As November begins, the Avalanche find themselves at 6-5-0 at smack dab in the middle of the Central Division. The team looks improved at this early stage, but as fall hits in earnest and the temperatures plummet, good hockey teams start to strut their stuff. Here’s how the Avalanche can build upon their early successes in what they hope will become a turnaround season.
The young guns continue to prove their mettle
The Avs have a lot of young talent and new faces in the locker room this year — and from what we’ve seen early this season, they are making a positive impact on the ice. Mikko Rantanen already has 10 points through the first 11 games of the season. As speculated before the season started, Rantanen should get a lot of favorable match-ups playing alongside Nathan MacKinnon; who is certainly the player that most opponents will focus defensive efforts on. Rookie Alexander Kerfoot has also been a game-changer. The 23 year-old has six points (three goals, three assists) and one of the better plus-minus rating among Colorado forwards. He has found a home as the fourth-line center and has helped to give the Avs some great firepower from every line.
MacKinnon picks up the pace
MacKinnon had an extremely slow start to his season; scoring only a single goal in the first nine games. There is no question that, with his level of talent, he should never end a season with less than 30 goals — especially with the club playing far better this season than in previous years. With trade rumors still surrounding Matt Duchene and a seemingly inevitable split between Duchene and the Avalanche looming, MacKinnon needs to find his rhythm sooner than later to make sure the offense doesn’t miss a beat if Duchene makes a sudden departure. Fortuntaely for the Avs, in his final game of October, MacKinnon potted two goals against the Blackhawks, putting him back on pace for 22 goals on the season.
The man-advantage provides the Avs with scoring power
The Avalanche’s power play was a disaster last season; ranking dead last in the NHL with a scoring percentage of 12.6 and only 30 goals scored. They’re far ahead of that pace — 16.7 percent and eight goals scored — and they’ll need to keep that going in order to make their opponents pay for mistakes. As the NHL game relies more of special-teams play than ever, a big-time improvement here should lead to a similar one in their final record.
The early returns for the Avalanche have been promising; keep improving in these three areas, and Colorado hockey fans might find themselves with something to crow about come December.
