Aarif Deen
Martin Necas is making his return to Carolina as a member of the Avalanche. Almost a year ago, the Hurricanes traded Necas, along with Jack Drury and two draft picks, to the Avs for Mikko Rantanen.
Necas has since signed an eight-year, $11.5 million AAV contract extension with the Avalanche that kicks in next year. He’s having himself quite the season, posting 19 goals and 51 points in just 39 games. He’s also a whopping +40, as the Avs have dominated at five-on-five, and Necas, along with Nathan MacKinnon, has played a considerable role in that.
The Avalanche are 30-2-7 and are riding a nine-game winning streak. They’re dominating the league in so many ways. They have the most goals for, the fewest goals against, the most wins, the fewest losses, and have two goalies with one regulation loss each.
One part of Colorado’s game that hasn’t been all that great this year is the power play. The Avs are 29th in the league on the man-advantage, ahead of only the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings, and Calgary Flames.
Necas has just nine power-play points in almost half a regular season. The Avs, under new assistant coach Dave Hakstol, haven’t found a way to make it work consistently. Hakstol was hired to run the power play last summer, replacing the fired Ray Bennett following a seven-game series loss to the Dallas Stars last year.
I caught up with Necas about the team’s power play, and more, before the Avs took off for Carolina.
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READ MORE: Avalanche Game 40 at Carolina Hurricanes: Necas Returns to Raleigh, Lines, Notes & How To Watch
What’s wrong with the power play?
Necas: “I don’t know, like when you look at the best power plays in the league right now, it’s pretty simple. They just run the same thing over and over and over again. And it always works. Because in a certain setup, if you have matching hands, there’s so much you can create and you just gotta shoot the puck when something opens up. I feel like we’ve been always trying to do something else and we haven’t gotten into a rhythm, We don’t exactly know where the other guy’s gonna be when we move around. And I feel like that’s very important.”
Do the constant changes and moving pieces make it harder to find consistency?
Necas: “It’s definitely easier when you have the same unit for a long time. But obviously, when it’s not working, you have to switch it. We’re gonna find something to make it work. Now we have two units that both can score and have equal time, and we’ll see. I think it’s a good change, and I’m excited for it.”
Do you feel like you need to shoot more?
Necas: I feel like the last whatever, 5-6 games, I’ve been shooting the puck more, and whenever I do that, I feel like I’m scoring more, which obviously makes sense. I want to be a shooter, too. And sometimes in the past, I’ve definitely looked more to pass than shoot. And feel like, once I shoot, things open up even more. And then passes are there too.”
Head coach Bednar said several weeks ago that he wants you to shoot more. Did he have that conversation with you?
Necas: “Yes. And I think he’s right. I know I can shoot the puck, and it’s just the mentality I gotta have coming in the game, to not always look for something cuter, but shoot the puck when the opportunity is there. Every coach I’ve had has always told me it’s one thing he wants me to do more, to shoot the puck. They say I’m always getting those opportunities, but sometimes I pass it up. So he’s definitely right.”