Avs' HC Bednar makes insensitive comment after Connor Ingram exited game

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar made some eyebrow-raising remarks Tuesday night following their game against the Edmonton Oilers. Specifically, when speaking about Oilers goaltender Connor Ingram's injury telling reporters he didn't care that Ingram was hurt during a collision that saw star forward Nathan MacKinnon ejected from the game.

The incident occurred with just 37 seconds remaining in the second period of Colorado's 4-3 road loss to Edmonton. MacKinnon was driving toward the Oilers' net on a power play when defenseman Darnell Nurse made contact with him causing MacKinnon to slam into Ingram. 

MacKinnon's knee collided with Ingram's head as the goaltender sprawled to cover the net leaving the Oilers netminder with a visible gash on his forehead and blood on the ice.

After video review, officials upheld a five-minute major penalty for goaltender interference and issued MacKinnon an automatic game misconduct ejecting him from the contest. MacKinnon had logged one shot and accumulated 15 penalty minutes in just 14:17 of ice time before his early exit.

Bednar claims Connor Ingram's injury was Darnell Nurse's fault

In his post-game media availability, Jared Bednar didn't hold back his frustration with the call or his apparent lack of concern for Ingram's well-being.

"There's no chance that he hits the goalie if Nurse doesn't run into him," Bednar said. "I don't care if he's injured or not injured, it's a severe crash or not a severe crash. It's not a penalty. If you put guys in your own goalie, it's not a penalty."

The Colorado bench boss then doubled down with his most inflammatory remark: "The goalie's hurt, so it's five [minutes]? I really don't give a crap if their goalie's hurt. That's on their D-men, not on our guy."

Connor Ingram's status uncertain

Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch confirmed after the game that Ingram was placed in concussion protocol following the collision. The goaltender was able to skate off under his own power but did not return to the game with backup Tristan Jarry taking over net-minding duties for the final period.

"He's feeling well," Knoblauch said of Ingram. "Obviously, that can change, but he was not allowed to come back just because of the concussion spotter."

There is currently no update on Ingram's availability for Thursday's game against the Dallas Stars. The Oilers will await further evaluation before determining whether their goaltender can clear protocol.

Oilers rally past Avalanche

Despite losing Ingram and playing shorthanded for five minutes following the MacKinnon incident, the Oilers managed to secure the victory in front of their home crowd. The game started with Colorado's Ross Colton opening the scoring just 32 seconds in with his eighth goal of the season. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins responded with a power-play tally at 8:13 to even the score. Martin Necas gave the Avs a 2-1 lead with a power-play strike at 15:41, notching his career-high 29th goal of the campaign, before Jack Roslovic tied things up at 19:35.

Nugent-Hopkins put Edmonton ahead 3-2 at 4:15 with a deflection from the doorstep. The MacKinnon-Ingram collision dominated the remainder of the period with Jarry entering in relief.

Valeri Nichushkin tied the game at 7:04 with his 14th goal via a redirect but Connor McDavid restored the Oilers' lead at 9:03 with a power-play marker that would stand as the game-winner.

The Oilers improved their record with the 4-3 victory while the Avalanche dropped their second straight game following the controversial finish.

The Oilers will hope to have Ingram back between the pipes when they host Dallas on Thursday, while the Avalanche return home to regroup before their next contest.