CALGARY — Colorado Avalanche forward Parker Kelly had plenty of reasons to be excited on Friday night.
He snapped a 20-game goalless drought, his second career two-goal game in the NHL came more than three years after his first one and his big night came in front of a bunch of friends and family that had made the trek south from his hometown of Camrose, Alta.
Kelly's sixth and seventh goals of the season led the red-hot Avs to a 4-2 victory over the Calgary Flames.
“It was nice to get back on the scoresheet, but I'm just going to play my game no matter what it is,” said the 25-year-old Kelly. “If they need me at centre or need me on the wing, I'm just going to get pucks in and get behind them and create energy on the forecheck. It's a bonus to get on the score sheet."
The Avalanche have been rolling of late going 7-0-1 in their last eight games to climb to within three points of the second-place Dallas Stars in the Central Division.
"Just one game at a time,” said Kelly. “You don't want to look too far in advance and you don't want to dwell if things aren't going well. It's just a pretty even keel group here. It's go business as usual."
Signed to a two-year contract in the off-season, he had played up the middle all season until a week ago when the Avs acquired centres Charlie Coyle (Boston Bruins) and Brock Nelson (New York Islanders) at the trade deadline. A month earlier, they had also brought in Jack Drury (Carolina Hurricanes), another centre.
“He's been awesome for us all year,” said Avs coach Jared Bednar. “Since the deadline, we got deeper at centre, obviously, and we've moved him back to the wing.
"That's helped his game a little bit, the physicality of his game, the forechecking side of his game, there's a lot of responsibility playing goal line to goal line when you're a center and it's freed him up to play to some of his strengths here, and part of that is his wall play, his physicality, his forechecking ability, and he's having fun doing it.”
While Kelly never attended a game as a fan at the Scotiabank Saddledome, he played in the arena plenty during his four seasons with the Western Hockey League's Prince Albert Raiders.
“Playing here in the Western League was always cool because family drives up and it's only a three-hour drive,” said Kelly. “So it's always a good time to come to Calgary and see some family and friends, and I play pretty good in this building too. Must be the Alberta air.”
Before leaving as a free agent, Kelly had spent his entire professional career with the Ottawa Senators, who never made the post-season during his four seasons in the NHL.
He's looking forward to finally getting a taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
“I've watched a lot of playoff hockey, and just to see the atmosphere, and it looks like war out there, that'd be really fun to play in,” says Kelly.
On a team that features several players sporting long playoff resumes, having a guy playing in the post-season for the first time can bring a team a little extra juice.
“I think everyone brings something a little bit different to the table,” said Bednar. “He has a lot of playing experience. He's been in the league. He understands his role, he buys into his role. I think those are the most important things.
“And the excitement going into a playoff series is always a good thing. The guys that have been there, I think, have it, and the guys that haven't been there will be even more excited to get to that time of year and play some important games.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 14, 2025.
Darren Haynes, The Canadian Press
