10 Takeaways: Avalanche Power Play Looked Rejuvenated Against Red Wings (+)

November 8, 2026 · Yahoo Sports

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Whatever conversations the Colorado Avalanche had about their power play before Saturday’s puck drop, if any, need to be repeated before every game. Against the Detroit Red Wings, the Avs didn’t just score three times on the man advantage. They actually looked like a skilled team, confidently moving the puck and keeping the penalty kill guessing.

Perhaps the most encouraging part was where the production came from. All three goals came from the top unit, and from each of the three players who have taken the most heat for the power-play struggles.

Visit h-doctor.club for more information.

Martin Necas, Nathan MacKinnon, and Cale Makar.

10 Takeaways

1. Necas’ opening tally, which came late in Colorado’s third opportunity on the man advantage, required a little bit of luck. The puck trickled through the crease after a Daniil Tarasov save, allowing Necas to put it into an open net. But there were quite a few things to take away from this goal beyond the fortunate bounce.

For starters, T.J. Hughes’ shot seemed to catch Tarasov by surprise. The way Hughes turned and put it on net after looking like he was going to pass it off was a thing of beauty. And you can’t take credit away from Necas for getting into the dirty area. Those are the places you want to see him scoring goals — in tight, right in front of the crease.

2. Head coach Jared Bednar said after the game that the second power play was their best one. I absolutely agree.

That’s the one they didn’t score on, but generated a ton of opportunities over roughly 90 seconds before Nazem Kadri and Moritz Seider took matching minors for their scuffle behind the net. If the Avs actually turn things around and figure things out on the man advantage, we’re going to look back on that sequence as a potential turning point.

3. What worked on the power play, specifically?

“I think we just keep working on it,” Necas said. “We put the pucks on net, we recover them, and then teams against us, the kill against us gets a little tired, then plays open up, and it’s always easier.”

4. There was still a little bit of overpassing on Saturday, but not nearly as much as we’ve seen in recent games. Necas is on to something with his point about putting pucks on net.

It starts with Makar as the quarterback. He was challenging the high forward on the penalty kill and threatening to shoot. Some of his attempts didn’t get through traffic, while others did. Eventually, his goal came on one of those shots. That’s the kind of threat Colorado needs him to be. I will forever be an advocate for Makar to shoot more on the PP.

5. That was far and away the best version of Makar we’ve seen this season. Bednar spoke earlier Saturday about conversations he’d recently had with Makar about being more assertive. Makar responded to that message pretty quickly. He was all over the ice against Detroit.

“I thought he was outstanding today. Yeah, I thought he was really good. Like just, I mean, assertive all over the ice, using his legs,” Bednar said. “He was great right from the drop of the puck, and he wanted to play lots, and you know, that’s the Cale we need. That’s the Cale we’re used to. And he’s been working at it to try and get his game back. But today he turned the corner completely. And yeah, I think he can just continue to go.”

6. There were a few of those “wow” moments from Makar, too. He was deking guys at the blue line, finding lanes and making the highlight-reel plays that have often been a regular part of his game. We hadn’t seen nearly enough of that this season.

7. I appreciated Necas bringing up the penalty-kill work from Parker Kelly and Logan O’Connor before I could even ask about it. I’d made a note before heading down to the dressing room that I wanted to ask about their aggressiveness, particularly O’Connor’s, and how much that can help a team find its juice.

O’Connor drawing a penalty on Justin Faulk on the PK directly led to the power play where Necas scored the opening goal. It was a key moment, too. The Avs had just failed to score on two power plays, and the Red Wings were getting their first chance on the man advantage. There’s an alternate universe where Detroit scores there and sucks the energy out of the home team. Instead, O’Connor did his thing, and the rest is history.

8. O’Connor was creating chances on the penalty kill at a level we haven’t seen much lately, and I’d love to see that continue. He had a two-on-one with Kelly that Tarasov stopped. But you can tell O’Connor is finding his rhythm again after all the heartbreak he’s dealt with over the past month.

9. Not lost in all of this is how well the Avalanche defended and shut things down after the first period. That was one of their best traits last season, and it’s something they’ve gotten completely away from through the first month or so of this year.

They found that game against the Nashville Predators, and it continued Saturday after a slight early hiccup.

With 3:23 remaining in the first period, Detroit had its 13th shot on goal and a 13-1 advantage. The Red Wings were dominating.

But after that, Blackwood didn’t face another shot until there was 8:41 remaining in the second period. That’s 14:42 of game time in which Colorado outshot Detroit 16-0 and scored twice. That’s quite a response.

10. I will never not love feisty games between these two clubs. This was the stuff that made me a hockey fan back in the day. And as many of you know, I grew up in Detroit during the height of the rivalry while cheering for the team from Denver.

Gabe Landeskog dropping the gloves with future Red Wings captain Moritz Seider was really fun. So was Noah Juulsen, a depth defenseman, going after one of Detroit’s top forwards, Lucas Raymond. Seider also got into it with Kadri earlier in the game.

There were “Red Wings suck” chants throughout the night and plenty of boos for the team wearing red. It was an entertaining night all around.

Related Headlines