Colorado Avalanche penalty kill impressive to start the season

The Colorado Avalanche are off to a 5-1-4 start, capturing 14 out of a possible 20 points. That’s a great improvement over the 4-5-1 record to start the 2024-25 season. However, the team has lost its last four games. Special teams has been the major concern among the media and fans alike, though most of that is directed towards the struggling power play. The penalty kill has been one of the brightest spots for this team, going a solid 89.3% for 5th in the league.

Avalanche penalty kill personnel

The first penalty kill unit is usually led by Parker Kelly, Jack Drury, Devon Toews and Cale Makar. The thinking going into the season was that the Brent Burns addition was going to alleviate Makar's duties on the kill, but the injury to Samuel Girard has hindered that plan. With Ilya Solovyov and Sam Malinski not being strong penalty killers, Makar and Toews are going to have to put in extra time.

The second unit has rotated in a number of different forwards, especially following the injury to Joel Kiviranta. Most often the Avs deploy Valeri Nichushkin, Brock Nelson, Arturri Lehkonen, and occasionally Gabriel Landeskog. Burns and the impressive Josh Manson round out the second unit on the back end. Arguably the team's best penalty killer has been Scott Wedgewood, who turned in an incredible 6-game stretch to open the season.

Avalanche penalty kill execution

So how is the team accomplishing this excellent performance while down a man? Patience and pressure. The forwards have been aggressive at pressuring the puck carrier at the point and pushing them towards the boards to keep them on the perimeter. They take away the middle of the ice, eliminating cross-ice passes and passes to the bumper. All of the Avalanche forwards have been excellent at putting pressure on the skater without giving up position for a quality pass or shot.

The patience part of things has come from the defense, who has been able to effectively wait out shots in front of the net and lock things up along the boards and in the corners. Burns and Manson have been particularly effective at staying in front of the goal and boxing out the crease and eliminating rebounds and redirects.

One thing I've noticed about the penalty kill this season is that the Avalanche have had much more success getting the puck out of the zone. Too often last season we would see the Avs go to clear the puck only to give it right back to the opposition at the point. The team as a whole, whether on the kill or at 5v5, has been much stronger on the puck along the boards. For a team who's defense struggled mightily early last season, this turn is a very welcome sight.

Moving forward

The Avalanche don't really have a lot to improve here with the penalty kill. Ranking in the top five after 10 games wasn't something I'm necessarily surprised by, but I wouldn't have called it a lock. I definitely wouldn't have predicted the team would be better on the kill than on the power play. So moving forward, I think finding another defenseman who could take a bit of time from Makar would be something useful. Whether it's Girard's return or Malinski, Solovyov, or Jack Ahcan stepping up, another defenseman who could hold their own would be a great help.

The other huge aspect that will help the Avalanche is the return of Logan O'Connor. He is set to return to the team early in November, and is largely regarded as one of the team‘s best penalty killers, if not one of the best in the league. Adding him to a stout lineup of forwards when down a man gives this team even more of an edge and should help them push even further towards the top of the league.