TORONTO — There were some nights this season when Jared Bednar channeled his best Bear Grylls and Angus MacGyver impersonations while trying to patch together an NHL lineup.
After a flurry of trades remade nearly half his roster and significantly improved his club’s depth, Bednar has more in common with Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. The Colorado Avalanche coach has moved on from survival mode but faces a new challenge — trying to make all the pieces of the puzzle fit in time to chase the coveted treasure.
Bednar has tinkered with his lineup a little since his roster was infused with new and healthy players. He went a step further Wednesday night during a tough-luck 2-1 loss in Toronto. All four forward lines had a new look during the final two periods.
The headliner was putting Nathan MacKinnon between Valeri Nichushkin and Brock Nelson.
“It’s good to keep things fresh,” MacKinnon said. “It wasn’t perfect, but I feel like the three of us are pretty good-sized guys and can get inside on the ‘D.’ We had a lot of good looks. They weren’t pretty, but really high-quality looks in front off rebounds, ‘D’ shots. I thought we deserved a couple for sure.”
MacKinnon’s typical line, with Artturi Lehkonen and Martin Necas flanking him, got off to a slow start against the Maple Leafs. When that trio isn’t in its typically impactful form, Bednar has flipped one of the wings looking for a spark.
This was more of a wholesale change. Nelson has been the club’s No. 2 center since arriving from the New York Islanders. Moving him to the wing on the top line created a ripple effect. Charlie Coyle and Jack Drury moved up a line, while Parker Kelly shifted back to the middle on the fourth line.
“I thought they did some good things at times,” Bednar said of his new-look top line. “It’s why I kind of left them together. They had a shift in the first period that was really good. They had a shift in the second that was really good. So I thought I’d give them a look.”
The top line did not score, but the underlying numbers were strong. MacKinnon, Nelson and Nichushkin spent 10:46 together at 5-on-5, per Natural Stat Trick. The Avs had 62.5% of the shot attempts (20-12) and created 15 scoring chances with that trio on the ice.
Nelson had a great chance in the slot, but Toronto goaltender Joseph Woll snared his shot with a flashy glove save. MacKinnon had multiple chances near the crease.
The components of a great line are there. Nelson and Nichushkin are two of the most skilled large players in the league, both checking in at 6-foot-4 and more than 200 pounds.
It’s not dissimilar from when Bednar had the option to put Nichushkin with MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, though Nelson is a natural center. Having more than four guys who Bednar has confidence in playing at center allows for the option.
While nearly everything is going well for the Avs since the roster revamp, the line changes did underline one concern. Nelson has no goals and just two points in his first six games with Colorado.
The underlying numbers are just OK. Nelson has appeared to pass up some enticing shot attempts in favor of trying to set up a teammate on a few occasions. It’s a small sample, and there’s an obvious caveat about a guy trying to settle in with a new team after only knowing one situation for more than a decade to start his NHL career.
“It looked to me like Brock probably feels a little bit more comfortable in the middle of the ice where’s played at his whole career. But I wanted to try and spark him a little bit and give him a chance to play with Nate and Val,” Bednar said.
“We’ll re-evaluate it and decide what we’re going to do. But I think it’s good to get different guys playing with one another, even though we’re running out of time in the year. I think we have a little bit of experimenting to do.”
Want more Avalanche news? Sign up for the Avalanche Insider to get all our NHL analysis.