Evan Rawal
When you think back to that 2022 Stanley Cup team the Colorado Avalanche put together, you remember a lot of things that made that team so special.
Cale Makar’s magical postseason.
A clearly injured Gabriel Landeskog putting his body on the line to get his team over the hump.
Pavel Francouz going undefeated while filling in for Darcy Kuemper.
The list goes on and on, but one big part of that team, and a big reason why they were able to lift the Stanley Cup, was the fourth line of Darren Helm, Logan O’Connor, and Andrew Cogliano.
Well, Cogliano is still kicking around with the Avalanche, but he’s got some new linemates this postseason run. And while those linesmates play the game a little bit differently than the ones he had in 2022, the Avalanche believe they’ve got a fourth line that can help them get to the promised land.
That fourth line of Cogliano, Yakov Trenin, and Brandon Duhaime is probably coming off their worst game of the postseason in Game One against Dallas, but against the Jets, they were a force to be reckoned with.
And their coach loved them.
“Great first round, I felt like,” Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar said of the trio. “Difference makers, not only in being able to chip in some important goals, but just the way they played. The physicality, their forecheck, and just ability to get on top of Winnipeg and keep it in their zone, regardless of which line we played them against. I think they’re building trust with us.”
Trust is a big part in all of this. Last year, Bednar and the rest of the Avalanche staff had absolutely no trust in their bottom six. Could you blame them? The likes of Denis Malgin, Alex Newhook, and Ben Meyers all averaged under 8:15 of ice-time a game, and didn’t really earn more than that.
Compare that to the 2022 team. Darren Helm and O’Connor played around 11 minutes a night, and most nights, it was Cogliano with them. Sometimes, it was Nico Sturm. Regardless of who made up the line, Bednar had a lot of trust in them to get the job done. They created the overtime winner for Cale Makar in Game Two against Nashville. Helm scored the series winner in the dying seconds of Game Six against St. Louis, and often found himself matching up against Connor McDavid the next round. That versatility and trust allowed the Avalanche to use their skilled players whatever way they pleased, and that made a huge difference.
Trenin and Duhaime are not like Helm and O’Connor, who could both fly up and down the ice. They’re bigger guys who play with an edge, but Cogliano thinks that the fit has been great so far.
“They’re different,” Cogliano told me before Game One. “I think (Trenin) is a bigger body, so is (Duhaime), but different strengths. I think they compliment my game in terms of being bigger and being able to hold onto pucks. I’m good at spreading the ice and getting up the ice and creating foot races and on loose pucks.”
This isn’t necessarily a line the Avalanche depend on to bring in points, but they have on occasion through the first six games. Trenin scored a massive goal in Game Five against Winnipeg, while Cogliano has four assists through six games. They want to keep chipping in when they can against these good teams. Why?
Because at this point in the postseason, there are no freebies. Every team is good, and every team can play.
“We have no choice,” Cogliano said. “We’re going to need all our four lines to make a difference.”