Apparently, the Avalanche have found a new way to get burned this season: by the guys who used to wear their sweater.
Colorado keeps running into former players who know the club well and keep showing up at the worst possible times. The damage has come from multiple places, too, not just one team or one hot hand. It’s becoming a theme.
Ryan O’Reilly has been the biggest problem of the bunch lately. The Nashville Predators forward spent the first six seasons of his NHL career in Colorado after being drafted by the organization in 2009, and he has been a constant headache ever since. In 39 career games against the Avalanche, he has piled up 46 points, with 15 goals and 31 assists.
His last three meetings with Colorado have been especially rough. O’Reilly scored twice and added two assists in Nashville’s 6-2 win on Oct. 25 at Bridgestone Arena, then followed that with two more assists in Thursday night’s 3-2 overtime win at Ball Arena. Over those three games against the Avalanche, he’s totaled 10 points - five goals and five assists.
He hasn’t been doing it alone, either. Jack Drury, who joined the Predators in the offseason, scored in that Oct. 25 game, and Ross Colton, who was dealt to Nashville earlier, opened the scoring Thursday night. Nashville has leaned on a few familiar names to keep Colorado uncomfortable.
The Predators aren’t the only team getting production from former Avalanche players. Charlie Coyle and Valeri Nichushkin combined for three goals and three assists in Columbus’ 7-2 win over Colorado, another night that went sideways fast for the Avalanche.
Even in goal, Colorado has been seeing the same kind of trouble. Justus Annunen, who once backed up Alexander Georgiev in Colorado before being traded to Nashville, started both games against his former team this season and won both. He stopped 49 of 53 shots in those appearances, good for a .925 save percentage and a 2.00 goals-against average.
And then there’s the one that still lingers. Matt Duchene delivered the most painful reminder of all in Game 6 of the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs’ second round, scoring in double overtime at Ball Arena to eliminate Colorado. That one is still fresh enough to sting, and this season has added a few more bruises to the memory bank.
Between O’Reilly, Drury, Colton, Coyle, Nichushkin, Annunen and Duchene, the Avalanche have spent plenty of time this season dealing with old friends who turned into very current problems.
In Other News...
Avalanche Let Another Tight One Slip Against A Familiar Problem
The Avalanche came home to Ball Arena and found themselves in another tight one with the Nashville Predators, a game that looked destined to hinge on a single mistake or a single bounce. Ross Colton and Parker Kelly scored for Colorado, while Nashville answered through Jaden Schwartz and Vitali Pinchuk, and strong goaltending on both sides kept the margin razor thin from start to finish.
Colorado had chances to put it away late, but the game drifted into overtime, where Steven Stamkos delivered the winner for Nashville in a 3-2 Predators victory. For the Avalanche, it was the kind of loss that stings because the structure was there and the opportunities were there, yet the finish still slipped away. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Are Facing A Bigger Problem Than One Overtime Loss
The Avalanche came away with only one point in a 3-2 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators, a result that fit the uneasy feel around a team still trying to find its footing early in the season. Colorado had a late power play chance to seize control, but the opportunity slipped away, leaving the game to hang on the kind of razor-thin margin that has already become part of this stretch.
Steven Stamkos finished it for Nashville on a four-on-three power play in overtime, a reminder that the Avalanche are not just dealing with one disappointing result. At 9-6-2, they remain in the mix, but the bigger concern is how often these games are turning into tests of execution and patience rather than the kind of clean wins Colorado expected to stack up by now. [Read more 🡒]
Nathan MacKinnon Has Already Built An Avalanche Legacy Few Can Match
Nathan MacKinnons place in Avalanche history is already secure in a way that goes beyond the nightly highlight reel. The Colorado center has piled up the kind of hardware that usually defines a career, winning the Hart Trophy, Calder Trophy, Lady Byng, Rocket Richard and Ted Lindsay awards while also helping bring home a Stanley Cup, all while remaining the engine of the teams identity through years of high-level production.
Even with that resume, there is still one major line missing from the international side of his story. MacKinnon added a silver medal at the 2026 Milano-Cortina Olympics, a reminder that even for a player with this much success, there are still a few boxes left unchecked as his legacy continues to grow. [Read more 🡒]