Colorado Avalanche forward Jarome Iginla (12)- Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-USA TODAY Sports
Reason 4: The Powerless Play
Believe it or not, the Avalanche actually sit 10th in the NHL in goals/60 at 5-on-5. They are averaging 2.34 goals/60 at even strength, which is the exact same rate they are giving up goals at 5-on-5.
The Avalanche penalty kill sits at 84.7%, good for 6th in the NHL, thanks in large part to Semyon Varlamov’s other-wordly save-percentage while shorthanded. Seriously — a 0.944 save-percentage while shorthanded isn’t human. It’s a stat that some sort of Russian robot would put up, which leads me to believe Varly’s groin isn’t getting strained, it’s getting short-wired.
Perception is that the Avalanche offense has struggled, but in reality it seems as though they are doing a good job scoring goals at 5-on-5. Overall, they are breaking even at 5-on-5. 130 goals for. 130 goals against.
In fact, Matt Duchene is 15th in the NHL with 37 points at 5-on-5 this season. Jarome Iginla is in the top-30, and Gabriel Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon, and Alex Tanguay are all in the top-75 in the NHL.
The Avalanche’s “scoring slumps” for a lot of their players are due to the power play’s lack of production.
It is unfortunate, because considering the stats and data above, they seemed to be in pretty good position to be a strong team if the power play were clicking. They are holding serve at 5-on-5, and Varlamov has made their PK unit into one of the league’s strongest.
The Avalanche’s power play sits at 13.4% for the season, which is better than only Buffalo. When you are as low as Buff-a-low, you get an audible “uh-oh” from me.
For context, the Detroit Red Wings have scored the most power play goals in the NHL this season — They have 62 power play goals to the Avalanche’s 30.
If the Avalanche were a top-5 team in PP goals, they’d have at least an extra 20 goals on the season.
Remember, the Avalanche are 10th in goals/60 at 5-on-5, yet they are 22nd in the NHL with 2.56 goals/game. The shortage of electricity to their power play has left them dry on the scoresheet. Imagine all those timely goals and momentum swinging lamp-lighters the Avalanche have missed out on.
The Avalanche’s power play has been a major letdown, but is it the greatest factor in their fall from the playoffs this season?
In reality, issues in these four categories have all factored into the Avalanche not reaching their full potential this season. Which do you think has had the greatest impact?
**Stats taken from NHL.com and stats.hockeyanalysis.com**
Next: Jarome Iginla Deserves Better
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