- Oct 16, 2026
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SportsMafia Wire graphic. Team logos and player headshots via ESPN.
The Colorado Avalanche have opened their title defense with a 5-4-1 record through 10 games, a marked departure from last season's dominant pace.
The reigning Presidents' Trophy winners dropped consecutive regulation games to the Philadelphia Flyers and New Jersey Devils earlier this week. Colorado did not suffer its fourth regulation defeat until Jan. 6 last season, 42 games into the 2025-26 campaign; this year that milestone arrived Oct. 20.
Nathan MacKinnon, Artturi Lehkonen, Martin Necas and Cale Makar have provided early offensive sparks, and the duo of MacKinnon and Makar has posted a plus-four goal differential at five-on-five. Yet the team has struggled to generate consistent five-on-five production when both stars are off the ice, carrying only a plus-one mark in those situations.
Special teams and goaltending have offered little relief. The power play ranks 22nd in the league at 18.8 percent, while team save percentage sits at .897, placing Colorado in the middle of the pack.
On Daily Faceoff LIVE Wednesday, Tyler Yaremchuk and Carter Hutton examined the club's uneven start. Yaremchuk noted Colorado has been "better" with both MacKinnon and Makar off the ice than with both on it.
Source: Daily Faceoff - Wed Oct 21, 1:30 PM ET
Written by the SportsMafia Wire desk in our own words from the original reporting (AI-assisted, checked against the source).