10 Observations: PP Isn’t Working, Everything Else Is: ‘It’s a Healthy Group’ (+)

DENVER — Another win, another game with only one goal against, and another performance where the Avalanche are blowing past some of the non-contenders in the league.

Colorado defeated the visiting Boston Bruins 4-1 to improve to 5-0-1 on the season. The power play couldn’t get going, but everything else is just moving along well. And head coach Jared Bednar knows why that is.

READ MORE: The Aftermath: Avalanche Limit Bruins In Impressive One-Sided Victory

10 Observations

1. This was quite the quote. I’ll let Bednar explain why he’s not surprised with the team’s early success — why things are so different from the 0-4-0 start last year.

“It’s a healthy group. You know? When we lose, everyone likes to come after us, and when we win, I don’t know if people think it’s luck, but it’s a good hockey team that’s healthy.

“It’s not the same when you’re missing five or six top players, and they’re sitting on the shelf because injuries like last year. [Last year] we took a beating at the start, but a lot of it is personnel.

“Our guys are slotted right where they should be, and they’re all playing well. Every guy you lose out of your lineup takes a toll on somebody else, and someone’s playing in a different spot than the way you had it pictured at the start of the year. That is the main reason.”

He’s not wrong.

2. It’s hard to pick at a team that’s 5-0-1 and sitting atop the Western Conference, but the power play is becoming an issue. I didn’t think so last week, or even last game. But after this performance against the Bruins, I’m finally there.

The Avs had four chances through the first two periods. They spent eight minutes on the man advantage, and they just couldn’t generate much of anything. Bednar’s club legit dominated those two periods, especially the second. But, at times, they looked more dangerous at five-on-five than they did on the power play.

3. I like that Victor Olofsson was finally given a chance to be on the top PP unit. I hated that they couldn’t get him set up for a one-timer. Not once. And he played 5:23 on the PP through two periods.

They’ll continue to experiment with it, as Bednar said after the game. I do think they’ll figure it out eventually, but before they do, they might lose a game because the PP is unable to step up in a crucial moment.

4. MacKinnon played 7:19 of those eight PP minutes. Too much. Way too much.

He’s the most dangerous weapon on the team, and I get that. But when he spends that long on the ice, his effectiveness decreases.

Especially when the other four guys are changed out and MacKinnon is the only option to break into the zone. And he’s attempting to do so without the same speed and flare.

5. Brent Burns played another strong game and increased his point streak to four games. He’s also finding great chemistry with Josh Manson, as the two right-shot defensemen are working well together.

I chatted with him after the game, and he said he’s got plenty of experience playing with another righty. He also said it’s easy for him to play with someone as physical as Manson.

6. Quote of the night comes from Scott Wedgewood: “I’ve always viewed myself as a starter.”

7. What did Bednar think of Zakhar Bardakov’s debut?

“Well, he gave up a goal his first shift. So tough start,” he said. “He got better from there, but he did some good things. He doesn’t cheat you with the work ethic, the physicality. We’re going to continue to work with him a little bit on the details of the game and the structure of our game, which can be difficult sometimes because of the language barrier,”

8. That game quickly went from wondering when the Avalanche would get their first shot on goal to wondering when Jeremy Swayman would make a save.

When Manson scored at 12:08, Colorado had two goals, Boston had two shots, and there were three total goals.

9. There was a very weird flow in the first period in general. Far too many stoppages for my liking, and it probably wasn’t the best thing for the players, as they tried to settle into the game.

Brock Nelson alone took 17 faceoffs in the first period. Just an insane amount.

10. I really thought they were going to do the surprise Nordiques jersey reveal after warm-ups. It would’ve been a perfect storm after teasing it the whole day.

But honestly, kudos to the social media team for taking full advantage of the hype and anticipation. They’ve got media folks like me writing about it almost daily at this point. And they’ve got the entire fan base talking about it.

The anticipation is building for what should be an exciting reveal. Whenever it happens.