If the Avalanche is going to match or exceed last year’s run to the Western Conference semifinals, the team’s deepest playoff run since 2008, here is what it will need to do.
1. Beyond regulation. The Avs were a league-worst 5-14 in overtime and shootouts last season — a big reason why they struggled to make the postseason with a modest 90 points. If Colorado can win more games than it loses beyond regulation, or even hover around .500, it will probably be looking at its first 100-point season since 2013-14 (112). With more elite play-makers at forward and defense, there is no reason the Avs shouldn’t excel in the 3-on-3 OT and the individually-driven shootouts.
2. Goaltending. No team can succeed with weak goaltending, and no position on the Avs has more question marks. has never been a clear-cut No. 1 guy in the NHL — although he entered the 2018 postseason as Washington’s starter — and rookie Pavel Francouz has only played in two NHL games. But Colorado wouldn’t have made the playoffs last spring without Grubauer’s stellar play and the team expects more of the same for a full season. Francouz will be asked to make 20 to 30 starts — depending on how Grubauer performs.3. Depth scoring. The addition of veteran forwards Nazem Kadri, Joonas Donskoi and Andre Burakovsky should help the Avs’ secondary scoring, combined with the continued development of third-year forwards and . Compher will center the third line, which includes Donskoi, and Jost will play left wing on the second line with Kadri and Burakovsky. The talent filters down, and that should give the Avs the ability to create a relentless four-line attack.
4. Be dominant at home. The Avs won just 21 games at home last season, seven fewer than a year earlier when they tied the franchise record of 28. Colorado skated off the ice with 21 wins and 20 losses (21-16-4 in NHL math). That’s not good enough. If they can again own their home ice, a 100-point season will likely unfold.
5. Be special (teams). The Avs must improve what was a 25th-ranked penalty kill last season to reach expectations. They were under 80 percent (78.7) along with 15 other teams, but the addition of fourth-line center/defensive specialist Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Donskoi should help them get in the mid-80s. The power play was generally effective last season (22 percent, seventh-ranked) and that should only improve with the addition of more offensive talent.
