The playoffs are a time when the most resilient teams are the ones that adapt on the fly to pull out a victory. One of the most common adjustments is to switch up forward groups to try to gain a tactical advantage or to spark some offense. Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar is known for his inclination to tinker with his lines to the point that he has earned the nickname of “Coach Blend-nar.”
However, come playoff time, there are two forward duos on the Avs that Bednar must keep together to ensure team success and to give them the best chance at a deep playoff run. These are players that can be good separately but find an extra level when working together so much so that their sum is much greater than their individual play apart.
Nathan MacKinnon & Martin Nečas
It is a popular saying to state that Nathan MacKinnon is so good that anyone can play on his wing and still get points. While that might technically be true, it is harder to find consistent, sustained success on his wing because of the high level at which he skates, creates, and thinks the game. Nečas is one of the few players in the league that can at least get close and, at times, match those levels in MacKinnon’s game.
In the past, Bednar would split up his star forwards in the playoffs to create match-up disparities for the other team’s defense, which worked to a limited degree. He has tried it at times this season dropping Nečas down to play with Nelson, but the stylistic difference between those two players has made the transition bumpy and largely ineffective.
Due to their shared speed and vision, it is essential that MacKinnon and Nečas continue to hone their chemistry over the remaining games in the regular season to bring their full power to bear in the postseason. At the writing of this article, since the Olympic break, the Avs have outscored their opponents 41-20 when they are on the ice together. They have the uncanny ability to read the ice and to anticipate where to find each other on it for Grade A scoring chances, an ability which must be allowed to flourish uninterrupted in the playoffs.
Drury & Kelly
Jack Drury and Parker Kelly are Coach Bednar’s workhorse darlings. They are the most trusted duo on the team to go out and give the Avs a high-energy, low-event shift that can set the stage for the high-end talent to shine. They are so effective together that often the team does not even need to wait for their stars to take the ice for something impressive to happen as they have been able to find their way to the scoresheet from time to time.
Whether it is winning faceoffs, forechecking hard, battling in the corners, or driving to the front of the net, Drury and Kelly never take a shift off and do whatever it takes to win puck battles, even when they end up taking punishing plays for their efforts. Since the Olympic break, the Avs have outscored their opponents 9-2 when those two are on the ice at even strength.
Despite some experimentation with line combinations in the last few games that have seen Drury and Kelly separated, Avs fans should expect to see them back together creating havoc for other teams.
While it may become necessary for Bednar to make some adjustments to some forward lines in the playoffs, the top and bottom of his depth chart should start with MacKinnon-Nečas and end with Drury-Kelly to keep the team firmly anchored to their identity as they battle for the chance to lift Lord Stanley's Cup.