DENVER (AP) The captain of the Colorado Avalanche has a pingpong paddle sitting in his locker that features a picture of him taped to one side.Merely a ploy http://www.officiallightningprostore.com/authentic-adidas-anton-stralman-jersey , explained Gabriel Landeskog, the self-proclaimed table tennis champion of the dressing room.”Seeing my face, yeah, it’s distracting for them,” he said , grinning.It’s certainly been a lot of fun and games this season for the Avalanche – a stark contrast to a year ago when they were the worst team in the NHL. Behind a Hart Trophy candidate in Nathan Mackinnon , an even-keeled coach in Jared Bednar and a youthful, high-octane roster, the Avs have turned things around to the tune of a 45-point improvement so far. They are the first NHL team to post a 40-point gain over an 82-game season since the Pittsburgh Penguins jumped 47 from 2005-06 (58) to 2006-07 (105).There’s also this: Take care of business with a win at San Jose on Thursday and another in regulation against St. Louis in the season finale Saturday and they will earn their first postseason berth since 2013-14.”What our guys have done this year as a group, first year of a rebuild, a lot of new faces, I don’t know there are too many people that would’ve put us in the situation we’re in right now,” said Bednar , whose team managed only 48 points during his first season in charge. ”Our guys have done an excellent job this year of being committed to what we’re doing and trying to turn this thing around and get to where we want to go.”Bednar and general manager Joe Sakic calmed some pretty turbulent waters after a forgettable 2016-17 season that began with Patrick Roy surprisingly announcing he would step down before camp.A year later, Bednar had a chance to implement more of his philosophies in camp. He got to know his players’ strengths better, too.Still, there were some early season obstacles to navigate, including moving on from Matt Duchene when the talented forward wanted out of town. He was traded to Ottawa in early November.Through it all, Bednar’s message was succinct: Just concentrate on hockey. The Avs won 10 straight earlier this season; they had 22 wins all of last year.”If you believe in each other and believe in the system Womens Brayden Point Jersey , you can accomplish things that other people probably don’t think we could,” said defenseman Erik Johnson, who’s currently sidelined with a fractured kneecap. ”We took it upon ourselves to be the underdog.”Even through the lows of a 48-point season, Bednar didn’t lose the room. His players call him ”Bedsy,” a sign of respect for a coach who will hold them accountable but mostly helps them figure things out.”Looking back, it’s easier to realize that he could’ve been a lot harder on us, could’ve been a lot worse. He didn’t do that,” defenseman Tyson Barrie said. ”I have a lot of respect for him with what he’s done this year and how he’s handled the team and everything.”Any other season, Bednar might even be a runaway coach of the year winner. But there’s Gerard Gallant, who has expansion Vegas headed to the postseason as Pacific Division champions.”I tried to be as fair as I possibly can be with still doing my job to the best of my ability,” Bednar said. ”I have a lot of belief in our team.”Colorado features the youngest active roster in the league with an average age of 25.7. With Alexander Kerfoot leading the way, 11 different rookies have combined for more than 410 games and 121 points.Then again, Bednar has plenty of experience dealing with youth from his days in the American Hockey League. Bednar joined the Avalanche from the Columbus Blue Jackets‘ affiliate Lake Erie after leading the Monsters to the 2016 Calder Cup trophy.”He definitely gets it,” said MacKinnon, who is among the league leaders with 94 points (38 goals, 56 assists). ”He communicates really well with the younger generation.”Colorado has had its share of bumps and bruises along the way, with MacKinnon sitting out eight games due to a shoulder injury. And now the team is missing top goaltender Semyon Varlamov (lower body injury) for the rest of the regular season. But they have veteran Jonathan Bernier to step in.”We got some of those injuries (last season), and didn’t have the depth that we needed,” Bednar said. ”When things took a turn Braydon Coburn Jersey , it was hard to stay motivated as a team when you fall out of the playoff race.”It’s not the best turnaround in franchise history: The then-Quebec Nordiques went from 52 points in 1991-92 to 104 the following season. But that was a different time.”It’s a turnaround, but we also thought we shouldn’t have been as bad as we were last year,” Landeskog said. ”We’ve still got a lot of work left. It doesn’t really count if we don’t go to the playoffs.”