Jared Bednar as head coach of the Colorado Avalanche in 2016, nearly five months removed from winning the Calder Cup. Credit: Jerome Miron

Game 6 brought more instability. Korpisalo surrendered three goals on just nine shots, and once again, Bednar made the call.

Forsberg stepped in with the season teetering—and this time, everything changed.

It’s easy to forget now, but Forsberg had been the backbone of that team all season, posting a 23-10-5 record with a 2.40 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Yet when the playoffs began, Bednar handed the crease to Korpisalo. When Forsberg got his next opportunity, it wasn’t given—it was taken.

Bednar still doesn’t hesitate when describing what he saw in him.

"Fors is a competitive guy; he's an athletic guy, he's a great teammate. He's got a great mental mindset of the game and none of that's changed."

That belief showed immediately. Forsberg turned aside all 23 shots he faced after entering Game 6, giving his team room to breathe. Goals from Michael Chaput and Lukas Sedlak forced overtime, where Zach Werenski buried the winner 12:32 into the extra frame to clinch the series.

From that moment on, there was no more uncertainty.

Forsberg took the net back—and didn’t let go.

The moment never seems too big for Anton Forsberg. Credit: Ron Chenoy

He rattled off eight consecutive wins, backstopping Lake Erie to a Calder Cup title and cementing a level of trust that doesn’t fade with time.

Familiarity On The Biggest Stage

Now, years later, that history lingers beneath the surface of this series.

Bednar knows exactly what Forsberg is capable of. He’s seen him walk into chaos and quiet it. He’s watched him take games that were slipping away and steady them, shift by shift.

Which is what gives this matchup a different kind of edge.

He doesn’t hesitate when expanding on that history either—because it still feels relevant.

“He was our starter all year in Cleveland. We went to Korpisalo to start the playoffs. Korpisalo goes 6-0 and then loses two games in a row. We put Forsberg in. Like, that's a long break. It's three weeks of not playing, just practicing. He goes in the net, wins us six in a row to win the Calder Cup.

"He's always going to be ready. He proved that again this year. It was Darcy Kuemper's net. They felt they needed a change. They were fighting to get in the playoffs. He goes in and runs the table for them. He's playing at the top of his game right now. He's a really good goalie and he's matured over time and we're going to have to work to keep getting enough pucks in traffic and scoring opportunities so we can beat him a handful of times a game."

Because while Colorado holds a 2–0 lead—and while they’ve shown they can win a tighter, more disciplined brand of hockey—there’s still a goaltender on the other side who has built a career out of settling exactly these kinds of games.

And no one understands that better than the coach staring across the ice at him.

Image