Gary Bettman wanted parity in the NHL. He got it. And this is the year for the Avalanche to take advantage.  Let’s call the NHL what it is right now: mid. The amount of truly average teams in the league this season is astonishing. Fifty-six percent of the league owns a negative goa l differential. Only six teams have scored 10 more goals than they’ve given up. At this point in the season, you might only need one hand to count the true Stanley Cup contenders in the league.  Then there’s the Avalanche.  They’ve scored 56 more goals than they’ve given up. The closest team to them in that department is the Dallas Stars, who are at plus-25. The Avalanche have the highest expected-goals percentage in the league, are the only team with over 20 regulation wins and have not lost in regulation at home. Nobody lifts the Stanley Cup in December. But right now it wouldn’t make a whole lot of sense to pick any team other than the Avalanche as the favorites to win it all.  They have one fatal flaw and with a team this good, it seems to be all anyone wants to talk about. It’s that power play. There’s no other way around it. They need to fix it. You see flashes from them, but it’s not consistent, and as we saw last spring, a bad power play can be a team’s undoing.  Beyond that, what’s their weakness? Overtime? The shootout? There’s no 3-on-3 in the playoffs. There are no shootouts. So while it’s annoying to lose in those situations in the regular season, it won’t matter in the playoffs.  Avalanche coach Jared Bednar last week almost publicly lobbied for what anyone watching this team could see as a spot they could use an upgrade in.  “If I was looking at something on a wish list, is it a ‘3C’ spot?” Bednar said.  Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar in the second period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski) It should be clear Chris MacFarland will not sit back and do nothing at the trade deadline. If Bednar says out loud third-line center spot is one that could use some help, you can bet he’s told his general manager. This team will make additions before the March 6 deadline, making them even more of a threat.  As good as the Avalanche are, the Stanley Cup is there for the taking for them because the rest of the Western Conference might be bad. The biggest threats in the conference — the Stars and Minnesota Wild — may have to play each other in the first round thanks to Gary Bettman’s silly playoff system. Beyond that, the West is a bit of a mess.  Vegas currently leads the Pacific Division, thanks to free points from double-digit overtime losses propping them up. No team in the Pacific has won more than 12 games in regulation. If the playoffs started today, the Avalanche would face either the Los Angeles Kings or San Jose Sharks in the first round. Neither one of those teams has hit double-digit regulation wins yet. Anything can happen when the puck drops in the postseason, but those are teams the Avalanche should handle easily.  The 2021-22 Avalanche had the feel of a Stanley Cup team right from puck drop on opening night. That’s how it feels now. Sub-par competition only increases the feeling this is their year.  This is not an opportunity the Avalanche cannot afford to squander. The Cup is there for the taking. Time to go get it.  Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon (29) moves the puck against Seattle Kraken center Frederick Gaudreau (89) during the first period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson) What I’m hearing  —So, about that power play. Bednar always says 5-on-5 play carries over into special teams play. The Avalanche have been dominant at 5-on-5, so does that make the power play struggles more confusing? “A little bit,” Bednar said. “All the guys on the power play are playing so well 5-on-5, they’re making plays, they’re executing, and then they’re kind of beating it up a little bit at times and the decision making hasn’t been great on the power play.” For what it’s worth, the power play is starting to look a little bit better.  —Sandis Ozolinsh played in the KHL, coached in the KHL and was a scout for the Avalanche when they took defenseman Mikhail Gulyayev in the first round in 2023. Gulyayev has had a tough year and is now out with a broken orbital bone. Ozolinsh hasn’t kept up with Gulyayev’s play, but said the KHL can be tricky.  “You have to understand, (in) the KHL, there’s still a bit of old-school hockey, old-school coaching, approach to the game,” Ozolinsh said. That sometimes means young players get thrown aside because teams are trying to win right now.  The Colorado Avalanche’s Sandis Ozolinsh (8) shoots the puck at Chicago Blackhawks goalie Ed Belfour as Gary Suter (20) defends during the second overtime period of Monday’s playoff game, May 13, 1996, in Chicago. Ozolinsh went on to score the game-winning goal on the rebound as the Avalanche beat the Blackhawks 4-3 to win the series 4-2. (AP Photo/Michael S. Green) What I’m seeing  The Wild getting Quinn Hughes makes them much better, but they need another center to be a legit Stanley Cup contender. What are they going to give up for one after dealing away premier assets to land Hughes? As we saw with Brock Nelson last season, even a second-line center won’t come cheap.  —The Stars are the second-best team in the NHL. The Wild are the fourth best. They’d play each other in the first round if the playoffs started today. How can anyone think this is a good system?  Dallas Stars’ Mathew Dumba (3), Lian Bichsel, center, and Mikko Rantanen, right, celebrate after Bichsel scored against the Nashville Predators in the third period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Thursday, April 3, 2025. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez) What I’m thinking  —The Avalanche would be heavily favored against Los Angeles or San Jose in the first round. It would also be nice to get a “new” matchup in the playoffs. It’s been a while since the Avalanche played the Kings or Sharks in the postseason.  More evidence the Western Conference kind of stinks: The St. Louis Blues have given up 36 more goals than they’ve scored. They are only four points out of a playoff spot.  ...read more read less