The Avalanche appear very close to getting a big boost on offense

The Colorado Avalanche scored just one goal against the Dallas Stars in Game 3 on Saturday night.

It was by far the fewest of the playoffs for the Avs, as they had been averaging five goals per postseason contest before that.

But a 4-1 loss has them in a 2-1 series hole to the Dallas Stars, with Game 4 later this evening at Ball Arena. And Colorado appears to be very close to getting a big boost on offense, as forward Jonathan Drouin was spotted in a normal jersey and doing power play work at morning skate.

Drouin hasn’t played at all in the playoffs, missing the entire Round 1 series against the Winnipeg Jets and the first three games against Dallas. That might be about to change.

Jonathan Drouin takes the ice in a PP1 jersey.

A return for the Avalanche appears imminent. pic.twitter.com/QwAk9fr4gr

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) May 13, 2024

Evan Rawal, who tweeted the video, added Drouin “definitely appears to be in,” based on his observations from the skate. Head coach Jared Bednar did not confirm Drouin’s seemingly imminent return due to the secrecy of the playoffs.

Drouin was one of the best stories of the regular season for the Avalanche. The former No. 3 overall pick in 2013 seemed to find a home in Colorado and was comfortable on a line with his good friend Nathan MacKinnon as well as Mikko Rantanen.

Drouin had a career-high 56 points this year, netting 19 goals and 37 assists. He played in 79 of the team’s 82 games, before a “lower-body injury” sidelined him for the first eight games of the postseason.

How the lines shuffle will be interesting to monitor, but the most important thing is Drouin is almost certainly back. The Avalanche will need him and his offense to hopefully tie this series.