Patience was preached at the start of the season while the power play worked through its growing pains. Nearly four months later, January has arrived, and the unit still looks stuck in the same place.

Although the Avalanche remain atop the NHL at 34-6-9 through 49 games, they are just 4-4-2 over their past 10—a stretch that hints at a slight dip in form. Injuries have played a significant role. Captain Gabriel Landeskog has been sidelined since Jan. 4 after suffering broken ribs against the Florida Panthers, while Devon Toews has missed much of the month with an upper-body injury.

Given the circumstances, some patience is warranted when evaluating recent results. The power play, however, falls into a different category. It has been a persistent issue for much of the season. While Colorado continues to control play at five-on-five, its man advantage has consistently lagged behind.

Colorado is currently tied for 21st in the NHL, converting on just 16.1 percent of its power play opportunities. Prior to the Jan. 8 home game against the Ottawa Senators, head coach Jared Bednar confirmed the team held a significant meeting focused on the man advantage, aimed at aligning strategies and ensuring a unified approach to addressing what has been a season-long issue. Bednar also encouraged open dialogue during the meeting, emphasizing the importance of player input and collective problem-solving.

Have those efforts translated into tangible progress? Not exactly. Entering Colorado’s 8–2 win over Ottawa, the power play conversion rate remained unchanged at 16.1 percent. On the surface, the numbers suggest stagnation—but a deeper look, game by game, provides additional context worth examining.

Brock Nelson and Martin Nečas each scored power play goals against the Senators, reaching the 20-goal mark on the season. Colorado finished the night 2-for-6 with the man advantage, a rare bright spot in an otherwise inconsistent stretch for the unit.

On Jan. 10, Trent Miner recorded the first shutout and first win of his NHL career in a 4–0 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. While the result was a positive, the power play failed to contribute, finishing 0-for-2.

Two days later, Colorado’s 17-game home winning streak came to an end in a 4–3 overtime loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Avalanche went 1-for-3 on the power play, with Nelson once again providing the lone goal on the man advantage—his 22nd of the season.

After three days of rest, Colorado struggled in a 7–3 loss to the Nashville Predators, where the power play again came up empty, finishing 0-for-2. The Avalanche responded with a 5–2 win days later against Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals. While the power play remained far from sharp, it did produce a goal, going 1-for-6, with Nathan MacKinnon scoring his 37th of the season.

Colorado now enters its latest stretch coming off back-to-back losses—a 2–1 shootout defeat to the Anaheim Ducks followed by a 7–3 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers. Across those two games, the power play went a combined 0-for-6.

Since the power play meeting, the Avalanche have had 25 opportunities with the man advantage and scored just four goals, a conversion rate of 16 percent—slightly below their season average. On paper, the unit has technically declined, though in reality it has largely remained the same.

That stagnation is beginning to wear on the fan base, with some suggesting that if the issue isn’t resolved before the postseason, the consequences could be significant when the margin for error shrinks. In a conversation with The Hockey News, Bednar addressed the power play, outlining where he believes the unit is struggling most and identifying the areas that need improvement.

"We want to be as dangerous as possible," Bednar said on January 19. "We've had some power plays in that stretch that haven't looked great, and we've had some that have looked fantastic, but it's definitely getting more consistent and guys are continuing to work on it and share ideas and get on the same page and then just work on the execution part of it. I still think it's going to (improve) yet again."

The Avalanche are on the road to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday morning. Coverage begins at 11:30 local time.