The Colorado Avalanche are the hottest team in the NHL, even when their play of late has cooled down.
As they wrap up another set of back-to-back road games, they aim to crank up the temperature against Connor Bedard and the Chicago Blackhawks in a bid to extend their winning streak to double digits.
Colorado Avalanche (15-1-5)
The Opponent: Chicago Blackhawks (10-7-4)
Time: 5:00 P.M. MST/7:00 P.M. EST
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Broadcast Area), NHL, NHL Center Ice (Outside Avalanche Broadcast Area – US), SN+, TVAS+ (Canadian
Broadcast Areas)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche have won nine straight games coming into tonight’s contest. Their most recent victim victory came yesterday evening, a 3-0 shutout over the Nashville Predators. Brent Burns scored the opening goal just fifteen seconds into the game, which somehow withstood a multitude of self-inflicted turnovers and a barrage of shots throughout the contest—Colorado was outshot 35-26—until empty net goals by Nathan MacKinnon and Jack Drury finally secured the victory.
Head coach Jared Bednar would label his team’s first period effort as “horrendous”, but heaped praise upon Mackenzie Blackwood, who would earn his third straight win and his fifteenth career shutout. Colorado improved to 2-0-2 against opponents within the Central Division, and remains firmly atop the League standings in points (35) and wins (15). They have a five point division lead over second place Dallas (while playing one fewer game), and improved to 7-1-3 on the road.
MacKinnon continues his dominance in League scoring among forwards. After a rare night off the scoreboard against the New York Islanders at Ball Arena, he’s recorded three goals and one assist in the two games that have since followed. His 17 goals and 37 points lead the League, and he is three assists shy of leading that category (Edmonton’s Connor McDavid has 23 assists compared to MacKinnon’s 20).
Over on the defensive side of the line, Cale Makar is also far and away the leader in League scoring. He leads all defensemen in goals (8), assists (20), and points (28). Goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who had the night off against Nashville, will likely be in goal for the Avs tonight. His twelve wins serves as the high-water mark for goalies in the League.
A victory at United Center tonight will be the third straight for the Avalanche dating back to last season. It would also serve as the team’s tenth straight win, which would also equal the amount of total regular season wins for six other teams—Chicago among them—across the entire NHL.
Ho hum, just another day at the office, right?
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Gabe Landeskog – Brock Nelson – Ross Colton
Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Victor Olofsson
Tristen Nielsen – Zakhar Bardakov – Jason Polin
Defense:
Cale Makar – Devon Toews
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Sam Girard – Sam Malinski
Between the Pipes:
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
Chicago Blackhawks
There are signs of a pulse starting to return for the Chicago Blackhawks. After finishing the 2023-2024 season with a 23-53-5 record and a 52 point total, the franchise went 25-46-7 totaling 61 points last season. Head coach Luke Richardson, who had spent the previous two seasons in the role, was dismissed during last season. However, general manager Kyle Davisdson chose to hire former Detroit Red Wings head coach Jeff Blashill rather than appoint Anders Sorensen, who succeeded Richardson in an interim capacity, as Chicago’s bench boss.
Phenom Connor Bedard, the first overall pick in the 2023 NHL Draft, has put his critics on notice. After finishing his sophomore season with 23 goals and 44 assists for 67 points—all career bests—he is well on his way towards setting even better marks in all three categories. With just 21 games played thus far this season, Bedard’s 13 goals are good enough for fifth place in the League, while his 31 points rank him fourth overall in total points. His future is looking bright, and his performance will undoubtedly lift spirits around the Windy City higher than they have in seasons past.
Davidson spent the offseason locking down key components of his roster to continue to turn improve the team’s fortunes. Ryan Donato signed a four-year, $16 million dollar extension this past June. His seven goals are good for third place in team scoring. Center Frank Nazar signed a seven-year, $46 million dollar extension in August. Nazar’s fifteen points place him in a three way tie for third place with Teuvo Teravainen and former Avalanche winger Andrew Burakovsky, who was acquired in June for Joe Veleno. Burakovsky also has seven goals and on the season, tying him with Donato for third place on the team.
Goaltender Spencer Knight, acquired from Florida in exchange for defenseman Seth Jones, signed a three-year, $17.5 million dollar extension in September. After spending the majority of his career as a backup to goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky in Florida, he now has his first real opportunity to play as a starter. Through fourteen games played thus far, Knight has won seven games and has posted a 2.47 GAA and a .922 save percentage. While there’s still a lot of hockey to play this year, Knight’s start this season is certainly a good indicator that he will be able to grow alongside the rest of Chicago’s young core.
Chicago comes into tonight’s game on a two game losing streak, posting back-to-back losses to Seattle (a 3-2 decision) at home this past Thursday and to Buffalo at Keybank Center (a lopsided 9-3 decision) on Friday. Facing Colorado on any given night is a tall order, but doing so as the third game in four nights as a follow-up to two consecutive losses makes the task loom even larger.
Chicago split the season series against Colorado last season, with their most recent victory coming on home ice on January 08, 2025, a 3-1 decision.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Ryan Greene – Connor Bedard – Tyler Bertuzzi
Teuvo Teravainen – Frank Nazar – Oliver Moore
Colton Dach – Ryan Donato – Ilya Mikheyev
Landon Slaggert – Zakhar Bardakov – Sam Lafferty
Defense:
Alex Vlasic – Louis Crevier
Wyatt Kaiser – Artyom Levshunov
Matt Grzelcyk – Connor Murphy
Between the Pipes:
Spencer Knight
Arvid Soderblom
