Avalanche’s Ross Colton has rebounded from funk, found niche as playoffs near

Exactly one month ago, Ross Colton was visibly frustrated.

The Colorado Avalanche, coming off back-to-back losses, had a depth-scoring problem. Colton was mired in a career-worst funk. The club had just finished a long practice at Family Sports Center, and he was still stewing while answering questions about said funk.

A lot has changed since then. Some things have not. Colton and the Avs are in a much better place after ripping off a 10-1-1 run while integrating a bunch of new players and finally playing up to the full potential of a loaded roster.

“You just want to do whatever you can to help the team produce and win,” Colton said. “If you get two points that’s all that matters, but you want to contribute. And for a while, it felt like things just weren’t going our way. Whoever I was playing with, we didn’t have a lot of chemistry.”

The Avs are racking up the points in the standings, and Coyle is certainly contributing. He has 12 points during this 12-game run, which is tied with Valeri Nichushkin for third on the team behind only Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar.

Before that, Colton went through a dry spell unlike anything he’d ever experienced in his career. It was 14 games without a point. He started the year great, with eight goals in the first 10 games before a broken foot cost him nearly six weeks.

When he came back, it wasn’t the same. By the end of that last game in St. Louis before this current surge, Colton had just five goals and seven points in his previous 32 games.

“Even at that point, I think we were doing everything the same,” Colton said. “We were putting in the extra work. You’re still doing it now, and it’s nice just to get rewarded in those situations. The season is long. There’s ups and downs. Started the season really hot, then I break my foot and come back ice cold. Stuff like that is going to happen.

“Mentally, I’m just trying to stick with it. Just trying to do everything I can to kind of hit my stride come playoff time. You’re not trying to do anything different, even from when stuff wasn’t going right.”

While his work rate hasn’t changed, his linemates have. He had a couple of good games with Jack Drury and Miles Wood, but the last round of trades before the deadline shuffled the lineup one more time.

New addition Charlie Coyle joined the third line, with Colton and Joel Kiviranta flanking him. They’ve combined for 15 points in eight games together.

The trio is also second, third and fourth on the club in expected goals-for percentage at 5-on-5 in that span, with all three guys at better than 64%.

“They found an instant chemistry as soon as Coyle went on that line,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “All three of those guys are playing really good hockey. I think (Colton) has ramped up his game a little bit, but it’s also the identity of that line. They’re playing to it. They’re a really connected group. They’re physical. They’re hard to play against down low, protecting pucks.

“The one thing that line is probably doing better than any other line is on their down low cycle, they’re bringing it to the net and they’re putting bodies at the net. They’ve been a handful on low attack situations.”

Colton has, in some ways, been this Avalanche season personified. He’s had extreme highs and extreme lows. But, as the playoffs near he’s playing really well.

He’s also now at an 82-game pace of 22 goals and 41 points. After playing nearly all of last season as the No. 3 center on a line with Miles Wood and Logan O’Connor, he’s found a new role and a new line that’s working well together.

It’s been a journey, but he’s become exactly the type of depth scorer, responsible player and glue guy the team was looking for when it traded for Colton before last season.

“It’s tough when things aren’t going in because you’re trying to find some chemistry and it’s never easy,” Colton said. “Then, once we kind of figured out our lineup, you can give guys some time. I think we clicked right away, so it wasn’t a big issue.

“With Coyle and (Kiviranta), playing with those two guys, even the nights we aren’t getting on the board, we’re contributing in different ways and just making an impact. It’s been a lot of fun. They make the game pretty easy, those two.”

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