The second season has begun, and the Colorado Avalanche are right in the thick of things, facing off against their division rival the Dallas Stars in a first-round series. The playoffs will require every ounce of energy from every player on the team to be successful.
They’ll also require a bit of a different game to be played than the one played during the regular season. Gone is the free-flowing, wide open, entertaining style of hockey, typically played during the regular season.
That style is replaced with that of a heavy, checking style with physicality, grit, timely scoring, and quality special teams play taking over.
To be successful in the playoffs, teams require unsung heroes to become impact players: Think Fernando Pisani in Edmonton all those years ago.
One of those unsung heroes for the Colorado Avalanche is forward Logan O’Connor. The 28-year-old diminutive winger has spent his entire seven-year career wearing burgundy and blue and has endeared himself as a fan-favorite due to his grit, tenacity and heady play.
LOC, as he’s known to Avs faithful, kills penalties and hits everything that moves, as part of an effective third- or fourth-line player for the team. This season, he amassed 21 points across 80 games, 10 goals and 11 assists.
O’Connor has turned his game up to another level through the first two playoff games this season. Over the last 30 games of O’Connor’s regular season, he amassed only seven points for the Avs. Through the first two playoff games this season, he’s already scored a goal and added three assists for a total of four points, with his goal being a highlight reel tally in Game 2.
Coach Jared Bednar noticed LOC’s quality of play in Game 2 and gave him nearly four more minutes compared to Game 1. O’Connor checks most boxes to be an impact player, and the playoffs fit his style to the T. Playing a physical game and excelling on special teams are aspects that can win a team a series.
O’Connor has four hits across the first two games of the series and has started 77.8% of his possessions in the defensive zone. It’s clear the Avalanche staff has confidence in him.
The Avalanche will continue to require secondary scoring throughout these playoffs if they expect to play past the first round. As they won Game 1 in Dallas, the team has taken home ice advantage, making this series effectively a best of 5 at this point, with three games left in Ball Arena.
Being able to count on a player like O’Connor to continue to chip in offensively can help the team advance in the tournament.