"Will the real Jared Bednar please stand up?": NHL fans in splits over Avalanche head coach's lookalike turns up in Game 5

Hockey fans were seeing double during game 5 of the Stanley Cup playoffs Round 1 as Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar's doppelganger made an appearance behind the team's bench against the Dallas Stars.

Journalist Mike Leslie shared a photo on Twitter of a man seated in the stands wearing a navy blue suit and parting his hair exactly like Bednar. The man bore an uncanny resemblance to the Avalanche coach, leading fans to do a double-take.

Fans flooded the comments, expressing their disbelief over the resemblance.

"Will the real Jared Bednar please stand up?" quipped one fan.

"He might be able to coach better," joked another on X.

Here are some fan reactions:

"Gotta give him credit there for committing to the bit! At the rate this game is going…Bednar’s hair will look like the fan soon" one fan wrote.

"Happened last year too, and I think that one was even better than this one" another fan wrote.

"Only flaw is he should have known a hockey coach with hair is going to have WAY more product in said hair. Hahaha Otherwise, that is absolutely fantastic." a user commented.

"please, dear god, let them be at the next game." another user wrote.

This wasn't the first time Bednar's lookalike made an appearance either. Last season, the same fan dressed up as the Avalanche coach during game 5 of their series against the Dallas Stars in Round 2.

Sporting a wig styled just like Bednar's signature middle part and a matching suit, the doppelganger sat right behind Colorado's bench.

---

Colorado HC Jared Bednar's take on the 6-2 loss against Dallas on Game 5

Artturi Lehkonen and Nathan MacKinnon netted for Colorado. Wyatt Johnston (two goals), Mason Marchment, Mikko Rantanen, Roope Hintz, and Thomas Harley scored for Dallas.

Jake Oettinger stopped 26 shots in the win. Mackenzie Blackwood allowed 5 goals in 18 shots and was replaced by Scott Wedgewood, who made 8 saves in relief.

After the game, Jared Bednar said:

“It’s easy to fall down three when we give up those first two. A couple of strange goals for sure. We definitely needed to get sharper on the defensive side early in the game, but we pushed back and created some good chances at the other end.”

Now, Colorado trail 3-2 of the best-of-seven series. Next, the game shifts to the Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado for Game 6 on Wednesday.