November 2nd 2024.
The Avalanche has been facing a major availability crisis at the start of the 2024-25 season. Despite this, there have been some noteworthy developments revolving around the team's top healthy players.
Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Mikko Rantanen have been instrumental in carrying the team's offense, especially considering that four to six of the top-10 forwards on the roster have been unavailable for every game so far. However, the amount of ice time allocated to the Big Three has been a topic of interest in the first month of the season.
Interestingly, even with the absence of key forwards, MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen have been averaging similar ice time per game as they did in the 2023-24 season. MacKinnon has been playing an average of three seconds more, while Makar and Rantanen have been playing slightly less.
Coach Jared Bednar has been mindful of not overworking the top players. He believes in relying on them when necessary, but also giving other players opportunities in different situations. So far, all three players have been highly productive. Makar was tied for the lead in the NHL with 19 points after the Wednesday night game, while MacKinnon and Rantanen were ranked third and ninth, respectively.
MacKinnon and Rantanen have consistently been at the top of the NHL leaderboard in terms of minutes played per game. This trend has continued this season, with MacKinnon ranked first and Rantanen ranked third among forwards after Wednesday night's games. In between them was Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov.
Although Edmonton's Connor McDavid was averaging more minutes, an injury caused him to drop down the list. Over the past three seasons, MacKinnon and Rantanen have ranked first and second in minutes played per game, with other top players like McDavid, Kaprizov, Mitch Marner, and Leon Draisaitl not far behind.
Makar has been ranked third in average ice time per game among defensemen over the past three seasons, behind only Drew Doughty of Los Angeles and Rasmus Dahlin of Buffalo. However, this season he has dropped to 11th among defensemen.
Rantanen believes that it is ideal for him, MacKinnon, and Makar to have a slightly lower ice time than other top players. He recognizes that playing 25 minutes as a forward can be physically demanding, especially in a long season. By playing fewer minutes, they can save some energy and potentially have more success in the playoffs.
However, in certain situations where the game is tight or the team has lost a few games in a row, the top players may be leaned on more heavily. This was evident in the games against Chicago and Tampa Bay this past week, where MacKinnon and Rantanen played more minutes than usual due to the team trailing and trying to catch up.
Another factor that contributes to the top players' higher ice time is their involvement in power play situations. Last season, Rantanen and MacKinnon ranked first and third, respectively, in power-play time on ice per game. They also ranked first and second in total ice time with the extra man. The Avalanche tends to heavily rely on their first power-play unit, which is not as physically demanding as playing long shifts at 5-on-5.
Despite the higher ice time, MacKinnon, Makar, and Rantanen are in excellent physical shape and have proven that they can handle a heavier workload when needed. Bednar acknowledges that overloading them with minutes is not sustainable and trusts his gut to make decisions on when to rely on them more.
Even with the absence of six forwards, the team has not reached an emergency situation in the 10 or 11 games played so far this season. This is partly due to other players stepping up and playing well in bigger roles. For example, Ross Colton's ice time has increased significantly since last season, but unfortunately, he will now miss six to eight weeks due to a broken foot.
On the other hand, players like Casey Mittelstadt, Logan O'Connor, Joel Kiviranta, Ivan Ivan, and Nikolai Kovalenko have all seen an increase in ice time and have impressed with their performances. Rantanen believes that having all four lines contribute and be trustworthy allows the coaches to rotate them throughout the game.
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