The Colorado Avalanche had a pretty successful run on the power play earlier this season — nine straight games with at least one goal, 11 in total.
But there was still something, or some things, missing.
Sure, being able to count on the power play to get one most nights is a luxury for some teams. For a team like the Avalanche that can start PP1 with three of the best players in the world, the standard is a little higher.
One personnel change helped. A shift in the mindset helped. Those world-class players shooting better helped. The result has been a scorching-hot power play — 16 goals in 11 games after collecting a pair Tuesday night against the New York Islanders, and a return to being a group that should be feared by opposing clubs.
“I think the work-based part of it has improved, checking (to get) pucks back, getting numbers around the puck, winning battles and keeping plays alive in the offensive zone,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “That’s been better. And then the biggest thing is probably they’re just taking what the other team gives us. They’re not getting stuck on one play. They’re not looking for something that isn’t there or forcing plays.”
During that stretch in November, nearly all of the extra-man goals looked the same — a Cale Makar shot from the top of the zone either went in the net with traffic in front, or led to a goal via a tip or rebound. Bednar still felt the group was lacking creativity. There were nights when the only opportunity that looked threatening was the one that led to a goal.
So Bednar moved Jonathan Drouin to the top unit in place of Ryan Johansen, who had been the go-to faceoff guy and was second on the team in power-play goals. There was also an emphasis placed on attacking more from all angles.
Makar said the power play can’t just be a “one-trick pony.” It’s firing on all cylinders now. The Avs were 16 for 40 with the man advantage between Dec. 11 and Jan. 2.
Colorado was 20th in the league with an 18.5% conversion rate on Dec. 10. It was third between Dec. 11 and Jan. 2, and climbed into the top 10 for the season entering Thursday night.
“We seem to know where everyone is and we seem to know what kind of plays we want to make that night,” Drouin said. “We have a clear mind of what we want to do, and we have Cale, Nate (MacKinnon) and Mikko (Rantanen) with Val (Nichushkin) in front of the net. It’s a power play that should be scoring every night, or at least getting some momentum if we’re not scoring.
The Avs scored 19 power-play goals in the first 27 games, with 12 of them coming from Nichushkin (five), Johansen (four) and Makar (three). Makar had just one during this recent 11-game stretch, and even missed three of them because of a lower-body injury.
Nichushkin (five), Rantanen (five) and MacKinnon (four) are scoring, but where the primary assists are coming from has changed as well. MacKinnon had three primary assists on the power play in the first 27 games, but had six in this 11-contest stretch. Rantanen has four and Drouin has three.
Makar is still very much a threat from the top of the zone, but the guys on the flanks are getting better looks and making more critical plays as well.
“Those three guys around the umbrella are shooting the puck. We’ve been shooting and getting the puck back, attacking out of the chaos,” Bednar said. “That mentality has been there, the pace of the power play has improved and they’re getting rewarded for it.”
Drouin and Nichushkin are playing key roles, beyond the goals and assists. Nichushkin typically sets up in front of the goalie and Drouin is in the high slot, or the bumper position. They need to win battles for loose pucks, whether it’s after a shot attempt or when a pass goes awry.
Scrambling to save possession can be as critical as making the incisive pass before a goal.
“It might sound crazy, but if you can just extend it for another 20 seconds, it makes it hard on the PK,” Drouin said. “When we’re in the zone and they’ve got to stay in there for a minute and 30 seconds, it wears on you.”
Nichushkin has been a constant for the Avs on PP1 when healthy, at least since Artturi Lehkonen sustained a serious neck injury. The difference recently is that he hasn’t had to rely on his ability to tip pucks to score.
His teammates are passing the puck to him for one-timers more, and his ability to find a soft spot in amongst the traffic has been profitable.
“I think it helps on the power play a lot, to have a big presence at the net,” Rantanen said. “We used to have (Gabriel Landeskog) there, and we always had a good power play when Landy was here. Just to have a big guy in front who can screen and tip and win some loose pucks. He’s been good at using his body position and he tries to get his stick open and we try to deliver it to him.”
At first glance, adding a guy to the bumper spot in a 1-3-1 power play and expecting him to increase the group’s creativity might seem counterintuitive. For some teams, the guy in the middle is there to be a shooting threat with one-timers from one of the flanks. For others, it’s to provide another layer of traffic.
Drouin sees the role as a way to help MacKinnon and Rantanen find each other. The prettiest play for any power play is the “royal road” pass — a cross-ice connection that leads to a one-timer that goalies have a much lower success rate of stopping.
The Avs have been connecting on those types of passes more of late. Drouin’s role can be pretty similar to how the most creative teams can unlock space in and around the box in soccer. One player will make a run or move to a certain position with the explicit motivation to move one or more defenders and open space for a teammate.
“I watch so much hockey that I know the middle guy can create chaos without even doing anything sometimes,” Drouin said. “I can go high or go low or just stay, and doing it at just the right time makes the forward covering me make a decision and that can open up seams or open up the top. There’s so many little things that don’t look like much but positioning on the power play can be key.
“I’ve played on the half wall, so I know what those guys like and when the middle guy should pop in or out. Playing on Nate’s side, I know when I should try to carry (the defender) with me or leave him where he is and try to pop somewhere else. We’re still figuring that stuff out, but we’re pretty good at it now.”
Continuity, familiarity and execution are huge. World-class talent certainly is too. It’s all been part of how the Avs, after a slow start this year, finally have their mojo back on the power play.
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