Before Colorado heads out on a road trip that matters, the Avalanche took care of business at home and did it in style. In the debut of the team’s very blue Hometown Remix uniforms, Colorado blanked the Detroit Red Wings 4-0 for its first shutout of the season. Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 27 shots, Martin Nečas scored twice, and the Avalanche picked up their 10th win.
The night started slowly, which has become a familiar script for Colorado, but the Avalanche at least avoided an early hole. The first period ended scoreless even though Detroit held a 13-5 edge in shots. Neither side took a penalty, setting up a second period that would be much busier.
That’s where Colorado took control. On its third power play, Nečas tracked down a loose puck at the crease and swept it past Detroit goalie Danil Tarasov to open the scoring.
A few minutes later, the Avalanche struck again with the man advantage. The Red Wings’ penalty killers looked worn down, and Nathan MacKinnon buried one from his usual spot to make it 2-0 after two periods.
Colorado kept the pressure on early in the third. Nečas added his second of the night with a sharp bit of hand-eye coordination, swatting the puck behind Tarasov to stretch the lead.
Then came a surprisingly spirited fight between Gabe Landeskog and Moritz Seider, which led to another Avalanche power play. Cale Makar cashed in for his first power-play goal of the season, pushing the game out of reach at 4-0.
From there, Blackwood finished the job and secured the shutout.
The penalty count was a lot to digest, especially with 14 total penalties and none in the opening period, but Colorado’s special teams did the heavy lifting. With five power plays against Detroit’s 25th-ranked penalty kill, the Avalanche finally found a way to shake off some of their funk. That was the biggest takeaway from the night, and it’s the kind of boost the team can hope to carry forward.
Makar also logged just under 23 minutes despite spending six minutes on the power play. That lighter workload could be part of the plan to get the superstar defenseman back to driving offense the way he usually does, and the early result was encouraging. He scored once, and Colorado got the kind of complete night it had been looking for.
In Other News...
Avalanche Forward Depth Just Took Another Hit They Can't Easily Cover
Colorados forward depth has already been under pressure, and Zachary LHeureuxs absence only adds to the challenge. The Avalanche have been without him since Oct. 10 because of an upper-body injury, and placing him on long-term injured reserve retroactive to that date underscores how much time they expect to go without him. For a team trying to keep its lines steady, losing another forward this early in the season is not an easy spot to absorb.
Jared Bednar has already labeled the injury long-term, though he stopped short of offering a return date, and LHeureux still has not resumed skating as he works through the recovery process off the ice. That leaves Colorado waiting for any sign of progress while the rest of the roster has to keep carrying the load. In a season where depth is always tested, this is one more absence the Avalanche would rather not be managing for long. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche May Have Found A Draft Gem With One Big Catch
The Avalanche used one of their fourth-round picks in the 2026 NHL Draft on Axel Elofsson, a puck-moving defenseman whose game is built around skating, vision and playmaking. The Swedish blueliner has already shown he can drive offense from the back end, and his production on loan with IK Oskarshamn in HockeyAllsvenskan has only added to the intrigue around his upside.
The catch is the same one that tends to follow skilled young defensemen with this kind of profile: Elofsson is undersized and still has work to do in his own end. Colorado clearly saw enough in the offensive package to take the swing, but his path to becoming more than a promising draft value will depend on whether he can round out the defensive side while continuing to produce at a high level. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Interest In Dylan Larkin Comes With One Huge Problem
The idea of Dylan Larkin in Colorado has enough appeal to keep circulating, but the practical hurdles are still doing most of the talking. Elliotte Friedman said a trade sending the Detroit Red Wings captain to the Avalanche is unlikely unless something major changes, and the reason is pretty straightforward: Colorado does not currently have the trade capital or the salary cap space to make that kind of move work.
For the Avalanche, that leaves the interest in Larkin more as a concept than a real transaction path for now. Detroit would also have to come down on its asking price, and until that happens, the fit remains more theoretical than realistic. It is the kind of rumor that makes sense on paper, but not in the current NHL marketplace. [Read more 🡒]