Avalanche assistant coach Nolan Pratt delivered a simple message to his prospective penalty killers at a meeting early in training camp.
There are a couple of key guys from the PK a season ago who need to be replaced, but Pratt wanted to set the standard high.
“He said, ‘We know the expectation for the (power play) is to be top-five. Why don’t we have the same expectation?” Avs defenseman Josh Manson said. “That should be our mentality coming in, that we want to be a top-five PK, because we can do it.’
“I think that really hit the nail on the head.”
Everyone knows the Avalanche has the firepower to score with anyone, and any power play that features Cale Makar flanked by Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen is going to have a high floor and sky-high expectations. The Avs have finished sixth and seventh in the NHL on the power play in the previous two seasons, while the PK has been middle of the pack (15th two years ago, 17th last season).
The first priority in training camp is figuring out who can help replace forward J.T. Compher and defenseman Erik Johnson. Compher logged nearly 175 minutes on the penalty kill, which was second to defenseman Devon Toews on the team. Erik Johnson was third among the defensemen with 128:01.
“They’re good players and they’re going to be tough to replace,” said Manson, who was one of the most-used defensemen on the PK when he was healthy last year. “That’s kind of what you get with each season. There are new guys and new roles to fill. I think we’ve kind of had a kill by committee usually anyways. Guys will step up and fill that void.”
None of the new additions up front are guys who have been anchors for their previous club’s penalty-killing units. Ross Colton and Miles Wood have been auditioning for a role on the PK. Ryan Johansen has spent a little time there but also said he thinks that is mostly for when the Avs need a big faceoff win in a key spot.
Andrew Cogliano, Logan O’Connor, Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen could be Colorado’s top two PK pairings when everyone is healthy, but teams also like to use five or six forwards — especially on a particularly penalty-filled night.
One of those spots could be filled by the winner of the battle for the fourth-line center spot. Fredrik Olofsson looks like the favorite right now. When the Avs needed to kill their first penalty Sunday night at Ball Arena, Olofsson and Joel Kiviranta were the first duo, while other roster-spot contenders Ben Meyers and Riley Tufte had PK shifts later.
“It’s a big difference-maker,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said, referencing the PK and the competition for final roster spots. “We need penalty killers. It will be a factor for sure.”
Just having a healthy Manson could be a big boon for the Avalanche defense corps. Manson is 20th among NHL defensemen with at least 200 games played over the past five seasons in PK time on ice per game at 2:34. Whether it’s in Anaheim or in Denver, he’s a stalwart on the penalty kill.
Devon Toews was the club’s workhorse when a man down last season. Makar, Jack Johnson, Sam Girard and Bo Byram will all spend time on the PK at various points as well.
“For the forwards, I think it takes a little bit of time to learn for the guys coming in,” Manson said. “Our system isn’t the easiest. There are so many little reads and different positioning. I kind of like to say a lot of things are habits. Once you set the habits of where your feet move, then your reads from there become a little easier. You can kind of dissect it a little deeper when you’re in the right position. When you’re not, it’s just kind of chasing the game and not really reading it.”
One area to watch on the Avs’ PK: the quality of chances allowed. Colorado was eighth last season in shot attempts allowed and unblocked shot attempts allowed per 60 minutes at 4-on-5, according to NaturalStatTrick. The Avs were 18th in expected goals allowed per 60.
Part of the reason for the disparity? The Avs were 28th in high-danger scoring chances allowed per 60. So, the penalty killers did a solid job of preventing the opposing team from attempting too many shots, but they also gave up too many in the best area to score from.
“The kill in general is just a pride thing,” Cogliano said. “It’s a competitive thing. When you have players that are willing to do everything they can to do their job and kill penalties, it usually works out.
“It’s a little bit of thinking, but once you get comfortable with it and get the hang of it, (Pratt) does a really good job of coaching it and showing all the different scenarios that come from it. It’s up to the players to understand what to do in those scenarios.”
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