How Darren Helm's Return Should Solve Some Avalanche Woes

The veteran depth center returns tonight

Darren Helm is finally back in the lineup tonight. It’s another bit of good news for an Avalanche team that hasn’t had much of that, on the ice of late anyway.

His return should help in the faceoff department, a category in which the Avalanche currently rank 27th in the league, at 46.3 percent. It should, anyway. While Helm has had seasons well above 50% in the dot, it should be noted he only 44.2% of his draws last year for the Avalanche.

Sometimes it doesn’t always matter if a faceoff isn’t won clean back to the D or a forward nearby, though. Sometimes, deep in the offensive zone, it’s not the worst thing to “lose” a draw, because a good forecheck can quickly attack the puck at or behind the net and cause havoc from there. Helm is an excellent forechecker; sometimes, it’s a strategy to lose a draw.