Avalanche Ready for Music City Matchup
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The Colorado Avalanche are looking to build off their recent 6-3 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Music City.
Colorado will face the Predators on Oct. 25 — with this marking the first of four regular-season meetings between the two Central Division teams. Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon is coming off posting one goal and three assists, and goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 31 of the 34 shots he faced.
Blackwood has said he's especially enjoyed seeing the Artturi Lehkonen-MacKinnon- Martin Necas line.
"It's fun to watch," Blackwood said on the Lehkonen-MacKinnon-Necas line per NHL.com. "I see that in practice, how they can be creative and make plays that you didn't expect. But when you see it in a game and they're doing it at the highest level, it's pretty special."
Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar has also said he's been pleased with his team's efforts on the power play as of late.
"I thought the power play was outstanding tonight," Bednar had said per NHL.com. "Hard work. Puck moving quick. Finding the open guy. Nothing forced, really. Just using the open man [and] guys moving into the right spots. It was good all around."
MacKinnon is now fourth in the NHL in points (20) and tied for fourth in assists (13).
The Avalanche currently possess a 45-43-5-10 record over Nashville in the 103 previous regular-season games against the Predators.
For the Predators, Roman Josi leads the Predators in assists (8) and is second in points (9) while Steven Stamkos leads Nashville in points with 11.
Colorado Waives Georgii Merkulov
Prior to play against Nashville, the Avalanche waived Georgii Merkulov. Should the 26-year-old forward go unclaimed and clear, he will be eligible to be assigned to the American Hockey League (AHL)'s Colorado Eagles.
Merkulov has been battling injury this season and previously played in the USHL and then at Ohio State University. He has 11 games of NHL play with the Boston Bruins across the past three seasons; Merkulov signed a one-year contract with the Avalanche this summer.
He hit the waiver wire in a trio of players alongside Kurtis MacDermid (Ottawa Senators) and Jack Ahcan (Predators).
Puck drop is slated for 7:00 p.m. Central at Bridgestone Arena. The Avalanche will next host the New Jersey Devils at Ball Arena on Oct. 28.
The Avalanche will enter Nashville with a 6-4-1 record and 13 points in the Central Division — which the Utah Mammoth current co-lead with the Minnesota Wild for 16 points.
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Jennifer Streeter graduated with a B.A. in journalism from Texas A&M and received her Master of Science from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. At both schools, she focused on an emphasis of sports reporting. A former athlete herself, "Jenny" was a varsity soccer player and comes from a family who participated in NCAA athletics. She has covered hockey since 2023 and is credentialed for the Seattle Kraken, New Jersey Devils and PWHL in addition to having covered the 2026 Frozen Four.