Even as the top team in the NHL pretty much all season, the Avalanche have still been a work in progress. They say you want to peak at the right time, when the Stanley Cup playoffs are around the corner, and it feels like the Avs are inching closer to that reality.

Against the Penguins, we saw another step in that direction. The Avs won 6-2 and earned their 47th win of the season. Mix in yet another Dallas Stars loss in regulation, and Colorado is now seven points ahead with a game in hand. Just six nights ago, the difference between the two clubs was only two points.

From roster build, power play, and more, everything is falling into place with the playoffs less than a month away. It’s up to this team to make the most of it.

10 Takeaways

1. Logan O’Connor is the latest addition to the lineup, and one that the team had been waiting all year for. Jared Bednar wasted little time engraining him into his usual role.

The 30-year-old forward played with Nazem Kadri and Parker Kelly on the third line, finishing with 15:05 of ice time, of which 2:55 was spent killing penalties. Colorado was 4-for-4 on the PK. O’Connor’s ice time was the sixth most among all forwards.

2. You have to imagine that Nic Roy and Artturi Lehkonen would eventually be two wingers on the same line, and likely with Kadri. That would allow O’Connor and Kelly to be reunited with Jack Drury on what was an exceptional fourth line for the Avs last season in the playoffs.

3. If that happens, it would mean Joel Kiviranta, Zakhar Bardakov, and Gavin Brindley are the extras. Those guys have played 40, 56, and 56 games, respectively, which means they’ve been in the lineup far more often than not this season. They’re regulars. They’re easy pieces to drop into the lineup if or when injuries arise.

For comparison, Last year, a mostly injured Miles Wood and a rarely used Jimmy Vesey were two of the main extra forwards heading into the playoffs. And there was also Gabe Landeskog, who hadn’t played in three years.

4. The Avs have really needed to figure out the power play, and it looks like things are trending in that direction. Could the addition of Kadri to the top unit be all that was needed? I’m not sure its that simple, but it definitely helps.

The biggest shift I’ve seen is allowing Martin Necas to be the main one-timer guy from the circle. You’re still seeing him and Nathan MacKinnon circle the zone quite a bit and play in different positions to allow both of them to get set up in that spot. But Necas is doing it more lately, and he’s scoring a crazy amount of goals.

5. One thing that looks better than it did just a week ago is the number of high-danger chances given up to the shorthanded unit on the other side. The amount of shorthanded goals Colorado was giving up was becoming a serious problem.

6. In 12 games in March, the Avalanche are 10-for-38 on the power play, which is a 26.3% success rate and good for fifth in the NHL in that time. To put that into perspective, they were 13-for-97 in their previous 33 games, ranging from Dec. 1 to March 1. That was, far and away, the worst PP in the league.

Only three more PP goals are needed for them to match a three-month total in just one month.

7. This four-game stretch is the first time in a while where both Avalanche goalies are putting up strong games night after night. Dating back to the Stars game last week, the Avs have given up just six goals in four games, split evenly between the two goalies. I guess that 7-2 loss to the Penguins right before this stretch got everything back on track.

8. You know what else has been nice to see? Brett Kulak play a larger role. I’m not saying Devon Toews shouldn’t play with Cale Makar, but I do love that Bednar is slowly prepping Kulak for those top pair minutes with the superstar defenseman to give him options. Bednar has traditionally used the final stretch to experiment. This was common practice in 2022 among the top six forwards.

Kulak didn’t hit 20 minutes in any of his first 13 games with the Avs. In fact, he only eclipsed 19 minutes once (in his debut).

But in the last two games, playing with Makar, Kulak played 20:31 in Washington and 21:53 in Pittsburgh. His steady presence allows him to play those minutes, against top competition, without it being an issue. He reminds me of what the Senators had when Marc Methot used to play with prime Erik Karlsson.

9. First Landeskog returned, then O’Connor and Ross Colton. Getting three wingers back meant Kadri was finally able to slot in as the 3C. I know score effects had a lot to do with this, but seeing the ice time get distributed as much as it did among the four centermen was the type of luxury that Bednar has rarely had.

Nathan MacKinnon finished with 19:03, followed by Kadri (16:12), Brock Nelson (15:50), and Jack Drury (14:06). The less these guys play heading into the playoffs, the better. Keep them fresh and keep the opposition guessing.

10. Here’s a fun question for you to ponder as we enter the last 12 games. Can Kelly (currently at 16 goals) get to 20 before Necas (34 goals) hits 40?

It would be cool to see them both reach those marks.