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10 Observations

10 Observations: Avalanche Look Drastically Different at 6-On-5 Compared to the PP

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DENVER — The Avalanche scored the first three goals but ended up falling 4-3 to Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.



It was a disappointing ending to a game where the road team had played the previous night and the Avs seemingly let up in the second period.

As they’ve already done on multiple occasions this month, the team pulled their goalie in an attempt to tie the game late but fell short. Eventually, those opportunities aren’t going to go your way and tonight was a great example of that.

But what is it about the 6-on-5 attack that brings out the best in this team?

10 Observations

1. I proposed this question to Jared Bednar postgame and he nervously laughed his way through his response because he has no idea what the difference is. Is it urgency? That’s part of it, Bednar admitted. But he’s still struggling to understand why the superstars on this team — the ones that are often among the league’s best on the PP — are unable to translate that 6-on-5 attack to the man advantage.

Just one power play goal could’ve made a difference in this result. Even if that difference is just getting the game to OT.

“It’s the same guy on the ice, snapping it around, shooting to score, retrieving pucks,” Bednar said.

2. None of the forwards played an outrageous amount in this loss. Nathan MacKinnon led the way with just 21:12, which, for him, isn’t all that much. Artturi Lehkonen was second at 20:35, and nobody else surpassed the 20-minute mark. Mikko Rantanen played 19:31, Jonathan Drouin was at 16:44, and Casey Mittelstadt saw an uptick from Tuesday, playing 14:54.

3. Drouin left the game late in the second but returned in the third. At first, it looked like it could’ve been a re-aggravated upper-body injury, the one he’s been dealing with for months. But during his postgame presser, Drouin said he was pulled by the concussion spotter after absorbing a high hit from Leon Draisaitl.

4. Another game for Mittelstadt without a shot on goal, or even a shot attempt. He looked a bit better than he did Tuesday but, again, he’s way too skilled to not be putting himself in scoring areas. The only way to break out of the scoring slump is to shoot the puck.

5. Going back to ice time, Juuso Parssinen was down to 8:51. Maybe it was due to his play, or maybe it’s because the Avalanche just simply do not have 12 healthy forwards worthy of rolling the lines for. Jason Polin was reassigned to the AHL after the game, meaning the team is probably looking for their next potential call-up.

6. My guess is we see Ivan Ivan back in the lineup on Saturday.

7. That was one of the more frustrated locker rooms I’ve seen post-games in quite a while. It wasn’t just a loss, it was a game that they had no business letting slip away. Rantanen kindly turned down an offer from other media members to do a postgame scrum. I tried to chat with Samuel Girard 1-on-1 but was also turned down. Girard made his return after missing three games and finished a -3.

8. Gabriel Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin exited the building together. Something about that duo, man. This team misses them dearly and I can’t imagine what it would be like to see them on the same line again. They’re obviously on different timelines but I still hope they get a chance to play together this season.

9. Call it a coincidence, but Cale Makar has been stuck at 99 career goals for seven games. He has just two assists in that stretch.

10. That was one of the quicker games I’ve seen in a long time. Not a lot of stoppages and no lengthy delays. From puck drop to the final buzzer, it was just two hours and 20 minutes.

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