The Colorado Avalanche were wire-to-wire the best team in the NHL this season, and that momentum continued into the playoffs with just one loss in the first two rounds.

But now the Presidents’ Trophy winners are searching for answers after a four-game sweep at the hands of the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.

The final blow came in a 2-1 loss in Game 4 Tuesday night in Vegas. After the season-ending defeat, Avalanche players and head coach Jared Bednar tried to sum up the stunning end to their season.

“It’s tough. Obviously, I watched for the first couple and we were right there. A series like this, I mean, it’s one chance, one opportunity, and unfortunately, that’s what it was tonight, and they just capitalized on the one extra that we gave them, and it’s just, it’s tough, obviously.

“You feel for a lot of guys in this room because there’s definitely no lack of effort anywhere but sometimes you question the bounces we should be getting and just don’t happen. It’s tough, there’s a lot of pride in this room, you can’t take that away from us.

“I don’t think a single guy in this locker room played to the standards that we expect … At the end of the day, the regular season means nothing the second the playoffs start. The only thing a good regular season gets you is home ice and in our case we squandered that opportunity against this team, dropping two early in this series and, you know, it was an uphill battle from there.”
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“It just feels like a waste, to be honest. You go 82 games, you get a ton of great pieces, feels like you have a team that can do something special. We said in training camp, it’s cup or bust for us, and regardless of where you fall short, you know, we fell super short of that goal.”

“Throughout the year, we were finding different ways to win hockey games, and this series, it was the opposite. So definitely a lot to learn from it, and we’ll be back.”
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“You never know if you’re ever going to get the chance again. I think that’s what hurts. It’s hard making the playoffs, it’s hard winning one round and two rounds, let alone going all the way. You never know what the next opportunity is going to look like … It’s hard but at the end of the day, if there’s one thing I learned in the last handful of years, if you get knocked down you just get back up. I think that’s the only way to do it.”

“No emotions, just frustration, sadness. Really felt like we had a good team and we didn’t get the job done. The expectations for this organization are high and it didn’t go the way we wanted.”
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“I think we liked the way we played, it’s just I don’t think we capitalized on our opportunities. I felt like they did, and maybe we gave them a couple too many easy opportunities. And at the end of the day, that’s an opportunistic group, that’s a seasoned group over there. They find ways to win hockey games, you make little mistakes throughout the game, they’re going make you pay, and then they’re going to lock it down and it’s hard to get back into it.”

“I think we’re proud of what we did in the regular season, I don’t think that’s something we should be ashamed of or looked down upon. It’s really hard to be the top team in the league through 82 games … Just ran into a really good team and didn’t get across the line.”
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“I think at this time of the year, it’s one bounce. Those games are all one-goal games at critical times, and for all four of those to go against us. It’s hard to swallow, but it’s not like we weren’t generating, it’s not like we were sitting back on our heels the whole time. We were pushing forward, creating, generating, getting really good looks, we just couldn’t get it past their goalie.”

“Losing sucks and losing four straight is worse. And losing, I think the further you go, the worse it gets, for me. Because you start training camp, you have lofty goals, you’re putting together a team that you feel like can accomplish those goals. You go through a regular season, which was an incredible regular season, and the belief and the hope that you can accomplish those goals grows. Then you win a round and it keeps building, you win another round and it keeps building and so the further you go, the closer you get to accomplishing that. And then losing, it kind of swipes it all away in an instant. So it’s hard to deal with.”