DENVER — Sometimes, the chaos of an NHL bench extends beyond line changes and matchups—on Saturday night, it placed Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar on the injury report.

At the 3:21 mark of the third period, Vegas Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar attempted to clear the puck with Jack Drury applying pressure, but the puck sailed into the Avalanche bench and struck Bednar on the right cheek. Trainers immediately rushed to his aid before escorting him down the tunnel.

Following Colorado’s 3–2 overtime loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, the Avalanche announced that Bednar was awake, alert, and fully conscious, but was transported to a local hospital for precautionary imaging, including a CT scan.

The injury concerns extended beyond the bench, as Colorado also lost defenseman Josh Manson in the second period. He is currently undergoing further evaluation.

Despite the setbacks, the Colorado Avalanche received goals from Devon Toews and Nick Blankenburg, the latter marking his first goal with the club since being acquired in a trade from the Nashville Predators. Brock Nelson, Martin Nečas, and Nicolas Roy each recorded an assist. In goal, Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves on 28 shots.

With the Presidents' Trophy already locked up, it was more or less a meaningless game for the Avalanche, but unfortunately, the results could prove to be costly depending how long Manson is out. The team is already without the services of Nazem Kadri, who is out with a broken finger, and Cale Makar, who continues to recover from an upper-body injury.

Mark Stone and Pavel Dorofeyev found the net for the Golden Knights and Carter Hart made 30 saves.

The Avalanche came out flying, pressuring Carter Hart and firing six shots on goal within the opening minutes. However, Vegas made its first shot count as a dangerous opportunity—after Brent Burns broke his stick, Ivan Barbashev picked up the loose puck, raced down the left wing, and fired a shot that rang off the post.

After successfully killing off a bench minor for too many men on the ice, the Avalanche drew their first power play of the night when Golden Knights forward Nic Hague was called for boarding Nick Blankenburg, driving him from behind and sending him hard into the boards.

With 10:43 remaining in the period, Devon Toews took a pass from Brock Nelson at the point and snapped a wrist shot through traffic that slipped past Carter Hart, giving Colorado a 1–0 lead on the power play. With an assist on the goal, Martin Nečas recorded his 99th point of the season.

Mark Stone tied the game for Vegas with 6:16 remaining in the period, finishing off a deft sequence that began with a shot from Mitch Marner. It was pure artistry from Stone, who jumped on the rebound and quickly shifted from his forehand to backhand, fooling Mackenzie Blackwood before burying the chance to even the score.

At 2:09 of the period, the Golden Knights took a 2–1 lead off a beautiful setup. Ivan Barbashev fed Pavel Dorofeyev for a one-timer, and despite the awkward angle from the middle of the left circle, Dorofeyev blasted it top shelf, sailing it over Mackenzie Blackwood’s glove.

Over eight minutes later, the Avalanche delivered the equalizer as Nick Blankenburg scored his first goal as an Av, firing a wrister through traffic that Carter Hart was too late to react to, tying the game.

On the ensuing sequence, Colorado was sent to the penalty kill after Gabe Landeskog was called for hooking.

Manson exited the game at this point and was not seen on the bench. It was later revealed that he had suffered an upper-body injury and would not return. 

Near the halfway point of the third, the Avalanche caught a huge break when Golden Knights forward Tomasz Hertl turned around from the right circle and whipped a shot that clanged off the post.

After a scoreless period, the game went to overtime.

Eichel scored the game-winning goal for Vegas 1:19 into overtime, finishing off a rush with a shot from the right circle.

The Avalanche (52-16-11) will take on Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers (40-30-10) as the latter continue to fight for a playoff spot in the Pacific Division.