The Stanley Cup playoffs have begun and the Colorado Avalanche, the league’s best team from start to finish, have continued their run of success, as they’re currently up two games to none in their first-round series against the Kings.
The series shifts to Los Angeles for the next two games, and it’ll be no easy task for the Avalanche to close out the series even if they play their best – which will be the first time these playoffs they’ve reached full potential if they do so.
The team can’t achieve greatness without all systems going, and right now, the team’s power play has been invisible. Without an impact in that specialty area, former NHL all-star Derek Stepan believes the team may exit early – crushing the hopes and dreams of Avalanche nation.
Th Avs need to complete the sweep in LA. Get this series over with and get their mojo back. 🧹 pic.twitter.com/ICR6Vy8UxY
— Spittin' Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) April 22, 2026
Stepan would know. The former New York Ranger was part of several playoff runs in their quality years over the past decade, and the Achilles heel for the team was always their faulty power play, or at least it seemed as much. Stepan’s aware of what kind of weapon a quality power play can provide for a team.
As the team is 0-9 with the man advantage through 2 games these playoffs, it’s absolutely a must to get the unit feeling comfortable and ultimately beginning to have success – hopefully sustaining that same success for a long playoff run.
As the Kings are the perceived weaker team, this series is a prime opportunity to jump start a unit that’s been underachieving all season long. The Avalanche finished 27th in the NHL in the regular season in this category, and the power play seemed the only aspect of the team that wasn’t overly successful.
Colorado has continued its winning ways by relying on what got them here this season: Quality goaltending, staunch defense and timely scoring across all four lines. Scott Wedgewood has continued his career season and has gotten even better in the playoffs with a .960 save percentage across the first two games. He saved a massive penalty shot in Game 2 as well.
The burgundy and blue are getting scoring from depth players. Captain Gabe Landeskog scored the game-tying goal in Game 2, and bottom-six forward Nicolas Roy scored the overtime winner. Logan O’Connor also has a goal in the playoffs.
It’s vital that the team gets contributions from up and down the lineup if they are to succeed moving forward. They’ve done that so far, with Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar combining for just one point through two games and the team still holding a comfortable two game lead.
But if the team hopes to hoist the chalice in June, the power play must succeed. As Stepan stated, the Avs can’t win if they can’t score on the man-advantage. The coaching staff is scratching their heads working to try and figure it out, and the team has been able to right the ship through the minimal struggles they’ve had thus far.
Avalanche nation hopes that trend will remain over these next two months.
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