The 2026-27 NHL schedule gives the Colorado Avalanche a built-in edge, and it’s the kind of edge good teams have to cash in on.
Colorado will get 12 games against opponents playing the second night of a back-to-back. That’s a favorable setup in a league where tired legs and backup goalies can change the tone of a night fast.
Not every team gets that kind of break. Montreal will have 19 such games, while Toronto and Winnipeg will only have five apiece.
In practical terms, those 12 matchups should give the Avalanche a better chance to collect points against teams that may not be at full strength. Clubs on consecutive nights often start a little sluggish, and coaches frequently turn to their backup goalie in those spots.
But there’s a wrinkle. Because opponents will know they’re facing Colorado, some may choose to flip the script and use their backup goalie in the first game, then bring back the starter for the second. That’s part of the chess match that comes with a strong team drawing extra attention.
And Colorado is going to draw plenty of attention. The Avalanche are expected to be one of the teams everyone circles in the NHL, which means opponents will be looking for any possible way to steal points.
That’s why these 12 games matter so much. They’re not automatic wins, but they are the kind of opportunities elite teams have to turn into a season-long advantage.
The bigger point for Colorado is simple: don’t waste points early.
Dropping games in October and November can haunt a team all the way to the spring. Those points don’t come back later, no matter how well a club plays down the stretch. If the Avalanche want to set themselves up properly, they need to take care of business when the schedule offers a chance.
Building a cushion in the Central Division would make life easier later on, especially if the season tightens up in the second half. That kind of early separation can matter a lot when the grind starts to wear on everyone else.
There’s also a lesson from last season. Pacing became a real issue in the postseason, and Colorado’s run out of gas in the third round proved costly. The hope now is that the Avalanche can avoid that same fate.
If they can manage their energy, lean on their depth and stay away from major injuries, they’ll give themselves a much better shot at staying strong when the games matter most.
In Other News...
Former Avalanche Goalie Is Becoming Colorados Biggest What If
Justus Annunens departure from Colorado looked like a routine goalie shuffle when the Avalanche sent him to Nashville during the 2024-25 season, but the story has taken on a different shape since then. After a rough start with the Predators, the former Avalanche netminder found his footing and put together the kind of season that reminded people why he was once viewed as a promising piece in Denvers pipeline, then carried that momentum onto the international stage as Finlands starter at the 2026 IIHF Mens World Championship.
For Avalanche fans, that makes Annunen a particularly interesting what-if. His rise in Nashville included career-best production and a shutout, the sort of rebound that invites second-guessing about timing, fit and patience. And with his game settling in as the calendar turned, there is at least one stretch that seems to have marked the real turning point, the moment when a former Colorado backup stopped looking like a project and started looking like a goaltender who had finally arrived. [Read more 🡒]
MacFarland Just Made Another Familiar Move Avs Fans Will Debate
Connor Bedards new five-year extension with Chicago landed with the kind of ripple effect that reaches far beyond the Blackhawks. At $15 million a year, the young star is now the third-highest paid player in the league, and for Avalanche fans the immediate conversation is less about Bedard than about what his deal says for the next wave of superstar contracts across the NHL.
Cale Makar is the obvious name in that discussion, and the gap between Bedards number and what comes next is already fueling debate around Colorado. Chris MacFarlands latest familiar move only adds to the sense that the Avalanche are operating in the same ecosystem of high-end talent, value judgments and long-term planning, where one contract can quickly become the template for another. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Fans Should Be Watching Egor Shilov Very Closely
The Avalanche added another intriguing name to their pipeline when they took Egor Shilov 43rd overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, using a pick acquired in the Valeri Nichushkin trade. Shilov brings the kind of offensive skill Colorado tends to value, with creativity and patience that make him a natural fit for a team always looking for more playmaking depth on the wing.
What makes him worth tracking closely is the balance between upside and refinement. Scouts are comfortable with the talent, but his consistency, defensive play and work away from the puck are still part of the conversation, which is why his path is expected to run through another season with the Victoriaville Tigres before he moves on to Penn State and, eventually, the NHL. If that development goes right, Colorado may have found more than just a useful prospect. [Read more 🡒]