What to Know Before Avalanche Drop the Puck on 2026-27 Season
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The Colorado Avalanche are one of the lucky ones — getting to open their regular season at home against the Los Angeles Kings at Ball Arena.
This game will also mark the Avalanche's 31st season of hockey in Colorado. Puck drop is slated 8:00 p.m. MST, and is available for viewing via TNT, truTV and HBO Max. The Avalanche are also dealing with some serious momentum in this matchup; the Avs swept Los Angeles in four games in the spring.
With all this in mind, here's some key notes and storylines to follow ahead of Colorado opening their 2026-27 NHL season:
- Speaking of momentum, the Avs are coming off a 2025-26 season that saw them set a single-season franchise record for points, in addition to winning the Central Division and Presidents' Trophy while also advancing to the Western Conference Final.
- The Kings will be seeing a debut for their Head Coach Peter Laviolette, however Los Angeles will be shorthanded in kicking off their season without Kevin Fiala, Corey Perry, and Joel Edmundson — who are all MIA due to injuries.
- Colorado is to have 11 healthy forwards, with Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar also confirming they will dress seven defensemen.
- Bednar and the Avs also announced the agreement of a four-year contract extension through the 2030-31 season the morning of their season opener.
- Both Noah Juulsen and T.J. Hughes are expected to make debuts of their own for the Avs; Juulseen should be seeing his first game in a Colorado sweater and Hughes is widely reported to be taking his rookie lap at Ball Arena after having made the lineup after initially going undrafted after his time on the ice at the University of Michigan.
- Hughes will join the top power-play unit with Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas, and Gabe Landeskog.
- The season series between these two teams will see games on Sept. 30, March 7 and April 2.
Via NHL.com, the anticipated lineup for both teams are as follows:
Projected Avalanche Lineup
- Artturi Lehkonen -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Martin Necas
- Gabriel Landeskog -- Brock Nelson -- Nazem Kadri
- Jaden Schwartz -- Fedor Svechkov -- T.J. Hughes
- Parker Kelly -- Nicolas Roy
- Devon Toews -- Cale Makar
- Brett Kulak -- Sam Malinski
- Josh Manson -- Brent Burns
- Noah Juulsen
- Mackenzie Blackwood
- Scott Wedgewood
Scratched: None
Injured: Logan O’Connor (lower body), Zachary L’Heureux (lower body)
The mountain is moving. The Avalanche is coming. pic.twitter.com/e0ylnWcrif
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 30, 2026
Projected Kings Lineup
- Artemi Panarin -- Quinton Byfield -- Adrian Kempe
- Mats Zuccarello -- Alex Turcotte -- Alex Laferriere
- Trevor Moore -- Erik Haula -- Scott Laughton
- Andre Lee -- Samuel Helenius -- Joel Armia
- Brian Dumoulin -- Drew Doughty
- Joel Edmundson -- Brandt Clarke
- Mikey Anderson -- Cody Ceci
- Darcy Kuemper
- Anton Forsberg
Scratched: Corey Perry, Erik Gustafsson
Injured: Kevin Fiala (leg surgery)
The Mackenzie Blackwood Factor
Colorado goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood will get the nod to start in the net.
This comes after Blackwood logged a 23-10-2 record with a .904 save percentage, a 2.51 goals-against average, and three shutouts in the 2025-25 regular season, in addition to a 1-1 mark with a .890 save percentage and a 2.82 goals-against average in the postseason.
Bednar said Blackwood's potential between the pipes for Colorado is not to be underestimated this year.
"He put a tremendous amount of work in to come in the best shape of his life," Bednar recently said about Blackwood per NHL.com. "... I'm excited for like the season that he has the potential to have."
"That's [why] he's here," Bednar added. "That's why we signed him. I think his potential is through the roof, and we haven't seen the best of him yet. And I don't think like over the course of his career, I think he's still got another step that he can take, and I'm hoping that's this year. I think he's put himself in a real good spot to do that."
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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.