Game 24: Montreal Canadiens @ Colorado Avalanche
Start time: **3:00 PM EST / 12:00 PM PST**
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Avalanche region: Altitude
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+
Near the end of the 2023-24 season, one that didn’t go very well for the Canadiens who ended up 28th in the standings, the Montreal Canadiens made the trip to Denver. It had been one to dread for the team, but on that occasion they held on to a 2-1 lead for 45 minutes to snap a losing streak that went back a decade.
Last season, the NHL’s schedule-maker decided to tack the game onto the end of the annual Christmas road trip that always goes through Florida. Playing their fifth and final game of the trip and just arriving after a loss in Chicago the night before, the Canadiens claimed another 2-1 win, this one in a shootout, to turn what had been the scene of a guaranteed loss to one that has suddenly seen results turn in the Habs’ favour.
As the two teams get set to come together for the first time this season, the Canadiens own a four-game point streak versus the Avalanche. But this year’s iteration of the team in Colorado is a different beast entirely.
The Avalanche have now played 24 games, and lost in regulation just once, in Boston on October 25. They carried a 10-game winning streak into Minnesota yesterday at the same time the Canadiens were battling the Vegas Golden Knights. While the Wild were the ones to extend their run instead, nabbing a seventh consecutive win for themselves in a shootout, Colorado claimed a 40th point, four more than any other NHL team has amassed.
Tale of the Tape
Canadiens
Statistics
Avalanche
13-7-3
Record
17-1-6
49.3% (18th)
Expected-goal share
57.1% (1st)
3.48 (4th)
Goals per game
4.00 (1st)
3.39 (25th)
Goals against per game
2.08 (1st)
22.7% (10th)
PP%
15.9% (24th)
76.6% (25th)
PK%
87.8% (3rd)
1-0-1
Head-to-Head Record (24-25)
1-0-1
Cole Caufield (14)
Most goals
Nathan MacKinnon (19)
Nick Suzuki (20)
Most assists
Nathan MacKinnon (22)
Nick Suzuki (27)
Most points
Nathan MacKinnon (41)
You probably won’t be surprised to see that Colorado is the best offensive team in the NHL with 96 goals scored, an average of exactly four. Nathan MacKinnon is up to his usual Art Ross form and could very well turn that into a second Hart Trophy in three seasons, Martin Necas is proving to be an incredible addition to the team after he was part of the package from the Carolina Hurricanes for Mikko Rantanen, Artturi Lehkonen is on pace for by far the best offensive season of his career at almost a point-per-game pace, and Cale Makar is Cale Makar, the reigning Norris Trophy-winner who might just continue that rule into next season.
You might be shocked to learn that Colorado is also the stingiest team in the league, barely allowing more than two goals per game, and that’s about half a goal better than the second-best club. They were a little better than average last year, allowing 2.80 goals per contest, and have shaved about three-quarters of a goal off that in 2025-26.
They’re not doing anything extraordinary with their defensive play, ranking in the middle of the pack in terms of shots and scoring chances allowed; their 10.41 high-danger chances allowed (11th-best) at five-on-five per 60 minutes aren’t much better than Montreal’s 10.68 (13th). The numbers are more impressive when looking at expected goals, but there are still five teams that rank ahead of them in that category.
The change for them has been goaltending. Last season they infamously had to trade away the two netminders that started the season with them, first shipping out Justus Annunen to acquire Scott Wedgewood, then trading Alexandar Georgiev for Mackenzie Blackwood. Those moves are paying off as both goaltenders have save percentages of .920 or better. Wedgewood has 6.65 goals saved above average at five-on-five, while Blackwood has 3.97 in just five games played. Only the Wild and the New York Rangers have a tandem that has combined for more.
A difference of two goals between what a team creates and what it allows is going to lead to a lot of wins, and indeed 13 of the 17 victories Colorado has earned have been by at least that much. Somehow the Canadiens need to find the same level of offence they’ve shown in recent games while also locking down the most dangerous squad in the NHL. That’s a challenge that only a handful of clubs have overcome this season, but a Canadiens team riding a three-game winning streak will aim to join them.
