Former Capital Lars Eller scored his first point on Monday since the trade-deadline deal that sent him to the Colorado Avalanche.

The point, a primary assist, came in his seventh game with the Avs, an 8-4 blowout against the Montreal Canadiens.

Nieto makes it three!#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/vvP7T80g0h

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 14, 2023

Eller earned the assist on a goal by Matt Nieto, another relative newcomer to the Avalanche. After a dump-in from the defensive zone, Eller picked up the puck at the boards, sending a pass to a hard-charging Nieto near the blue line for the goal.

The assist marks Eller’s first point since the Capitals’ January 31 game against the Columbus Blue Jackets. There, he earned the primary assist on a goal by Garnet Hathaway, who was also dealt shortly before the deadline.

Though he broke a 15-game point streak with Thursday’s assist, Eller has not scored a goal in 31 games. His last goal came on December 27, 2022 against the New York Rangers. After scoring 13 goals in 72 games in 2021-22, the Tiger has only seven so far this season, all with the Caps.

Before the game, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar spoke on Eller’s transition to the team:

“He’s doing a lot for us, and we’re still building him into the role that we see him playing long-term,” Bednar said. “We’ve been missing some left-handed shot centermen, penalty killers, a guy with experience who can shut down other teams’ top lines, we got big strong on puck, add a little bit of size and puck protection ability in the offensive zone.

“He’s a little bit of a Swiss Army Knife. He can help some skilled players if you want to move him up. He can buy into the checking role. Lots of experience. A guy that’s won, so he’s kind of been doing all those things for us and he’s still just getting his feet wet in our organization.”

There’s certainly been an adjustment period for Eller, who has had a somewhat unremarkable start to his tenure in Colorado. Per The Athletic’s Peter Baugh, Bednar spoke last Thursday on some areas for improvement in Eller’s game, but noted that he had seen some progress.

“It looks to me like he’s still tentative and thinking too much,” Bednar said. “Just be loose, trust your instincts, go play your game. We’re not worried about a mistake here or there. I think it’s important that he’s loose and skating. I think we’re starting to see that.”

Thursday night’s point came against a familiar team for Eller, who spent four seasons with the Habs between 2012 and 2016. Upon first joining the Capitals, Eller remarked on his tenure in Montreal. “Obviously, I spent six years in Montreal,” he told reporters, “it’s like your second home almost.”

Seven years later, he will once again need to adjust to a new start.

Headline photo: Alan Dobbins/RMNB