— TORONTO (AP) The Toronto Maple Leafs keep winning at home – even though they had to sweat a little in this one.Nazem Kadri scored with 7:26 left in regulation, helping the Maple Leafs extend their club-record home winning streak to 13 games with a 4-3 comeback victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.Kasperi Kapanen, Connor Brown and William Nylander had the other goals for Toronto, which also tied a franchise mark with its 45th win.”It was a fun game,” said Frederick Andersen, who made 38 saves and tied a career high with his 35th win of the season. ”A lot of different kinds of goals, but a fun game and obviously a good win for us. We stepped up a little bit in the third.”The Maple Leafs, who split a tough two-game road trip earlier this week against the Tampa Bay Lightning and Nashville Predators, trailed 3-2 early in the third period.”Detroit played really hard and made it hard on us,” Toronto coach Mike Babcock said. ”We told our team before they were going to make it hard on us.”Dylan Larkin, Tyler Bertuzzi and Frans Nielsen scored for Detroit and Jimmy Howard made 25 saves.We did tons of good stuff,” Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. ”There were large moments in the game (where) we carried the play.”The Red Wings went ahead 3-2 at 4:58 of the third period when Nielsen snapped his 15th short-side over Andersen’s shoulder and off the camera inside the Toronto net from a tight angle. The play was initially waved off for a goalie interference charge against Detroit’s Justin Abdelkader, but was overturned after a coach’s challenge.Nylander came back and tied it 2:29 later when he stole the puck from Nick Jensen along the boards in the offensive zone and played a slick give-and-go with Auston Matthews for his 16th.With the game tied, Kadri took a pass from Patrick Marleau over the stick of sprawling Red Wings defenseman Luke Witkowski on a 2-on-1 rush before scoring his 29th goal of the season.”Unbelievable,” Kadri said of Marleau’s pass. ”I knew when he took it to his backhand there was a chance it was coming across. … Unexplainable. Obviously, he had the great vision to put it on my stick. I just tried to find a lane for him to create that pass, but it was all him.”Kadri Youth Chris Kunitz Jersey , 27, also marveled at how the 38-year-old Marleau continues to excel at his age.”I don’t know how he does it,” Kadri said. ”I couldn’t imagine when I’m (almost) 40 years old how I’m going to feel. He always seems to contribute, and he’s just got those great genetics.”After Kadri put Toronto ahead, Andersen had a nervous moment with 3:36 to go when Gustav Nyquist’s shot from outside the blue line went off his glove and landed in the crease before he covered up.Down 1-0 after the first, the Red Wings got even at 4:32 of the second when the speedy Larkin took a stretch pass from Anthony Mantha, who had knocked down Roman Polak’s point shot and raced in alone before beating Andersen between his arm and his body for his 12th.Detroit nearly went up 2-1 moments later when Martin Frk was awarded a penalty shot after getting slashed by Toronto’s Ron Hainsey on another breakaway, but Andersen closed his pads on Frk’s shot.Howard then robbed Andreas Johnsson with a desperation glove save off the rush before the Red Wings went in front when Bertuzzi tipped home his third at 9:37.Nielsen nearly made it 3-1 a couple minutes later, but Andersen was there to make the stop from in tight.Despite being outshot 17-4 in the period to that point, the Leafs tied it at 14:19 when Brown scored his 14th – and first in 15 games – on a tip off the post and in past Howard.Detroit survived a 36-second 5-on-3 power play by Toronto midway through the first, but the Leafs eventually took the lead with 5:30 remaining in the period. Tyler Bozak fished out a loose puck in front before firing a no-look pass to Kapanen, who scored his seventh, and third in the last seven games.”Resilient teams find a way,” Kadri said. ”That’s definitely what we did tonight.”NOTES: Toronto’s James van Riemsdyk assisted on Kapanen’s goal to give him 11 points in his last six games with eight goals and three assists. … Matthews, who returned to the lineup Thursday and was playing at home for the first time since suffering a shoulder injury Feb. 22, had a great chance in the opening minutes that Howard turned aside. … Matthews missed 10 games before scoring in Toronto’s 5-2 victory in Nashville on Thursday. … The Leafs’ last home loss was Jan. 22 against Colorado.UP NEXTRed Wings: at Montreal on Monday night.Maple Leafs: host Buffalo on Monday night.