Logan O'Connor emerges as essential depth forward to mask Avalanche injury concerns
Nov. 12—DENVER — Logan O'Connor's dependability extends beyond his blue-collar playing style for the Colorado Avalanche.
The tenacious third-line winger honors friendly bets among teammates. Even when he loses the wager.
Exhibit A: O'Connor, a proud DU guy, wearing a UMass hockey shirt in the Avs' dressing room last month. Punishment for the Pioneers' two-game series loss to the Minutemen (much to the delight of UMass legend Cale Makar). O'Connor, as always, played his role to perfection.
"UMass was always the better choice," O'Connor told reporters back on Oct. 16 with a sheepish grin. "A good history there and winning culture. The safety school was DU, I guess."
O'Connor took the joke in stride. It's easy to relax when you're off to a career-best season.
O'Connor, 26, entered Saturday's contest with his first NHL three-game goals streak. He played another strong two-way game Saturday night in a 4-1 victory against the Carolina Hurricanes at Ball Arena.
It's more evidence that O'Connor, in his fifth NHL season, is now an essential "glue guy" for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
"He's always one of our most competitive players and hardest working guys," Bednar told reporters before Saturday's game. "He's relentless in pursuit of the puck all over the rink. He has a chemistry and a comfort level with our structure that he plays with his line (Andrew Cogliano and J.T. Compher). For him, it's determination and getting a little bit of puck luck."
O'Connor deflects credit for his hot start to the year. He said: "Our line is doing a lot of good things."
Others will boast for O'Connor instead. He's become a role model for depth forwards hoping to carve out a role with the Avs. Like Martin Kaut, when called up last month to the Avalanche, who told The Gazette: "I'm going to do the work like (Logan O'Connor). I want to be like him and focus on the 'D' side."
O'Connor's surge is well timed with several prominent Avalanche forwards — Darren Helm, Gabe Landeskog and Valeri Nichushkin — still on the mend from lower-body injuries.
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What happened: The Avalanche earned their fourth consecutive victory with a 4-1 win over the visiting Hurricanes at Ball Arena. Defenseman Cale Makar scored twice in the first period. Colorado killed all five Carolina power-play chances. Avs defenseman Kurtis MacDermid suffered a lower-body injury and did not return.
Star of the night: Forward Mikko Rantanen finished with four points (three assists and one empty net goal).
Between the pipes: Pavel Francouz started in net for Colorado making 24-of-25 saves to earn his first win of the season. Hurricanes goaltender Antti Ranta stopped 24-of-27 shots on goal.
What's next: The Avalanche (8-4-1) close out a three-game homestand Monday night against the St. Louis Blues.
