The Colorado Avalanche wasted little time Saturday night taking care of business against the Calgary Flames.
Arturri Lehkonen had two goals, Cale Makar had four assists and Mackenzie Blackwood made 25 saves as the Avs cruised to a 5-2 win at Ball Arena. It’s the Avs’ second straight win and they’re now 6-1-1 at home this season.
“I think the stuff inside our room, the confidence, just continues to build,” Makar said. “We’ve just got to stay consistent. We know what we have to do to win games. It’s pretty simple. We’ve just got to continue to do it.”
The NHL schedule maker deserves an assist for this one. Calgary played at home Friday night, and the nearly 1,100 miles between Scotiabank Saddledome and Ball Arena is one of the longest back-to-backs of the NHL season.
Colorado was well rested, with two days off and only one game in its last five. The Flames were also playing No. 3 goalie Arsenii Sergeev because University of Denver alum Devin Cooley, who has had a great start to this season, was injured earlier in the week against Edmonton and placed on injured reserve.
Still, the Avs are quite familiar with what happens when they aren’t dialed in against an inferior opponent, even when rested. They went to Music City and were waiting for the Predators to return from Pittsburgh for a back-to-back this past weekend, and Nashville won in a rout.
“I thought the effort was really good,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “I think the intentions were right. We played the right way. The top line was really good. We didn’t give up a lot of scoring chances, but the ones we did were big ones.
“I thought Blackwood was exceptional. He made big saves when we needed them.”
Nathan MacKinnon gave the Avs an early lead with his ninth goal of the season. Makar made a crafty play while charging down the right wing, and though his pass to Necas in the slot didn’t connect, the puck still ended up on MacKinnon’s stick near the top of the left circle, and he wired it into the top corner.
Colorado scored three times in the first half of the second period to take control.
Martin Necas made it a 2-0 lead at 2:37 of the second. The Avs’ top power-play unit came through, with Kadri setting up Necas for a tight-angle goal with a cross-crease pass.
Artturi Lehkonen continued his torrid shooting start to the campaign at 5:48 of the second. He moved the puck from his backhand to his forehand and snapped a shot past Sergeev after a great passing sequence from Colorado’s top line and defense pairing.
Colorado Avalanche left wing Jaden Schwartz, left, puts a shot on Calgary Flames goalie Arsenii Sergeev in the first period of an NHL hockey game Saturday, Oct. 31, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
That was Lehkonen’s 11th goal. No. 12 came early in the third period after Calgary had scored twice to find a glimmer of hope. Lehkonen deflected a Makar shot from the left point at 4:09 of the third. He’s now tied for second in the NHL in goals with Edmonton’s Leon Draisaitl, trailing only Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov’s 14.
“For sure, it is,” Lehkonen said when asked if this was the best start to his career. “I’m playing with a lot of good players. I’m just trying to find the holes and I’ve had a couple of good bounces.”
Brock Nelson made it a 4-0 lead midway through the middle frame. Gabe Landeskog’s pass during a 2-on-1 was deflected, but Nelson was able to guide it into the net with atap-inn mid-air for his fourth goal of the year.
Joel Farabee and Martin Pospisil scored for the Flames before Lehkonen’s second of the night. The Avs have won only two of six road games this season, and one was a 7- 3 win in Calgary.
Colorado has been one of the best offensive teams this season, especially at home. The Avs have now scored 40 goals in eight home games — both the total and per-game average (5.0) easily lead the league.
They have also lost three straight games on the road, and all three were well below the typical standard of play for this franchise. The next two are away from home — at Chicago on Monday, at Columbus on Tuesday.
“I want to see it on the road,” Bednar said. “I think we’ve been really good for this time of year at home. I think we can be better. Our recent past on the road hasn’t been great.
“I want to see us play a really good game in Chicago, and then we’ll try to repeat it the next night. It is important that we are playing well both at home and on the road.”
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