AVALANCHE: Colorado to juggle top line to include speedy, aggressive, 19-year-old Jost.
“I don’t think they’ve been dangerous enough,” Bednar says
Jared Bednar put his lines into a blender and whipped up with some squiggles. His Avalanche offense grew stale Tuesday at Nashville and Colorado’s coach wanted a spark, especially with his No. 1 pairings. A top line was flying up and down the ice with little to show for it.
“I don’t think they’ve been dangerous enough for us,” Bednar said.
So he took a teenager, sending 19-year-old Tyson Jost to the first line alongside star center Nathan MacKinnon. In an earlyseason shakeup, seven games in but on a two-game losing skid, Bednar is hoping to mix together a new look, tying together a skilled goal scorer in MacKinnon and a nettlesome rookie in Jost.
“We need a little bit of a change on Mac’s line. And (Jost) is a guy who can provide a spark there,” Bednar said Wednesday after a swift off-day practice. “They’ve enjoyed playing together.”
The change was spurred in part by what Bednar noticed across the ice. In a 4-1 blowout loss Tuesday night, the Predators’ top line of Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson hassled Colorado from the jump, collectively sending 12 shots on goal. The Avs’ top line of MacKinnon, Sven Andrighetto and Mikko Rantanen managed just four.
Sure enough, Arvidsson’s second-period tally, on an assist from Forsberg, keyed a threegoal barrage in the second period that buried the Avalanche.
“I hold them to a higher standard,” Bednar said of his top line. “Look at the Johansen-Forsberg-Arvidsson line. They’re dangerous every shift. Our line needs more consistency. No excuses, but if we can make a change on that line and provide a spark, we’ll do that. I want more consistency, more chemistry out of that line.”
The shuffle, which Bednar experimented with late in Tues- day’s loss, coincides with MacKinnon finally finding the net. The fifth-year center, just 22, scored his first goal of the season Tuesday, a seeing-eye wrister that wriggled through traffic in the second period. But it was a power-play goal, and MacKinnon said Wednesday he is seeking more opportunities to attack the net at even strength.
MacKinnon, Colorado’s runaway points leader last season with 16 goals and 37 assists, said he has noticed a lack of evenstrength production, owed in part to a team full of new faces still finding their footing early in a new season.
“The lines haven’t been creating a ton of chances. There’s not really any flow on 5-on-5,” MacKinnon said. “I want to shoot more. I just haven’t been getting it as much in the neutral zone, and it’s affecting my shots per game. I need to be more aggressive. It will come.”
Jost adds an element of aggression. He dives into “dirty areas,” MacKinnon said, to win back pucks and grind out second chances. But he is speedy enough and skilled enough, even at 19, to keep pace.
“I like to play a fast game, an up-tempo game. And Josty is obviously a very fast player,” MacKinnon said. “We want to push the tempo. That’s the kind of team we are. It’s better than playing slow, that’s for sure.”
The Avs’ 20 goals this season rank ninth in the NHL, but they are 25th in shots, averaging 30 per game. Bednar’s line juggling is an attempt at harmony, looking for a combination that can maximize its time on ice for a team still in second gear.
“There’s an element we need: more of a shot mentality,” Bednar said. “Speed is one of their best weapons. That’s what makes them dangerous. Getting some more extended zone time, offensively, is a goal I’m trying to get after here. Instead of just the rushing attack, what comes next? Creating secondary offensive chances. Sometimes, that’s hounding pucks, protecting pucks, moving to the right spot early enough on the ice.”