Colorado Avalanche continue to stay at top of league on the penalty kill

It's time again to run down the special teams units and this week we're talking about the penalty kill. With a larger sample size, I'm going to dig a bit deeper into the numbers and see what's been going well for the Avalanche so far this season. All statistics will be courtesy of the stats pages over at NHL.com

Looking at the numbers

The Colorado Avalanche have been shorthanded 52 times so far this season, which ranks 11th in the league. They have only allowed six power play goals this season, which ties them for 3rd in the league in that category and in penalty kill percentage with a solid 88.5%. In the Avs‘ recent game against the Edmonton Oilers, Parker Kelly scored the team's first short-handed goal of the season.

Leading the team in total shorthanded time on ice and time on ice per game is Devon Toews, followed by Parker Kelly and Brent Burns. Following that on defense is Cale Makar and Josh Manson, and for forwards is Jack Drury, Valeri Nichushkin and Brock Nelson. This, of course, will change some with the return of Logan O'Connor, who should rightfully take Drury's spot and slot back in next to Kelly on the top PK unit.

Goaltending is always a major part of a penalty kill and both Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood have been solid when down a man. Wedgewood, who's played 13 of the the team’s first 16 games, has a solid .902 save percentage with five goals allowed. In Blackwood's two starts, he boasts a .923 save percentage with only one goal allowed. Those are solid numbers that help support the strong penalty kill units in front of them.

Looking at the schedule ahead

The Avalanche's upcoming schedule is favorable for the penalty kill with the only teams ranked higher than 21st on the power play being the Chicago Blackhawks (7th) and the Anaheim Ducks (9th). The other opponents they'll face are the New York Islanders (21st), Nashville Predators (23rd), Buffalo Sabres (25th), and the New York Rangers (29th). The Avalanche should be able to continue to improve their numbers on the penalty kill through the next two weeks.

Anaheim's Leo Carlsson leads opposing skaters with nine power play points, followed closely by Connor Bedard (eight), Chris Kreider (ANA), Tyler Bertuzzi (CHI), and Bo Horvat (NYI) all have seven points. Other notable power play performers include Islanders rookie defenseman Matthew Schaefer (3G, 6P), who leads defensemen in power play goals so far this season.

With the Avalanche set to get stronger on the penalty kill upon the return of Logan O'Connor drawing near, this team has a legitimate shot to finish in the top five in the league and even possibly the top spot. Blackwood continues to get better as he shakes the rust after he's just returned from injury. The team will continue to get even more reinforcements with the return of Sam Girard as well, who can alleviate some of Cale Makar's power play time.