The Colorado Avalanche are getting one of their key special teams players back on Tuesday when they face the Pittsburgh Penguins. Logan O’Connor is set to make his season debut after going through some hip issues that required surgery.
O’Connor is widely-known as the team’s key on the penalty kill. Thankfully, they have had one of the best PK units in all of the NHL this year, as they currently rank third with an 82.8 percentage. The two teams ahead of them are the Penguins, and shockingly, the Chicago Blackhawks.
Over the past couple of years, the Avalanche have been one of, if not the best at killing penalties. According to Corey Masisak in this December article, the Avs had killed off between 79-79.8% of penalty kills over the last four seasons.
One thing I saw recently on the Avs’ penalty kill was their ability to move around in their own zone with the puck, keeping it away from the other team. If they are able to continue doing that, it bleeds a lot of time off the clock. Eventually, however, teams might figure out some way to stop that.
There are also times that I’ve seen the team struggle getting into the offensive zone. But with Nathan MacKinnon’s fearless speed coming up the middle of the ice, we could see that happen if they are confident in the potential shots they could line up.
The return of O’Connor would also mean that one of the team’s bottom-wing players would be out of the lineup, or moved to another spot, meaning that player would be out of the lineup. I could see Joel Kiviranta as the odd man out, given that Gavin Brindley has been impressive this season, earning a contract extension in November.
The Avalanche also announced that Ross Colton is returning to the lineup against the Penguins. Colton last played on March 10, two weeks ago from today. Getting him back gives the Avalanche some of the best center depth in all of the NHL.
Colorado will look to get revenge on the Penguins, who they lost to just over a week ago.