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Dude, there\u2019s Makar! But where the heck has the Avalanche\u2019s power play<\/a> been?<\/p>\n \u201cI feel like (Thursday), we got a lot of chances,\u201d Avs defender Cale Makar told reporters after Colorado inched closer to a first-round sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, taking a 3-0 lead into Sunday\u2019s Game 4<\/a>. \u201c(We) capitalized on a few, but still, I think there (are) areas of improvement, for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n A dead car battery\u2019s got more juice right now than Colorado with a man advantage.<\/a> Oh-for-2 on power plays in Game 3. Oh-for-9 for the series.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the first time the Avs have opened the postseason without a power-play goal over its first three playoff contests since 2023. The 2022 Stanley Cup champs had put up six goals with the extra man against Nashville by Game 3 of that four-game series sweep.<\/p>\n And we know, we know: The Avs were a mess on the power play through one of the greatest regular seasons in franchise history \u2014 and racked up 121 points anyway. Sure, it\u2019s broke. But they\u2019re too good in every other scenario<\/em> for you to worry about fixing it, right?<\/p>\n Mind you, we were saying the same thing for months about the Nuggets\u2019 defense and about Aaron Gordon\u2019s health,<\/a> too. And look how that<\/em> little narrative is playing out in Minneapolis right now.<\/a> (Or don\u2019t. It\u2019s ugly. And it could get worse.)<\/p>\n True, the Avs have been stuck in second gear over the first three tilts of this series,<\/a> and there probably won\u2019t be a fifth game. That\u2019s how strong, how deep, this roster is \u2014 four lines of speed and steel stacked one on top of the other.<\/p>\n It\u2019s the next round \u2014 when the competition ramps up \u2014 where those little things pay off, where the margins mean more. You can rope-a-dope L.A. and end up sweeping the bums to Cancun. Dallas and Minnesota throw punches from your weight class. The Kings are ham-fisted goons. The Stars are ham-fisted goons who can also score, especially on special teams.<\/p>\n Would this be a bad time to mention that Dallas has scored six power-play goals through its first three games against Minnesota this round? And on just 17 attempts?<\/p>\n Or that the Wild were 3 for 15 with the extra man as of late Thursday night?<\/p>\n Or that the Kings ranked 30th (74.6%) \u00a0among NHL special teams in penalty kill during the regular season? Or that only Seattle and Vancouver were worse?<\/p>\n If you can\u2019t make it here, you might not make it anywhere.<\/p>\n Avs coach Jared Bednar is loyal to a fault and twice as stubborn when cornered. But this postseason needs more<\/em> Logan O\u2019Connor and Artturi Lehkonen on the ice \u2014 not less.<\/p>\n Lehkonen is a crease-crasher, a garbage collector and a pest, a greasy goal waiting to happen. The Mayor is a terrier on skates, a holy terror. Meanwhile, Nazem Kadri is passing up shots and sometimes looks uncomfortable gripping his stick right now. Why not play LOC with the PP1 unit instead and see what happens?<\/p>\n And we get it \u2014 big picture, yes, the Avs are fine. More than fine, in fact. Makar got back on the postseason scoresheet with a classic Cale goal in Game 3, walking the blue line to rack up his first tally since March 18. Nathan MacKinnon managed to keep his cool Thursday despite getting mugged every shift and drawing some curious calls \u2014 Embellishment? Really? \u2014 from NHL zebras.<\/p>\n Yet in a series that\u2019s been hard on the eyes, Colorado\u2019s power play is still bad for your heart. Once the bright lights of the Stanley Cup Playoffs switched on, it\u2019s been the same sad song, different verse. One pass too many, time and again.<\/p>\n Avalanche vs. Kings NHL playoff schedule<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n