Nathan MacKinnon has never exactly needed much help making life miserable for opposing teams. Give him support, though, and the Colorado Avalanche can turn a tough matchup into a full-blown disaster.
That’s where Martin Necas comes in.
Colorado has opened the season with 14 goals in its first two games, matching a franchise record set by the 1992-92 Quebec Nordiques. Necas has been central to that burst, scoring twice and adding an assist in Saturday night’s 6-1 win over the St.
Louis Blues. The victory pushed the Avalanche to 2-0.
The top line already looks dangerous. Necas, MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen combined for three goals and eight points against St.
Louis, with MacKinnon collecting three assists, Necas finishing with three points and Lehkonen netting his third goal in two games. That’s the kind of output that gets attention fast.
MacKinnon’s offensive force has long been established. The Avalanche have spent years trying to keep opponents from simply loading up on him, and Necas gives them another weapon to punish that strategy. Colorado acquired Necas in the Mikko Rantanen deal in January 2025, and his speed and skill fit naturally next to MacKinnon right away.
Saturday was a clean example of how well the fit is starting to settle in. Necas helped set up Cale Makar’s opening goal, then scored later in the first period and again in the second.
By the time Dalibor Dvorsky got St. Louis on the board, Colorado was already up 6-0.
The work on the other end mattered too. The Avalanche limited the Blues to four shots in the opening period, and Mackenzie Blackwood faced 26 shots overall, stopping 25. That defensive stability is part of why the offense has had room to breathe.
Colorado’s stars are going to produce. MacKinnon is going to pile up points, and Makar is going to keep creating from the blue line. The real issue for opponents is what happens when the focus goes to MacKinnon and someone else steps into the space left behind.
Right now, Necas is doing exactly that. If he keeps it up, the Avalanche may have found another problem no one wants to solve.
In Other News...
Avalanche Still Have One Lineup Issue Hanging Over Winnipeg
The Avalanche are still working through their forward depth picture as they get ready for Winnipeg, with Logan OConnor and Zachary LHeureux both drawing attention as availability questions. If the group stays at 12 forwards, Colorado will head into a tough divisional matchup with a lineup that could look a little thinner than planned, and that matters against a Jets team that usually makes opponents earn every shift.
It is the kind of early-season issue that can shape more than one game, especially for a team trying to keep its lines intact while juggling health and availability. The Avalanche are used to being judged by the big-picture expectations, but for now the immediate concern is simply who can suit up against Winnipeg and how much flexibility they will have if those updates break the wrong way. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Suddenly Have A Tough Lineup Decision Up Front
The Avalanche have been able to get through the opening stretch of the 2026-27 season with Logan OConnor and Zachary LHeureux both out because of lower-body injuries, but the roster math is about to get a lot trickier. Jared Bednar has leaned on an 11-forwards, seven-defensemen setup while those two forwards were sidelined, a look that gave Colorado some flexibility and helped the club manage the early going.
Now both players are nearing a return, and the real challenge is figuring out who comes out of the lineup when theyre ready. T.J. Hughes has made a strong early impression in the first two games and, because he is waiver-exempt, he stands out as one of the more movable pieces, but the Avalanche still have to decide how to balance reward, development and roster security once the injured forwards are back in the mix. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Hot Start Is About To Face Its First Real Test
The Avalanche got a soft landing to open the season, with just two games in the books over the first week and enough time to bank extra recovery and practice work. That lighter schedule has helped Colorado ease into the year, but the pace is about to change fast as a demanding three-games-in-four-nights stretch arrives, with Winnipeg, Calgary and Toronto waiting in sequence.
Colorado will have to lean on its depth and handle the workload carefully over the next few days, especially with forwards Zachary L'Heureux and Logan O'Connor back in the mix. The goaltending rotation also figures to matter, with Scott Wedgewood expected to get a start as the Avalanche try to stay sharp through a run that should reveal a lot more about their conditioning and roster flexibility. [Read more 🡒]