The Colorado Avalanche can light up a scoreboard with anybody, and that part of the story has been clear early in the 2026-27 season. The problem is that Tuesday night in Columbus offered a blunt reminder that all that offense doesn’t erase the rough edges.
Colorado was coming off a 5-2 comeback win over Chicago and riding a three-game winning streak, but the momentum disappeared fast in a 7-2 loss to the Blue Jackets. The Avalanche gave up seven goals and didn’t get enough from either goalie to stop the bleeding.
That’s the kind of night that puts the spotlight on the areas still needing work, and the biggest one is in net.
Scott Wedgewood was pulled after allowing four goals on nine shots, and Mackenzie Blackwood surrendered three more after entering midway through the second period. The outing was especially rough for Wedgewood, who has now gone winless in his last four appearances while posting a 4.31 goals-against average and .858 save percentage over that span.
Blackwood has given Colorado a much steadier hand. Through his first 12 appearances, he is 8-3-0 with a 2.80 GAA, and the split is becoming harder to ignore. He is starting to look like the clear No. 1, and the Avalanche will need him to keep playing at that level if they want another deep postseason run.
At the same time, Colorado can’t afford to have Wedgewood become a nightly uncertainty. This team has too much scoring talent to keep wasting games because the goaltending isn’t stable.
The good news is that the offense is coming from all over the lineup, not just the usual headliners. Nazem Kadri and Jaden Schwartz each scored twice against Chicago, Devon Toews has a five-game point streak, and Artturi Lehkonen has been one of the team’s most productive forwards alongside Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas.
Cale Makar is piling up points, too. He has 18 through 15 games, including a goal and six assists during a three-game point streak of his own.
The broader numbers tell the same story. Colorado is averaging 4.10 goals per game, which leads the NHL, but it is also allowing 3.23 goals per game, a mark that sits 19th. The power play has been fine, but not dominant, at 21.2 percent.
That’s the balancing act for the Avalanche right now. They can score in bunches and make life miserable for opponents, but they can’t expect to keep surviving defensive lapses by simply outgunning everybody.
There’s also the injury situation to factor in. Josh Manson is out with an ankle injury and is expected to miss approximately eight weeks, which leaves Colorado without an important physical presence on the blue line. Zachary L’Heureux is also sidelined with an upper-body injury.
One ugly loss doesn’t change the bigger picture. But if the Avalanche want their early offensive burst to mean something, they’re going to need more dependable goaltending and tighter work in their own end. Otherwise, they’ll keep making things harder than they need to be.
In Other News...
Avalanche Prospect Egor Shilov Is Making Colorados Bet Look Better
The Avalanches second-round swing on Egor Shilov is already looking like a smart one, even before he ever puts on a Colorado sweater. Taken 43rd overall in the 2026 NHL Draft, the center made a strong pre-draft case with Victoriaville in the QMJHL, where he led the Tigres in both assists and points while wearing the captains letter.
Shilovs path now shifts to Penn State, where he is expected to arrive for the 2027-28 NCAA season and test himself against a higher level of competition. For Colorado, that longer development runway is part of the appeal, and the early returns suggest the organization may have found a player whose growth is tracking in the right direction. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Response After That No Show Could Shape A Bigger Problem
The Avalanche are heading into their matchup with Nashville still carrying the sting of a poor showing against Columbus, and Jared Bednar made it clear the response matters as much as the result. Colorado has been trying to steady its game by getting back to basics, with the coach pointing to consistency and defensive structure as the areas most in need of a reset.
Bednar also suggested lineup changes could be part of the answer if the team keeps leaking quality looks against. For a club that wants to give its goaltending a better chance to settle things down, the focus is on cutting down high-danger chances and tightening the details that slipped in the previous outing. [Read more 🡒]
Nathan MacKinnon Has Already Built An Avalanche Legacy Few Can Match
Nathan MacKinnons resume already puts him in rare company, even by Avalanche standards. He has collected the Hart Trophy, Calder Trophy, Lady Byng, Rocket Richard and Ted Lindsay awards, and he has helped deliver a Stanley Cup, all while maintaining the kind of consistent high-level play that has made him the defining force of his era in Colorado.
For all of that, there is still one glaring international box left unchecked. MacKinnon came home from the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics with a silver medal, leaving Olympic gold as the one major prize missing from a career that has otherwise stacked up almost everything else. For an Avalanche team built around his standard, that unfinished business only adds another layer to a legacy already deep enough to command attention. [Read more 🡒]