It was a gauntlet for players, coaches, and front office staff ahead of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Members from both the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning were made available for interviews all afternoon. Among the interviews were some interesting insights from Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar and GM Joe Sakic.

Many media members wanted to learn about the differences between the current Avalanche team and versions of this team that have also showed promise in recent history. Sakic and Bednar tackled the topic with a few key factors emerging.

A Resilient Mentality:

“It’s a belief in your core,” Sakic started. “You have to learn, you have to grow, and over time we kept getting a little bit better. Especially this year, guys really competed, faced a lot of adversity, and overcame it every single time. It’s a group that believes in each other, and we believe in them.”

Bednar also emphasized the mental toughness born from the heartbreak of past playoff exists.

“Certainly a lot of lessons have been learned over the last 5-6 years from myself and from our team,” Bednar explained. “The biggest [lesson] is raising the bar and our standard to play constantly as the season goes on. We had to focus on what it would take to win come playoff time right from day one in training camp, so it’s really helped our group [with] consistency.”

It hasn’t been lost on anyone that the last time the Avs were in the Stanley Cup Final was also the last time they won a Stanley Cup with the 2001 team including the talents of Joe Sakic. There are some similarities between the two teams.

“We had a lot of depth, we had the star players, a deep lineup, [with] guys that played their role, knew their role, and accepted their role,” Sakic said.  He also cited the strengths of the 2001 d-corps saying that this current d-corps is the best he’s seen since then.

“Focus” was a recurring theme for both Sakic and Bednar. The goal for this year has been clear since day one of training camp and has allowed players to focus keenly on what they need to do to achieve their goal.

“[It’s] helped me as a coach to be able to raise the bar and our players really buy into [it] [starting from] day one of training camp to keep that focus on what we need to do to be successful come playoff time,” Bednar said. “There was some experimentation to the regular season. We were sitting in a good spot to cover off a few things we learned from last year – mixing our lines up for match-up purposes, getting guys familiar with other teammates. Going through that heartbreak and really wanting to get to this point and have an opportunity to play for the Cup has really pushed our group with its determination all season.”

Depth Throughout the Lineup:

Sakic credited the trade deadline for paving the way to acquire additional pieces that improved the overall depth of the team – something that has really paid off throughout the wear and tear of playoffs.

“We knew we wanted to beef up our back end,” Sakic said on the addition of Josh Manson. “We have a lot of puck-moving D, so to have some size there and physicality – he’s brought that. Not to mention, he makes really good plays with the puck, so he fits in well with the way we like to play.”

Also coming from the deadline was Artturi Lehkonen – a versatile addition who has contributed 11 points in the playoffs.

“He’s competitive. He’s fast,” Sakic said. “That’s one thing you also want to look at [is] how your team likes to play. You have to find the right fit and both [Lehkonen and Manson] have been really good fits as well as Cogliano and Sturm.”

Star Power:

Sakic mentioned the star players from the 2001 Cup run, so it was only fair to address some of the talent Colorado has brought to the table.

“Right from when he broke into the league, he can wow you and get you to jump out of your seat for sure,” he said of Nathan MacKinnon. “He has so much speed – explosive speed. He’s such a powerful guy and no one wants it more than him. Really competitive and that’s what you’re getting out of him. We’re extremely fortunate we have Nathan on our team.”

In tandem with his comments on MacKinnon, Sakic issued credit to Cale Makar. Though just 23 years old, Makar has emerged as a talent whose ceiling appears intergalactic with a grounded maturity few have seen together.

“I don’t think anything goes to his head,” Sakic said. “Cale is a hardworking, humble guy. He does not pay attention to any outside noise. He deserves everything he’s getting. Such an unbelievable hockey player, and he plays both ways. Off the ice, he’s focused on what he needs to do to help the team. I’m not too sure there’s a more humble guy than Cale.”

Expectations from Tampa:

“The challenges on the ice are obvious,” Bednar started. “We are facing the best team [from] over the last three seasons. They’re highly committed defensively. It’s going to be difficult to create scoring chances.  We have to stay patient, resilient, and hungry – in attack mode. On the flip side of it, when they create chances, they finish them. They’ve got a lot of really good shooters, a lot of talent, a dangerous PP, great goaltending, and they’re well-coached. They’re here for a reason. We understand that. We’ve been building for a couple years to try and get here and now we’re here. We see it as a great opportunity and a great challenge for our team to succeed. We’re looking forward to it.”

Goaltending Concerns:

With the excellent goaltending observed from Tampa’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, Colorado’s goaltending situation has warranted some questions following the injury to Darcy Kuemper. Pavel Francouz got the Avs through Edmonton, but Game 1 and Game 4 of the sweep left a net-sized question mark.

“Our guys are comfortable with our goaltending here as well,” Sakic explained. “Both goalies can play. Darcy is 100% healthy now. He had a tough time with health for the one round. He’s ready to go. Our guys have been committed defensively all year. That’s one thing I don’t think our players get enough credit for. If they have to close out a game, they find a way to do it and play the right way. They’ve done that all year. We’re definitely confident in both goalies. They’ve both won 6 games in the playoffs.”

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The 2022 Stanley Cup Final between the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning kicks off tomorrow night at Ball Arena at 6 P.M. MST.