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Jared Bednar, an avid angler, likes to compare his hockey team over a long season to a boat.
He sees it like this: The team builds its identity and what it wants to be over the first part of the season, and then there are aspects that just break during the grind of 82 games — kind of like a well-used fishing vessel. How quickly the club fixes the issues and regains its optimal performance is a big part of a successful campaign.
The Colorado Avalanche left the dock with a major leak last season. Fixing the boat on the fly was an all-hands-on-deck situation, from the coaching staff to the front office.
The start of the 2025-26 season has been a complete 180. The Avs were 4-0-1 heading into a Saturday night contest at Ball Arena with the Boston Bruins, and the one blemish might have been the best overall performance considering the foe.
Colorado’s NHL team is relatively healthy, stable and off to a strong start. The Avs allowed eight goals in the season opener last year. They’ve allowed eight total in the first five contests.
“Overall, a pretty good start, being able to win hockey games without really having played our best as a team,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “If you can figure out your game as a team while winning, and kind of go through some of those growing pains at the start of the season while racking up some points, I think that’s a positive thing.
“And I think we are only scratching the surface.”
Here are some observations from the first five-game segment of this Stanley Cup-or-bust season in Denver.
1. Nathan MacKinnon is already in Hart Trophy finalist form
Natural Stat Trick had MacKinnon on the ice for 17 scoring chances in Buffalo. He took 17 shifts in the game. The 2024 league MVP has been on the ice for 49 scoring chances at 5-on-5, which is tied for third among forwards. The two players ahead of him and the one who is even are all on the two-time defending champs, the Florida Panthers, who have also played an extra game.
The Avs have outscored the opposition 7-0 at even strength with MacKinnon on the ice, 10-0 overall. Those are just some numbers in a small sample size.
He and Martin Necas are flying at the start of this season. They’ve combined for seven goals and 17 points, and both could easily have a few more.
MacKinnon has already seen a steady diet of Zach Werenski, Drew Doughty, Mikhail Sergachev, Rasmus Dahlin or Owen Power and Miro Heiskanen or Esa Lindell.
He’s got a chance to have four straight 100-point seasons for the Avs. MacKinnon can also finish this year with six of the top 15 season point totals since the club moved to Denver if he gets to 97 or more points. Joe Sakic would be next … with three.
2. Gabe Landeskog feels good, and there are flashes of his vintage work
The captain has one point in five games, an empty-net assist. He’s played six minutes per game less than he did in 2021-22.
He’s not concerned.
“In terms of my game, it’s kind of the same thing — just scratching the surface,” Landeskog said. “I’m trying to find my game again, establish my game again. There’s been some good shifts here and there, but overall I’ve got pretty high expectations for myself. … I just have to remind myself that it’s a marathon here.”
Landeskog doesn’t look slow or a step behind the play. He’s not making costly mistakes. He’s been solid, with a sprinkling of impactful plays. The ability to win puck battles in dirty areas and make skillful plays in tight spaces is still there.
It hasn’t been the “Holy (expletive), how is he doing this?” version from the playoffs last year, but even he wasn’t expecting that at the start of this season. He’s not playing as much in part because Landeskog is on the second power-play unit and isn’t killing penalties.
The Avs haven’t needed him to, but having him available for every game and just being a solid player is obviously a huge boost compared to the past three years.
3. The penalty kill has benefited greatly from roster stability
Colorado has a new coach in charge of the power play and might still be looking for its optimal configurations with the man advantage. It’s a work in progress, with generally positive early returns.
The penalty kill looks like it’s ready for Game 1 of the playoffs right now. It is 12 for 14 to start the season, which is great in a small sample.
But it also just looks good. The two goals against were a 5-on-3 and one three seconds after a faceoff on a puck that fooled Scott Wedgewood.
“I really like the way it looks right now,” Bednar said. “Special teams are a big focus this time of year, building chemistry and dialing in those details that you need.”
Of the six forwards killing penalties, Parker Kelly and Jack Drury were new last year and figuring it out on the fly, while Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen weren’t available at the start of the year. Adding Brent Burns has allowed Cale Makar to play a little less on the PK.
4. Scott Wedgewood is going to be tough to unseat
Wedgewood would like a word about those 2026-27 roster projections.
Yes, the Avs are expecting to welcome Ilya Nabokov to North America at the end of his KHL season. Yes, it could be a natural fit for him to slide into the backup role next season behind MacKenzie Blackwood, given that Wedgewood is in the last year of his contract.
But Wedgewood is balling out to start the season. He’s second in save percentage, goals against average and total saves among goalies with at least three starts. He’s tied for third in goals saved above expected, per MoneyPuck.
“He just grinds,” Avs center Brock Nelson said. “He’s a competitor. He’s a gamer, but he’s also just good all the time. He’s frustrating to shoot on in practice. I feel like he’s got a great read on shooters, the puck, the play. He’s just a solid, sound goalie.”
Wedgewood’s play will determine whether the Avs want to try to keep him beyond this season, but he’s obviously become a key figure and well-liked teammate in the locker room as well.
5. This team, with some good health luck, can finish first in the Central
In part because of the injuries, trades and availability issues over the past couple of seasons, the Avalanche as a team hasn’t focused that intently on the regular-season standings. The best teams in the NHL typically don’t, partially because of the parity and because home-ice advantage in the playoffs is fleeting.
Do enough to get in, get things right at the right time and make a run. That said, finishing first in the Central Division does have one specific perk: You don’t have to beat Dallas and Winnipeg to reach the second half of the tournament.
Minnesota, St. Louis and Utah are all good teams, but it’s going to take something weird for the top three in the Central to not be Colorado, Dallas and Winnipeg in some order. And for the first time in a few years, the Avs look like they’re equipped for a run at the division title.
Everything at the top of the league standings is dependent on health, and usually a decent dose of good fortune when it comes to scoring goals or preventing them. This Colorado roster, 1-20, is one of the best in the league and looks locked in at the start of the season. Finishing first in the division, the conference or even the league could be in play.
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Corey Masisak
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