The Colorado Avalanche are undefeated five games into the season, but they're not at their best — yet
Going back on the road undefeated isn't an issue for the Colorado Avalanche — it's giving them more focus on what needs work.
Ryan Johansen, who has been exceptional at faceoff wins, said the team continues to work on polishing its game.
"Five and O you'd think we'd be rocking and rolling playing really well but — great thing is we've just had big time players step up in big moments throughout all these games and we've found ways to win hockey games, which is great," the 31-year-old forward said after Sunday's practice. "In a positive way, there's still a lot of room for growth of our group. To win five games and we got to keep taking strides to how we want to play and execute 60 minute hockey games."
One aspect of the Avalanche's game that needs work is the defensive side. Mikko Rantanen said going back on the road could be an advantage for the offense to relieve that pressure and tune into their game and shut down the opposing team.
"Checking side of the game, defensive habits try to play a perfect 60," the 26-year-old forward said. "It's more mental-side, we just got to get battling on the defensive side too."
New players on the team are still finding their footing and how they fit into the Avalanche system.
"For us, just playing our game — still getting used to the systems and stuff like that," Ross Colton said. "I think we got to play faster, sticking it to them just a little bit more."
As new players continue to figure out their place and play to the best of what's expected of them, defenseman Cale Makar said it's about the team's habits.
"I think a lot of it's habits-wise. A lot of guys, new team, we just got to get used to the system," the Norris Trophy-winner said. "Trust that it's just maintaining those habits and then building new ones with those guys that have come in. It's going to take some time but all the new guys want to learn and that's all you can ask for."
Head coach Jared Bednar has said repeatedly that keys to his team's success have been goaltending and special teams. The Avs' win against the Carolina Hurricanes is greatly attributed to both the power play and penalty kill.
"I still see more potential out of our team. We're still talking a lot about what we want to look like from an identity standpoint," Bednar said. "How we can play faster, cleaner, get more predictable to ourselves. But to still be having success after five games without some of that knowledge, it's still to come in practice. I think we can get honed in on it better than we are and we're still able to have success — which kind of shows what the guys are made of in the room."
Colorado's next matchup is against the New York Islanders at 6 p.m. MT on Tuesday, who are 2-1-1 to start the season. The Avalanche could set a new record for longest road wins spanning seasons at 15 with a win.