The Colorado Avalanche have been dominating the competition in the NHL throughout the season. While they have not been able to keep up the pace they had earlier in the season when they had just two regulation losses through the first three months of the season, the Avalanche is on pace to win the Presidents Trophy and gain home-ice advantage throughout the upcoming Stanley Cup playoffs.
One of the keys to their effort in the postseason will be the performance of the Colorado power play. The Avs wanted to improve that unit with their moves at the trade deadline, and the acquisition of Nazem Kadri from the Calgary Flames appears to have strengthened that unit significantly.
Since the deadline, the Avalanche are third in the league, scoring 11.7 goals per 60 with the man advantage, according to NHL analyst Dom Luszczyszyn of The Athletic. The team's top power play unit has been even more impressive, scoring 14.5 goals per 60.
This may be just the advantage that the Avalanche needs to go on a long and successful run in the Stanley Cup playoffs. They are the highest-scoring team in the league with 283 goals as they prepare for their Saturday game with the Dallas Stars. That meeting in Dallas could be a preview of a second-round series between two of the best teams in the league.
The Avs have one of the most dangerous 1-2 punches in the league with Nathan MacKinnon and defenseman Cale Makar. The explosive MacKinnon has scored 50 goals and 71 assists for 121 points, while Makar is the best offensive blueliner in the league. He has scored 20 goals and 55 assists.
Kadri has scored 4 goals and 5 assists in 13 games with the Avalanche. Three of his goals have come with the man advantage.
