Avalanche get early returns from power play
The Colorado Avalanche kicked off their 2026-27 regular season with an 8-4 win against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday.
Nathan MacKinnon scored twice, the first of which came on the power play early in the second period. He also recorded his second-career fighting major, you can read more about it here.
The Avalanche ended up going four for five with the man-advantage and now carry an 80 percent success rate on the power play. Yes, it’s only one game, but a great start is better than the alternative.
On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discuss the Avs’ power play and how important it will be for their success this season.
Tyler Yaremchuk: Something that’s been missing from the Avalanche in the last few seasons is power-play success. Last season, they were 27th in the NHL, and I think a lot of hockey fans who don’t watch a lot of Avs games would think a team with Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Brock Nelson and Martin Necas … you’d think with all the talent they have, you wonder how they were 27th in the NHL?
Then you go back the previous three seasons, and they’ve been 15th on the power play in the NHL. They’re not a team that’s had an elite power play over the last few years.
But they went four for five against the Kings on Wednesday. This is a group that’s found a way to be at the top of the standings, year after year, without an elite power play. Imagine if they had one?
Carter Hutton: It’s actually kind of scary when you lay it out like that. The majority of people who know how dangerous Colorado they are at five-on-five hockey. Then you think about those subpar numbers on their power play, and it always seemed like a bit of a crutch not getting it together.
But they have the players to do it. Finding their rhythm, their timing … I guess the biggest thing with a power play is, sometimes it’s not necessarily having the horses, but it’s reading off each other, knowing where you’re going to be, and having that forsight to see where the play is going to go. It can take a little bit.
You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…
