It’s becoming increasingly evident that something’s not quite right with the Colorado Avalanche.
The usually dominant club hasn’t shown up in a handful of games already this season. That situation prompted Elliotte Friedman to declare some of Colorado’s games this season as “weird.”
Regardless of whether the no-shows are bizarre or the result of accumulated fatigue, the bottom line is that the Avalanche need more support from their depth forwards.
And that’s just the thing. When the top guys don’t score, it seems like the entire team sputters. That was plainly on display on Sunday night. The top line went silent, and, well, the club just couldn’t get much going offensively.
Things got to the point where Fedor Svechkov got benched for the third period. Instead of having those third-liners pick up the pace, they ended up riding the pine.
The Avalanche just can’t afford to have any more passengers, that is, if the team is serious about contending this season.
Avalanche have a problem, so what’s the solution?
All right, so if we admit the bottom six are a problem, the question becomes: What’s the solution?
The short answer is that there is no easy answer.
Jared Bednar, as much as he would like, can’t just push a button and get guys like Jaden Schwartz and Parker Kelly scoring at the same clip as Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas.
But a lot of this situation has to do with the way Bednar manages ice time. On Sunday night against the Predators, Taylor Makar got just five minutes. Kelly got 12:35, Logan O’Connor 11:46, and Svechkov 10:53, benching included.
All right, so if the bottom-six guys aren’t getting the job done, then it’s time the organization figured out what to do about it. The solution is not rolling MacKinnon, Necas, and Artturi Lehkonen for nearly 20 minutes. That’s considering that the Avs had to kill off seven power play opportunities.
Oh, and that’s not taking into account that Devon Toews, Cale Makar, and Brett Kulak were all over 20 minutes against the Predators. Meanwhile, the third pairing or Josh Manson and Brent Burns saw about 13 minutes.
All in all, the Avalanche are running into a common phenomenon: They’re relying far too much on their top players, leading to complicated situations about load management and overall diminishing returns.
If the Avalanche are to get more consistent outings, they’ll need support from their bottom six, with more regular ice time included.
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