The Colorado Avalanche continue their NHL supremacy. Their Saturday night win in Sin City, coupled with the Dallas Stars’ loss, opened up a six-point lead in the Central Division. The win extended Colorado’s winning streak to seven games and a mind-shocking 9-0-1 record in its last 10 games.
With everything seemingly going right for the Avalanche, the focus will be on keeping the momentum rolling. In this edition of the Avalanche news, we’ll take a look at key numbers and a week ahead as the NHL heads into 2026.
Big comeback win
The Avalanche pulled off a huge 6-5 win in the shootout over the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday night. The slugfest was an uncharacteristically high-scoring game for the Avs. The five goals surrendered are a testament to the high-powered offense by Vegas.
Still, the Golden Knights, despite leading 2-0, 4-2, and 5-4, could not contain the Avalanche. The Avs scored with a little over a minute to go in the third period to force overtime. Beyond the Avalanche’s overall talent, it was their resilience that made the difference.
Nathan MacKinnon led the way with a goal and two assists, including the shootout winner, to bring his season totals to 31 goals and 64 points in 37 games. Sam Malinski also had a big offensive night, notching three helpers. Martin Necas did his part by scoring twice. Samuel Girard also had a two-point game.
Despite Scott Wedgewood not having a brilliant game, the Avalanche were able to rally and get past a strong Vegas team. This win made a statement insofar as showing the league that Colorado can outgun anybody if need be.
Surprising stat
Last season, much of the talk surrounding the Avalanche’s woes focused on the injury bug. Just about everyone in the lineup missed time with some sort of injury. This season, things have been completely different.
At the outset of the game, the TV broadcast displayed a statistic in which the Avalanche are the surprise leaders in the league this season. Colorado tops the list with 14 regulars playing in all of the team’s games thus far.
That’s a far cry from the insane amount of injuries the Avalanche had last season. It’s also a testament as to why Colorado has been the juggernaut that it’s been this year. Having a totally healthy lineup, plus a full year of Brock Nelson, Martin Necas, and Gabe Landeskog, has done wonders to elevate the club.
The week ahead for Avalanche
The week ahead for the Colorado Avalanche looks somewhat packed. The Avs will host the LA Kings on Monday night, then take on the St. Louis Blues on New Year’s Eve. The club will get a few days off before heading into a back-to-back set against the Carolina Hurricanes and Florida Panthers as part of an East Coast trip. The three-game swing will end with a visit to the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 6.
As such, next week figures to be a bit challenging for the Avalanche, considering they’ll be playing four games with the New Year’s celebration sandwiched in between. The Avs have a chance to end 2025 with 30 wins. Such a mark would be an awesome accomplishment for what’s already become a record-setting season.