Avalanche Need More From Their Bottom Six as Top-Line Load Grows

Colorado’s depth forwards have to give the Avalanche more than minutes on the ice. Against Nashville, the top line went quiet, the offense sputtered, and the third line didn’t supply the push the club needed. That leaves coach Jared Bednar with a familiar contender’s problem: how to spread the workload when the players asked to drive the attack aren’t getting enough help.

The uneven stretch has caught the attention of Elliotte Friedman, who described some of Colorado’s outings as “weird.” Whether those performances reflect fatigue or simply a run of games when the team hasn’t found its usual level, the concern is the same. Colorado can’t count on its stars to rescue every quiet night from the supporting cast.

Nashville exposed the scoring gap

In Sunday night’s game against the Predators, the Avalanche’s leading forwards didn’t get much going. When that group is held in check, the burden shifts to the rest of the lineup to create chances, sustain pressure and make the opposing team defend. Colorado didn’t get enough of that response. The result, as the source account describes it, was an offense that struggled to find traction.

Fedor Svechkov’s third-period benching underscored the problem. A depth line needs to contribute energy and useful shifts when the top players are quiet. Instead, Svechkov ended the game watching from the bench, reducing Bednar’s options at a time when Colorado needed more from its forwards.

That doesn’t mean a bottom-six winger or center should be expected to match Nathan MacKinnon or Martin Necas in scoring. Bednar can’t simply change a player’s role and expect a sudden jump to star-level production. The more practical standard is whether the depth group can keep shifts alive, add pressure and make the other team account for threats beyond Colorado’s biggest names.

Jaden Schwartz and Parker Kelly are among the forwards named in that conversation. The question for Colorado is how to get more consistent contributions from players in those roles, especially when the stars aren’t finishing chances. A supporting line doesn’t need to take over a game to matter. It needs to make it harder for an opponent to focus its attention on the top unit.

Ice time is part of the equation

Bednar’s deployment is another piece of the puzzle. In the game against Nashville, Taylor Makar played five minutes. Kelly logged 12:35, Logan O’Connor had 11:46, and Svechkov finished with 10:53, including the time before he was benched.

Those figures show how much less opportunity the depth forwards received than Colorado’s prominent players. Limited ice time can be a response to ineffective shifts, but it also leaves little room for a player to build rhythm or make an impact. Bednar has to judge which forwards are earning more responsibility while finding a way to give the bottom six enough chances to prove they can help.

Simply loading more minutes onto MacKinnon, Necas and Artturi Lehkonen isn’t a durable answer. The source notes that the Avalanche had to kill seven Nashville power plays, adding another demand on the lineup. Colorado’s defense also leaned heavily on its leading pairings: Devon Toews, Cale Makar and Brett Kulak each played more than 20 minutes, while Josh Manson and Brent Burns, the third pairing, saw about 13.

That kind of distribution can leave a team reliant on a small group across the lineup. When the stars absorb the biggest offensive assignments and several defensemen shoulder heavy workloads, there’s less margin for an off night. The top players can still decide games, but a team aiming to contend needs its depth to keep the whole lineup functioning when those players don’t produce.

Colorado needs a repeatable response

There’s no quick fix in which Bednar presses a button and the bottom six starts scoring at the same rate as the top line. The immediate task is more measured: find combinations that can generate useful shifts, give the depth forwards a reasonable opportunity, and see who can turn that opportunity into pressure and offense.

That approach also gives the coaching staff better information. If the same players remain unable to contribute when given ice time, the team has a clearer case for changing roles or combinations. If they respond, Colorado can reduce the strain on its leading forwards and defensemen. Either way, the lineup needs answers that go beyond asking its stars to play even more.

For the Avalanche, consistency will depend on whether the bottom six can make its shifts matter, particularly when the top line is contained. Their next challenge is to turn that need into a dependable contribution across the lineup.