The Avalanche’s Tuesday practice came with a few changes that stood out right away, and the biggest one was Nic Roy’s return to full participation. After sitting out with an upper-body injury, Roy looks set to rejoin Colorado’s lineup Wednesday night when the club hosts the New Jersey Devils.
Roy worked on the right wing of the second line with Brock Nelson and Gabe Landeskog, and he was also used heavily as a penalty killer during special teams work. Head coach Jared Bednar also shuffled his power-play groups, moving Martin Necas back onto PP1 and placing Jaden Schwartz on PP2.
Roy said he’s fully healthy now after the injury that began bothering him in Winnipeg and worsened from there. “Without going too much into detail, it started in Winnipeg and from there it got worse and worse,” Roy said.
“It’s early in the season. It was that type of injury that, if I kept playing through it, it would’ve kept getting worse.”
Colorado also made a notable adjustment down the middle. Nazem Kadri moved from the second-line wing to third-line center, centering T.J.
Hughes and Schwartz in practice. That shift pushed Fedor Svechkov to fourth-line center between Parker Kelly and Logan O’Connor.
For Bednar, Roy’s return opens up another top-six option without needing to bump Hughes, Schwartz, or one of the recent AHL call-ups - Gavin Brindley and Taylor Makar - into a bigger role. It also puts Kadri back in his natural spot, while giving the Avalanche a third line that, at least on paper, can be used against stronger competition.
In Other News...
Avalanche May Be Heading Toward A Brent Burns Decision
Brent Burns has settled into a third-pairing role for the Avalanche, but the fit has not looked especially smooth. His recent game showed a negative Wins Above Replacement rating, and the underlying numbers have not helped his case either, with a negative relative expected goals for mark adding to the concern around his impact at even strength.
Still, Colorado does not appear eager to take him out of the lineup, and the reason is bigger than one rough night or even a short stretch of limited ice time. Burns Ironman streak remains a factor the Avalanche have to weigh as they try to sort out their blue-line rotation and manage fatigue, leaving the team with a delicate balancing act every time it sets its pairings. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Suddenly Have A Parker Kelly Problem To Watch
Parker Kelly was one of the more useful surprises in Colorados depth mix last season, when his 21-goal breakout gave the Avalanche an unexpected scoring boost and raised the bar for what he might bring in a full follow-up year. Through 12 games this season, though, the production has been far quieter, with one goal and five points leaving the Avalanche to wonder whether last year was the start of a new level or a peak that may be hard to revisit.
For a team that leans on depth scoring to make the rest of its attack work, Kellys line becomes a small but important watch point. If his output settles back closer to the level he had shown earlier in his career, Colorado loses a layer of offense it was hoping to count on, and that puts a little more pressure on the rest of the supporting cast to pick up the slack. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Start Is Hiding A Concern Fans Can't Ignore
The early results have been good enough for the Avalanche to stay in the conversation, but the start has not come without some warning signs. At 6-5-1 through 12 games, Colorado has gotten useful depth from its third line, with Jaden Schwartz, Fedor Svechkov and TJ Hughes each chipping in at least twice, a welcome sign for a group that needs scoring beyond its top names.
Still, the bigger picture is a little less comfortable than the record suggests. Colorados expected goals percentage has slipped from where it has been in past seasons, and the defensive structure has not looked as steady, which has led analytics to paint a more cautious view of how sustainable this start really is. For a team that expects to be judged by more than just the standings, the next stretch will say a lot about whether the wins are built to last. [Read more 🡒]