Avalanche observations: Logan O’Connor’s big few days, Cale Makar’s injury, and more

DENVER — Logan O’Connor scored his first goal in 38 games against the Panthers on Saturday, but it was far from the highlight of his weekend. Back in Denver on Sunday, O’Connor proposed to his girlfriend, former University of Denver lacrosse player Kendra Lanuza.

O’Connor popped the question at an event space called the Manor House in Littleton, where Lanuza is from. They had a celebration afterwards with around 40 loved ones.

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“I’d been planning that day for a long time,” he said with a smile Monday. “It was a good 24 hours.”

He even won the Super Bowl halftime squares at the watch party he attended after the proposal event, capping off his joy-filled weekend.

O’Connor’s goal in the Florida game was his first since Nov. 10. His defensive presence and forechecking ability make him a contributing player even when he’s not scoring, but he said there was “definitely some frustration” going so long between goals.

“It was really nice to get that off my back,” he said.

Added coach Jared Bednar: “He’s not known for scoring, but everybody wants to score. Everybody wants to chip in. He just brings so much more to the table than that.”

The goal came on the penalty kill. Cogliano seized a loose puck to create a two-on-one, but his pass to O’Connor went off both Panthers defenseman Gustav Forsling and goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Instincts took over after the puck hit the Florida goalie, O’Connor said, and he buried his chance.

O’Connor’s slump-ending goal leads off this week’s observations column, which covers the overtime loss in Pittsburgh, the 5-0 trouncing at the hands of Tampa Bay and the win in Florida. I have 12 this week in honor of O’Connor’s season assist total.

1. O’Connor got into a fight Thursday against the Lightning, taking on Ross Colton. O’Connor and Colton fought in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final last year, too, but O’Connor said there’s no underlying reason for their bouts other than built up animosity between the teams, who played in the Stanley Cup Final last June.

2. Cale Makar will miss Tuesday’s game as he recovers from a head injury, Bednar said. Manson is getting close but likely won’t play Tuesday. Both practiced Monday, though Makar was in a red non-contact jersey.

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Pavel Francouz (lower body), Erik Johnson (lower body), Gabriel Ladneskog (lower body) and Darren Helm (lower body) are all out with no timelines, Bednar said. Some of those players are still getting evaluated, the coach added, hence the lack of clarity on their timelines. Bednar previously said on Altitude radio that Landeskog will resume skating in the middle of this month.

3. If Makar is still out from the Carter hit in Pittsburgh, why was he allowed to return to the Penguins game? Bednar said it was because he was pulled by an independent concussion spotter that night and passed protocol. The defenseman felt poorly when he woke up the next morning.

“Most players now, they’re not going to make something up to get back in a game,” Bednar said. “They know how serious it can be. We’re all educated on it: offseason, preseason, start of the regular season. … If the player is saying he’s good and he’s passing all the tests, then he’s good (to return). Doesn’t mean that it’s not going to pop up the next day like it did with Cale.”

4. Evan Rodrigues is still very well liked in Pittsburgh, where he played two and a half seasons before coming to Colorado as a free agent this past offseason. Plenty of Penguins reporters came to his locker to touch base pregame.

“It would’ve been great to come back,” he said. “There’s obviously more than to hockey than just wanting to be there. There’s the business side and things didn’t work out, but I don’t have one negative thought about the city or organization.”

His former coach and teammates spoke highly of him, too.

“We moved him all over the lineup depending on what the need for the team was at the time: That was one of the values he brought to our group,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “He was a real good player for us and I know he’s bringing the same to the Avs.”

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Added Kasperi Kapanen: “We all miss him. He’s a great player and I think he’s going to do some big things in Colorado.”

5. Rodrigues’ production went down in the second half last season with Pittsburgh, posting only 13 points the last 49 games. He generally did well with more responsibility, though. He averaged 17:25 of ice time a game the first 33 games, during which he had 30 points, but that dropped to 14:46 the last 49, in part because the Penguins got healthier and Rodrigues moved down the lineup.

The forward, who is on a one-year deal with a chance at free agency again this coming offseason, has dealt with minor injuries this season, but he’s been excellent when in the lineup. He has 26 points in 40 games. And given Colorado’s injuries, Bednar will likely continue to task him with high ice time. He’s currently averaging more than 19 minutes a game.

6. Denis Malgin is generating and involved in scoring chances, but he’s had a really tough time finishing. J.T. Compher set him up with a partially vacated net in the first period against Tampa Bay, but Malgin’s shot went off the side of the net. It was the most recent in a run of near-goals for the forward, whom Colorado acquired earlier this year from Toronto.

“Every night he’s on the sheet for a couple really high-quality scoring chances for,” Bednar said in Tampa. “Not unlike what we’ve seen from O’Connor. I’d like to see some of those guys get rewarded for their hard work.”

O’Connor got his reward Saturday, but Malgin is still waiting for his.

7. Andrew Cogliano is one tough dude. He collided knees with Ian Cole less than two minutes into the Lightning game and fell to the ground until the officials blew play dead. He couldn’t put any weight on his right leg as he left the ice. It looked like a concerning injury, but he was back by the end of the period and finished the game with more than 13 minutes of ice time. No wonder he’s nearing the 1,200-game mark for his career.

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8. You could tell the Avalanche and Lightning had recently played in a long, emotional postseason series. There was some lingering tension between the teams. Bowen Byram and Nikita Kucherov were jawing at one point, and Patrick Maroon got into it with Avalanche players throughout the game. He and Kurtis MacDermid fought at the end of the third period.

9. Bednar really didn’t like some of the chances Colorado gave up against Tampa Bay, and rightfully so. Colorado actually led in five-on-five shots, shot attempts and expected goals through two periods, according to Natural Stat Trick, but the Lightning had more high-danger chances and dominated the special teams battle. Colorado also struggled with finishing, which Mikko Rantanen harped on postgame.

10. The team’s finishing fortunes changed against the Panthers, who have been a good home team this year. Colorado put up five goals, including two from Nathan MacKinnon, who is up to 16 on the year.

11. Colorado has a new helmet sponsor. The Kiewit logo is now on the team helmets.

12. Brad Hunt went on waivers Saturday, but he cleared. That’s good for Colorado. Hunt has been solid this season and has an affordable $762,000 cap hit for the next two seasons. It’s important to have defensemen capable of playing NHL games ready to fill in, and he’s done that for the Avalanche. He’ll likely be back up Tuesday, too, with Makar, Johnson and likely Manson all out.

(Top photo of Logan O’Connor: Joel Auerbach / Getty Images)