St. Louis Blues (1-0-0) @ Colorado Avalanche (1-0-0)
7 p.m. MDT | Ball Arena | Watch: Altitude, Altitude+ | Listen: Altitude Sports Radio (92.5 FM), Altitude Sports Radio App
The Avalanche hosts the St. Louis Blues on Saturday for this season’s first Division Rivalry Night, presented by Southwest. This is the first of four meetings between the teams, as they'll play in St. Louis on December 8th, in Denver on December 29th and in Missouri on January 28th.
Latest Result (COL): LAK 4, COL 8
Latest Result (STL): STL 4, DAL 0
A Record-Setting Night
The Avalanche set a franchise record for goals in a season opener when it defeated the Los Angeles Kings 8-4 on Wednesday at Ball Arena. Nathan MacKinnon and Artturi Lehkonen each scored twice, while Brock Nelson, Parker Kelly, Nicolas Roy and Gabriel Landeskog all added a tally. Additionally, Colorado’s power play went 4/5 while its penalty kill went 4/4. Nelson opened the scoring for Colorado with a power-play goal at 6:33 of the opening period with a shot from above the left goal line set up by Jaden Schwartz, who picked up his first point as an Av. The Kings tied the game at 15:14 of the first period when Brian Dumoulin scored with a shot from the top of the left circle. Just moments after the Avalanche killed a penalty, Kelly gave Colorado a 2-1 lead at 17:58 of the first period with a right-circle shot off the rush.
At 23 seconds of the middle frame, MacKinnon gave the Avs a 3-1 lead with a power-play goal via a left-circle one-timer. Los Angeles answered at 1:28 of the second period when Joel Armia scored a shorthanded goal via a shot from the high slot. At 8:33 of the middle frame, MacKinnon gave the Avs a 4-2 lead with his second goal of the game via a left-circle shot off the rush immediately after receiving Martin Necas’ drop pass. During a net-front scramble, Roy made it a 5-2 game at 16:01 of the second period with a shot from the doorstep. At 17:50 of the second period, Los Angeles’ Trevor Moore made it 5-3 with a shorthanded goal via a right-circle shot off the rush. Lehkonen gave the Avs a 6-3 lead via a power-play one-timer from the slot at 18:34 of the second period.
The Kings made it 6-4 when Artemi Panarin scored on a delayed penalty at 11:51 of the third period via a shot from the high slot. At 14:03 of the third period, Landeskog gave Colorado a 7-4 lead with a shot from below the left goal line. The Avs made it 8-4 when Lehkonen scored his second power-play goal of the game at 15:06 of the third period via a shot from the slot.
Leading the Way
Nate the Great
MacKinnon is tied for fifth in the NHL in goals (2).
All Hail Cale
Among NHL defensemen, Cale Makar ranks tied for fifth in assists (2) and tied for eighth in points (2). Makar also ranks tied for 10th in assists (2) among all NHL skaters.
Brock & Roll
Nelson is tied for 10 in the NHL in assists (2) and points (3).
Series History
In 126 regular-season games against the Blues, the Avalanche has a record of 65-48-6-7. Colorado has also won all four of its playoff series against St. Louis, winning the 2001 Western Conference Final in five games, the 2021 First Round in four games and the 2022 Second Round in six games. The teams also met in a Western Conference Round Robin game in 2020 that the Avs won 2-1.
Two Points in Texas
The Blues defeated the Dallas Stars 4-0 on Friday at American Airlines Center. St. Louis took a 2-0 lead after goals from Mason McTavish at 1:34 of the first period and Dalibor Dvorsky at 13:05 of the second period. In the third period, the Blues took a 4-0 lead after empty-net goals from Jimmy Snuggerud at 17:37 and Pius Suter at 17:52. In net for the St. Louis, Joel Hofer posted a 25-save shutout.
Scoring Against St. Louis
MacKinnon has posted 58 points (21g/37a) in 53 regular-season games against the Blues, in addition to 17 points (9g/8a) in 11 playoff contests.
Makar has registered 29 points (6g/23a) in 27 regular-season contests against St. Louis, along with six points (1g/5a) in 11 playoff games.
Necas has recorded 11 points (6g/5a) in 13 games against the Blues.
The Blues’ Best
Snuggerud and Suter are tied for the team lead in goals (1), assists (1) and points (2).
McTavish and Dvorak are tied for first on the Blues in goals (1) while ranking tied for third in points (1).
Connor McMichael, Philip Broberg and Colton Parayko are tied for the St. Louis lead in assists (1) and tied for third in points (1).
A Numbers Game
800
Landeskog is scheduled to skate in his 800th regular-season NHL game on Saturday. In his first 799 regular-season contests, he's posted 607 points (263g/344a).
4
Since the start of the 2025-26 season, Colorado’s four games with at least eight goals are the most in the NHL.
66
Wednesday’s game marked the 66th time in franchise history that at least 13 Avalanche/Nordiques players recorded a point in a single game.
Quote That Left a Mark
“I liked our compete. I felt like there were times we were kind of lacking a little bit of neutral zone in the first and second. We chatted after the second period with everybody, and (felt) like we really tightened that up. [We] had good back pressure and kind of kept them to a minimum. Still gave up a lot of chances, but I liked where our heads are at as a group."
-- Cale Makar on the Avalanche’s mentality
