The Colorado Avalanche have plenty of reasons to feel good right now. They’re coming off a 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at Ball Arena, T.J. Hughes scored his first goal, Nathan MacKinnon put together a four-point night, Artturi Lehkonen is off to the best start of his professional career, and Mackenzie Blackwood is making his critics look foolish.
But Monday’s visit from the Philadelphia Flyers still carries a warning label.
The reminder comes not from hockey, but from boxing, where one of the sport’s most shocking nights still looms as a lesson in what happens when a favorite gets sloppy. In 2019, Anthony Joshua was viewed as the heavyweight king, holding three of boxing’s four major world titles. He was supposed to make his American debut against undefeated contender Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller in New York.
Then Miller’s world came apart. On April 16, 2019, multiple sources reported that he had failed three separate drug tests, with positives for EPO, human growth hormone, and GW1516.
He had also previously failed a drug test as a kickboxer and once refused testing. After hearing the news, Clifford Mass replied to a text with a line that was blunt and unforgettable: “You just delivered the worst news I’ve gotten in a long time.
Oh well.”
Miller was removed from the fight, and Andy Ruiz Jr. stepped in.
Ruiz was undefeated and had quick hands, but he did not look the part in the way many people expected a heavyweight champion to look. Plenty of observers laughed at his physique and assumed Joshua would cruise.
Instead, Joshua got reckless after an early knockdown, seemed to admire his own work, and Ruiz punished him for it. Ruiz dropped Joshua four times and stopped him in the seventh round in one of the biggest upsets in modern sports history.
That kind of shock is exactly what Colorado has to guard against.
On paper, the Avalanche own the clear edge over Philadelphia. Colorado’s 36 goals are tied for the NHL lead with the Vegas Golden Knights, while the Flyers have only 11 goals through nine games, the fewest in the league. Philadelphia’s 33 goals allowed were third-worst in the NHL as of publication, trailing only the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.
Still, the Flyers have already shown they can turn a game on its head.
The Avalanche learned that on January 23 at Ball Arena, when Philadelphia rolled to a 7-3 win. Owen Tippett had a hat trick and an assist, Matvei Michkov added two goals and an assist, and Denver Barkey along with then-Flyer Bobby Brink also scored.
Colorado trailed 2-0 before rallying for three second-period goals to tie it at 3-3, but the third period turned ugly fast. The Flyers scored four times in the final frame, and head coach Jared Bednar called the loss “horrible.”
That game came when Philadelphia was 23-17-9, not when it was sitting at the bottom of the standings. Even so, it showed what the Flyers can do when the Avalanche open the door. And Colorado has, at times, made a habit of giving opponents chances through costly turnovers and defensive lapses.
That’s the real danger here. A desperate team searching for its first win can feed off even the smallest mistake. The Avalanche have enough firepower to handle this one - MacKinnon is rolling, Hughes is settling in, Lehkonen is producing at a career-best pace, and Blackwood is backing it up in goal - but none of that matters if they don’t stay locked in.
The Flyers are struggling, but they are not harmless. Colorado has already been burned by them once, and that alone should keep the Avalanche from treating Monday like a sure thing.
Sports do not care what the script says. Ask Joshua.
In Other News...
Cale Makar Shares Personal Update After Brief Avalanche Absence
Cale Makar is back with the Avalanche after stepping away for a game to be with his family for the birth of his twin sons, Mattie and Rhett. The star defenseman returned to the lineup and looked right at home in his usual role, logging 28 shifts and nearly 23 minutes of ice time as Colorado got back to business with one of its most important players available again.
Makar said his family is healthy, a welcome update after a brief absence that had little to do with hockey but plenty to do with life. For Avalanche fans, it was another reminder that the cornerstone piece of the roster is as settled off the ice as he is on it, especially after signing his eight-year deal last offseason and making clear he wants to spend his career in Colorado. [Read more 🡒]
Hakstols Sudden Avalanche Exit Raises An Obvious Timing Question
Dave Hakstols sudden departure from the Avalanche staff came soon after Jared Bednar signed a four-year contract extension, giving the move a natural layer of intrigue even before the explanation surfaced. Hakstol has already moved on to take the head coaching job at Arizona State, stepping into a program that is dealing with its own significant challenges after a recent player health incident.
For Colorado, the timing is what stands out most because it invites questions about how much of this was about opportunity and how much was about the way the coaching picture had just shifted in Denver. There has been speculation about the reasons behind Hakstols exit, but nothing has been confirmed, leaving the Avalanche with a notable change on the bench and one obvious thread still hanging. [Read more 🡒]
Brent Burns Is Still Chasing The One Prize Colorado Wants Most
Brent Burns has become one of the steadier veteran pieces on Colorados blue line, bringing 23 NHL seasons of experience and a rare durability that still stands out in todays game. After signing a one-year extension in June, he settled in as a dependable presence for the Avalanche, adding depth and offering the kind of edge that only comes from having seen just about everything over the course of a long career.
Burns also kept producing at the offensive end, finishing the 2025-26 season with 12 goals and 23 assists while extending his place in NHL history with the second-longest consecutive games played streak at 1,012. For a team still chasing the Stanley Cup, his value goes beyond the numbers. Colorado gets a veteran who can log minutes, provide stability and keep pushing toward the one prize that continues to define the season. [Read more 🡒]