Playoff hockey is for big boys, and Nicolas Roy is a very, very big boy.

During Sunday’s 2-1 win, Avalanche fans got the opportunity to see what it’s like to have Roy on their side in a playoff game for once. They had to have liked what they saw.

Roy didn’t find himself on the scoresheet, but he was very noticeable throughout the game. He had great looks of his own, created a few for his linemates, and finished his checks. Former Denver Pioneers forward Jared Wright, now on the Los Angeles Kings, got a taste of just how big and strong Roy is in the neutral zone, as Roy tossed him to the ice with ease in the third period, which drew a big roar from the crowd.

It’s safe to say Roy is very much built for this.

“Everybody does (increase their physicality) a little bit,” Roy told The Gazette after the game. “These games matter way more. You can’t be that physical for 82 games in a row. When it comes to playoff time, though, I’m all in. I feel great in these types of games.”

Playing on a line with Gabriel Landeskog and Nazem Kadri, Roy looked comfortable. That trio only got to play one period together before Kadri’s regular season ended with an injury, but that period gave coach Jared Bednar a taste of what they could do. Naturally, he went right back to them for the first game of the playoffs.

That’s a line that made life miserable for the Kings, and could do the same to whatever teams the Avalanche may face if they play well into the spring.

“I think we want to keep it simple,” Roy said. “We want to go on the forecheck, be hard to play against with those (defensemen), put it up top and go to the net. No crazy recipe here, but I think we’re hard to play against.”

Kadri and Landeskog have five 30-goal seasons between the two of them. They know how to score and how to get to scoring areas. Roy, whose best season came back in 2023-24 when he scored 41 points and helped the Golden Knights win a Stanley Cup, might not possess the natural skill his two linemates do, but he’s got plenty of his own.

That certainly hasn’t come as a surprise to his head coach.

“Not (more skill) than I initially thought,” Bednar said after Game 1. “I think he has more skill than maybe came to light in Toronto, but I remember him, and watched a lot of his stuff before we got him from Vegas and the guys that he played with, and he moved up and down the lineup. He played with skilled players, whether it was Karlsson and Hertl, it’s different guys on the wing. He centered the third line there, and it was a highly effective line that helped them win a Stanley Cup, and it was a lot of, not just good defensive hockey, but impactful offensive hockey as well. That’s what we talked about when we got him, and I think he can help contribute in that area, but I’m not surprised by (his skill) at all. I think he can continue to get better and better in that area.”

Roy was a pain to play against for the Avalanche when he was with Vegas. Now the Avalanche can let other teams worry about him. He got a taste of playoff hockey in Denver back in 2021 as a member of the Golden Knights and loved the atmosphere on Sunday in Ball Arena.

“Unreal,” he said. “I always thought it was one of the most electric buildings, if not the most in the NHL in the playoffs, so it was fun the whole night.”