after Christmas. "We're getting more consistent, more dialed in, more committed to the way we need to play all the time. There's no question in my mind it's our best hockey of the year over the last, not just 10 games, but I'd say probably closer 15."
There's no better time for his team to hit their stride. The Jets game was the start of a run where the Avalanche will play nine of 12 at Ball Arena. We're getting to the point of the season where every game is really important, but during this stretch, Colorado will face the top two teams in the division, the Jets and Minnesota Wild, five times.
Of course, it would help if they could get healthy. They thought that was happening Tuesday with Jonathan Drouin returning to the lineup, but it took less than 40 minutes for them to lose another important player.
Valeri Nichushkin left the game late in the second period and did not return because of a lower-body injury. After the game, Bednar did not have an immediate update on his status.
The Avalanche have found a way to keep winning all season with key pieces missing, but Nichushkin is different. Historically, Colorado has really struggled without the big Russian in the lineup. Like Artturi Lehkonen, he plays in every situation, but his size just makes him too much for opposing teams to handle.
Losing Nichushkin for any amount of time would be a tough blow, but we'll see if the momentum this team has built is just too much for them to slow down.
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Avalanche 5, Jets 2
What happened: Colorado outskated a tired Jets team and stayed red-hot.
What went right: The drought is over.
It wasn't pretty a lot of the night, but the monkey is finally off Casey Mittelstadt's back. The center scored his first goal since Nov. 18 in the third period to break a 2-2 tie, and you couldn't wipe the smile off his face. He looked like he had an extra jump in his step after the goal, so maybe this will kick-start his season.
What went wrong: Another injury, meaning the injury list was down to 3 for a very brief period of time.
"Shouldn't surprise me at this point," Bednar said after the game.
Nichushkin took an elbow to the head right before leaving, but Bednar said his absence isn't related to that hit. This is a lower-body issue.
Between the pipes: Mackenzie Blackwood didn't have as much work to do as Eric Comrie at the other end, but was steady enough for the Avalanche in net, stopping 20 of 22 shots.
What's next: The Avalanche will host the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday at 7 p.m.
