The Colorado Avalanche’s success to start undefeated after six games has a lot to do with depth. Call it luck, call it fortune, call it whatever you want — but the Colorado Avalanche's undefeated start has a lot to do with a high level of skill and depth. But the team is not quite there yet. Even though it has had success both on the road and at home, head coach Jared Bednar said there's still work to do to get to the level he knows his team can achieve. "Time will tell where we get to but we're fully healthy now so that's number one. We don't have any injuries that are keeping guys out of the lineup so everyone's slotted where they should be and in positions to have success," Bednar said after practice on Sunday. The last time the Avalanche started a season 6-0-0 was 2013-14, before Bednar joined the team. Then, Patrick Roy was behind the bench, it was Gabriel Landeskog's second season as captain and Nathan MacKinnon's rookie year. That team earned 112 points and ended the season atop the Central Division — but lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Much has changed in 10 years and this Avalanche team has a depth that team didn't have — which every team in the NHL wants to have. "We're really happy with the guys we've brought in and what they can provide to our team, so depth is a key in this league," Bednar said. "It's hard to get it and create it and still have all your stars — it's a challenge every team in the league is fighting and we feel like we've done a nice job this year and we'll see where it goes." Ryan Johansen has been outstanding with faceoff wins and contributing to the Avs' scoring power, which is what the team needed in that second-line center position. Miles Wood and Ross Colton have added grit and increased scoring chances while Tomas Tatar has added versatility. Jonathan Drouin is still finding his place in the lineup, but his speed and skill have been major contributions to the team's success thus far. "I think a lot of it's habits-wise. A lot of guys — new team, we just got to get used to the system," Cale Makar 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." Bednar said he thought his third line (Wood - Colton - Drouin) was involved in the 7-4 win against the New York Islanders and did a good job on the defensive side of the game — which the team has struggled with through the first five. "That consistency is still what we're looking for. There's been inconsistencies in our game through the first six," Bednar said after the win over the Isles. "We're fortunate to be at six and o, we understand that, I think our players understand that. We'll keep looking at it, keep trying to improve it. It's all you can do — it's a work in progress."
