Bednar, Tortorella Meet in Game 1 at Ball Arena — Avalanche Vs Golden Knights
Jared Bednar and John Tortorella will coach against each other in avalanche vs golden knights when Game 1 of the Western Conference Final opens Wednesday at Ball Arena. The matchup brings two coaches who once worked in the same organization back into the same series, with both still chasing a second Stanley Cup.
Ball Arena Sets Game 1
Game 1 starts Wednesday at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on, SN, TVAS, and CBC. Bednar, 54, leads Colorado into a series that comes after another Presidents’ Trophy season, while Tortorella, 67, arrives with a Golden Knights team that has already pushed through two six-game rounds.
Bednar and Tortorella in Columbus
Their shared history goes back about 10 years in Columbus. Bednar coached Lake Erie in the 2015-16 season in the American Hockey League while Tortorella was in his first season behind the Columbus bench, and Lake Erie won the Calder Cup that year.
Bednar said, “Torts' is an elite coach” and added, “He is. He's an elite people person. He's a phenomenal guy.” Tortorella returned the praise with “one of the top coaches in the League” and “a great person.”
Colorado and Vegas Paths
Colorado hired Bednar on Aug. 25, 2016, after Patrick Roy’s abrupt resignation, and his first season ended with a 22-56-4 record and last place in the NHL. The Avalanche then won the Presidents’ Trophy in 2020-21 and the Stanley Cup in 2022, and they reached this round after winning the Presidents’ Trophy again this season.
Tortorella was hired on March 29 after the Golden Knights had gone 8-15-4 in their previous 27 games. Vegas responded with a 15-4-1 finish, closed the regular season on a 7-0-1 run, then beat the Utah Mammoth in six games and the Anaheim Ducks in six games to reach the conference final.
Both coaches are after their second Stanley Cup, and the opening game at Ball Arena gives each side an early read on a series built around familiarity as much as form. Colorado enters with the better season-long profile; Vegas brings the sharper late-season surge.
