A poor power play the lone blemish on a fantastic Avalanche season

The Colorado Avalanche have had about as perfect a start as you could ask for in 2025-26 — except for one minor detail.

The only hiccup that has followed this team through 42 games is their power play, which currently sits at 16.1%, 26th in the NHL. Despite that, the Avs still maintain a 31-4-7 record, good for 69 points through the first half of the season.

On Thursday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Tyler Yaremchuk and former NHL goaltender Carter Hutton discuss the Avalanche’s hot start and what a struggling power play could mean for a Colorado squad looking to make a deep run in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Tyler Yaremchuk: There’s not a lot to nitpick with this team, they have to stay healthy but you can say that about every team as they head into the back half of the season. I guess the one thing is that it’s crazy to think a team with Martin Necas, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar, they’re 26th in the NHL on power-play percentage.

If you talk to Avs fans, it’s the only complaint they have on the year. If there is one thing that could sink Colorado, it’s that. People run with the narrative that there’s less power plays in the playoffs, but it’s the opposite: power play opportunities go up, and I’d say the importance of having a good power play in the playoffs go up.

Carter Hutton: If you are trying to be optimistic about the situation, what the hell happens when this power play does get going? It feels like it’s inevitable that they’ll find a solution. On top of those other things, if they get that power play going, they become even more dangerous.

I know it’s something they’re assessing and they’re tinkering after every game. That being said, when you get to the playoffs, five-on-five play changes. There’s no time, there’s no space, the effort is exaggerated, so it becomes more important to have a good power play and penalty kill.

If they can clean that power play up earlier, who knows how many points they can get.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…