While Nathan MacKinnon continues to pile up points for the Avalanche -- he scored in overtime (twice!) Wednesday in the Avalanche's 3-2 win against Winnipeg -- another center has been going about his business in a more understated but effective manner.
That would be Carl Soderberg, at 32 the oldest player on the team.
First, here's the NHL.COM GAME STORY from Wednesday.
Coach Jared Bednar recently said the "two biggest turnaround guys" from last season are Soderberg and linemate Blake Comeau, who will turn 32 in February.
Not pleased to be a healthy scratch for the season opener against the New York Rangers, Soderberg played his first game two nights later in New Jersey, scored the Avalanche's lone goal in a 4-1 loss, and has been an important piece ever since.
The Avalanche will take a 12-9-2 record into Friday's game against the Devils at the Pepsi Center, where they are 8-2-0.
Soderberg's numbers don't jump out at you -- three goals and six assists in 20 games (he missed the two-game trip to his native Sweden to be present when his wife gave birth to their third child, a son).
But he's collected important points while averaging a bit more than 16 minutes per game, has been solid defensively, is a mainstay on the penalty-killing units, is getting some time on the power play and is plus-3.
He's been quietly effective on the ice, which seems appropriate because he is so reticent off the ice. Very polite, very soft spoken.
"Good line," he says of his play. "We keep winning as a team, and that's important too. That helps."
Soderberg has been centering Matt Nieto and Comeau for most of the season. Comeau has 10 points (five goals, five assists), kills penalties and is plus-1. Nieto hasn't been nearly as effective, though he's been a decent penalty killer; he scored all three of his goals Oct. 24 against Dallas, his lone assist came Nov. 2 against Carolina, and he's minus-3 for the season.
Soderberg posted career highs for assists (39) and points (51) in 2015-16 after signing a five-year, $23.75 million contract on June 25, 2015 after the Avalanche acquired his rights from Boston for a 2016 sixth-round draft pick (Oskar Steen), and the day before they traded Ryan O'Reilly to Buffalo.
Last season was a disaster for him and the team. He had 14 points (six goals, eight assists) and was minus-26, and the Avalanche fell off the proverbial cliff with 22 wins and 48 points.
Hence the youth movement that has left Soderberg and Comeau as the only 30-somethings on the roster.
"Like I said, we're winning and the whole team is positive," Soderberg says. "Last year was hard for us, but it's still early in the season and we have to continue to play the right way. It feels different, and if we continue to do the right things, we have a pretty good team."
Soderberg has rebounded nicely from last season, and from that opening-night scratch. It's all in the attitude, Bednar said.
"The way he handled that for me just showed me a lot about his character and what he was willing to prove this year for our team," Bednar says. "He's never made me doubt it ever since. That's when I knew that he was going to be good, or was hoping that he was going to be good. Accepting his role is the biggest thing this season and he's playing really well."