The Avalanche head into Sunday night with a clear chance to keep the momentum rolling in Nashville.
Colorado will face the Predators at Bridgestone Arena in one of its two road trips there this season after snapping a two-game skid with a 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Nashville, meanwhile, is coming in on short rest after a 3-2 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday night. With the Predators on the second night of a back-to-back, the Avalanche have a shot to catch a tired team.
There doesn’t appear to be much room for lineup surprises. Colorado used a 12-6 setup against Tampa on Friday, and that should carry over into Sunday’s game.
Taylor Makar is expected to dress and fill the 12th forward role, though Nic Roy is traveling with the team to Nashville and remains a possibility. Bednar said Roy is questionable to doubtful for tomorrow but doing more every day.
If Roy gets the nod, Makar would be the one to come out of the lineup.
Nicolas Roy will go to Nashville with the team. Bednar said he’s questionable to doubtful for tomorrow but doing more every day.
L’Heureux’s recovery has been “slow moving.” He’s week to week.
- Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) October 24, 2026
If Roy does end up playing, it would be worth watching whether Makar can get more than eight minutes of ice time.
The Avalanche also won’t have Zachary L’Heureux in the picture for the foreseeable future after the club placed the 23-year-old on LTIR.
Between the pipes, MacKenzie Blackwood should get the start. There’s not much reason to expect Scott Wedgewood to go against his former team, and the scheduling also lines up for Blackwood to take this game.
Colorado doesn’t play again until next Wednesday, when it hosts the New Jersey Devils in what figures to be Connor Hellebuyck’s debut with his new team. That gives Blackwood several days before his next start, and unless Jared Bednar wants to manage his workload ahead of a busier stretch, Sunday and Wednesday both look like Blackwood nights.
Special teams will also be worth tracking after the power play found the net once in the previous game. The adjustments under Brett MacLean have stood out, even if there’s still plenty of work ahead.
T.J. Hughes looked much sharper on the first unit against Tampa, and the second group - with Martin Necas, Artturi Lehkonen, and Brock Nelson - has also shown promise.
A win would move the Avalanche a little closer to the Central Division lead and help them continue pushing to secure their place in the playoff field.
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