The Colorado Avalanche's power play looked exactly like last season's version Sunday, and that's not a good sign heading into camp.
"If there was one familiar theme, however, it was the power play," Ryan O'Hara reported.
Colorado went 0-for-3 with the man advantage, the same struggle that plagued this team throughout an otherwise dominant regular season.
Colorado finished 55-16-11 for 121 points last season, first overall in the entire league, before a stunning playoff exit to the Vegas Golden Knights ended the run early.
A power play this inconsistent didn't derail the regular season given how deep this roster is, but it became a real issue once the games got tighter in the postseason.
GM Joe Sakic remains committed to the front office role full-time, reportedly reinvigorated rather than rattled by last year's early exit.
Head coach Jared Bednar has talked about wanting his players to feel like he's the right coach for this group, a message that puts real weight on fixing exactly this kind of recurring problem.
Why one preseason game still matters here
Colorado's goal differential of plus-99 last season was the best mark in the league, proof the issue was never about overall talent or five-on-five play.
The power play specifically has been the one consistent gap between this team's regular season dominance and its actual playoff results the last two seasons.
Seeing that same struggle show up again in the first preseason look, even against lineups that don't reflect final rosters, is exactly the kind of red flag that gets flagged internally before the games start counting.
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Bednar's staff has all offseason to retool entries, personnel, and structure before opening night, and this game gives them real film to start that process with.
Colorado has the individual talent to fix this. Whether they actually do before the games matter again is the same question that's followed this team into each of the last two postseasons.
For a roster this talented, an inconsistent power play remains the single clearest explanation for why regular season dominance hasn't translated into a deeper playoff run yet.
Will the Avalanche finally fix their power play problems this season?
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