Avalanche coach Jared Bednar doesn’t want to name the players he called “passengers” after Colorado’s loss to Minnesota on Wednesday. The reason, to him, is that the one-on-one conversations he had with those players afterward weren’t as abnormal or alarming as he made them out to be in the moment.

“Same process every game the whole year,” Bednar said Friday. “Same type of meetings. Same meetings. Same message.”

He said players have been receptive and “always are” to his constructive criticism in the 48 hours following a 4-2 defeat in which the Avs (44-24-6) had a chance to overtake the Wild for first place in the Central. After the loss, Bednar said the Avalanche’s top players didn’t execute well, but he liked their effort and engagement throughout the game. “And then we had guys that didn’t work hard enough,” he continued. “I’m more critical on the guys that didn’t work hard enough.”

At the time, those to whom Bednar referred didn’t know how strongly he felt, but he said “they’re going to find out.”

Bednar downplayed those conversations Friday as routine, saying he thinks it’s important for players to hear consistent evaluation, good or bad.

“It’s good to get feedback, right? I think feedback, it eliminates any confusion you might have,” Bednar said. “Guys play well: I meet with them. Guys play poorly: I meet with them. Just the way it is. Making sure that we’re on the same page. Sometimes guys aren’t feeling good, have a bad night. It’s not the end of the world. It’s about rebounding and playing the way you can tomorrow night.”

That change to a calmer mindset might also have to do with the Avalanche’s game Saturday being just as important as the last one. The Avs host the Dallas Stars for the last time in the 2022-23 regular season, with the division still hanging in the balance. The regulation loss to Minnesota left both Colorado and Dallas trailing the Wild by three points in the standings, though with a game in hand on both.

The Stars will be flying into Denver off a back-to-back Friday against Arizona. The Wild will be facing the top team in the West, the Golden Knights, on Saturday while Colorado and Dallas battle it out.

Logan O’Connor and Andrew Cogliano, a lineup staple all season, both were near season lows in minutes played against Minnesota, but Bednar said that had to do with the Avalanche playing from behind, needing more offensive firepower on the ice.

“I think you’ve got to try to react during the game,” Mikko Rantanen told The Post when asked about Bednar taking issue with engagement. “You have a tough first period, you’ve got to try to — at first intermission — get things going. We’ve been good at it. But I think we can still be better at starting the games, especially at home. I feel like we kind of wade into it. But then second and third, we play really good. First period is the one that could win you a game. It’s on leaders to make sure everyone’s ready.”

Avs defenseman on waivers

Brad Hunt went back on waivers Friday for the second time this season and third time since the end of training camp. If he clears, he will return to Loveland, where he was recently named captain of the Colorado Eagles AHL team.

With Erik Johnson healthy ahead of schedule and forming a solid third pairing with Jack Johnson recently, Hunt has been a healthy scratch from the lineup. He figures to be the Avalanche’s eighth defenseman in the playoffs if the blue line is fully healthy, and seventh if Josh Manson remains out.

Manson, Francouz both skating

Manson and backup goalie Pavel Francouz are both back on the ice, skating individually as they recover from lower-body injuries. Gabriel Landeskog had a longer session on the ice before the team’s practice began, working with skills coach Shawn Allard.

While Francouz remains out, the organization’s revolving door of backup goalies between the NHL and AHL has stopped recently, with Jonas Johansson remaining with the Avalanche during recent road trips. Asked why, Bednar said, “Consistency. He’s looked good. He’s played good. Played two games for us. Played well for us both games. So he’s our guy for now.”