The talk of home ice being an advantage, is very real if you’re the Colorado Avalanche, where home ice has been an advantage all season.
The best team in hockey will put that advantage to work as they face the Columbus Blue Jackets in their first afternoon matinee of 2026 at Ball Arena.
Colorado Avalanche (32-4-7)
The Opponent: Columbus Blue Jackets (18-18-7)
Time: 2:00 P.M. MST/4:00 P.M. EST
Watch: ALT, ALT+ (Avalanche Broadcast Area), FDSNOH, ESPN+, NHL Center Ice (Outside Avalanche Broadcast Area – US), SN+, NHL Centre Ice (Canadian Broadcast Areas)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92.5 FM
Colorado Avalanche
The Avalanche kicked off a season-long seven game home stand on Thursday night against a struggling (and perhaps somewhat distracted) Ottawa Senators club that was twenty-four hours removed from a 3-1 defeat in Salt Lake City against the Utah Mammoth. After staking a 2-0 lead in the first period, the Avalanche opened the floodgates, scoring five goals over a 6:18 span during the second period as they sailed to a 8-2 victory.
Two Avalanche players turned in four point efforts on Thursday. If you thought one of them was Nathan MacKinnon, you’d be correct: the NHL’s leading goal-scorer notched his 36th goal of the season and added three assists on the evening, which propelled him back into the League lead in total points (78). Josh Manson was the
other Avalanche skater with a four point night, scoring two goals and two assists, which set a new single-game career high. Factor in Manson’s fight with Ottawa’s Tyler Klevin in the first period, and that results in Manson’s first-ever Gordie Howe hat trick, a feat that his father, Dave Manson, was on hand to witness firsthand.
Both Martin Nečas and Brock Nelson scored on the power play (no, this is not a typo), both reaching the twenty-goal mark (Nelson would add another one to end the second goal rally). Ross Colton, who was playing through illness, had a three point night. Cale Makar had a goal and two assists to remain atop the League lead in points for defensemen (51), and Scott Wedgewood earned his nineteenth win of the season, stopping 29 of 31 shots.
In total, twelve(!) Avalanche skaters recorded points on Thursday evening, securing the team’s sixteenth consecutive win on Ball Arena ice. The win pushed the Avalanche past the 70 point mark as they remain the undisputed leader in across the Central Division, Western Conference, and League standings.
Today’s game wraps up the season series against Columbus. The Avalanche previously defeated Columbus by a score of 4-1 at Nationwide Arena on October 16th.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Artturi Lehkonen – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Nečas
Gavin Brindley – Brock Nelson – Valeri Nichushkin
Victor Olofsson – Jack Drury – Ross Colton
Zakhar Bardakov – Parker Kelly – TJ Tynan
Defense:
Cale Makar – Sam Girard
Josh Manson – Brent Burns
Ilya Solovyov – Sam Malinski
Between the Pipes:
Scott Wedgewood
Trent Miner
Columbus Blue Jackets
Today is the third of a four game road trip for Columbus, and the first of a back-to-back weekend of games. Having lost four of their last five games, including a 5-3 decision against Vegas this past Thursday at T-Mobile Arena, Columbus sits in the cellar of the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference as a whole. Injuries have riddled the Columbus roster, with several pieces of the lineup missing time.
Defenseman Erik Gudbranson has missed most of the season with a hip injury. Defenseman Brendan Smith, who signed in November with Columbus to help shore up the blue line, is expected to be out of the lineup until April with a knee injury.
At forward, a couple of faces familiar to Avs fans will be out of the lineup today. Miles Wood, who was traded with Charlie Coyle to Columbus on June 27 in the Gavin Brindley deal, has missed already stretches of time during his first season with Columbus, and is currently sidelined with a leg injury. Mason Marchment, whom the Avs last saw as a member of the Seattle Kraken back on December 16 when Josh Manson punched Marchment’s
face ticket out of town (no, really: Marchment was traded to Columbus
the very next day), will be out of the lineup due an upper body injury he sustained this past Sunday in a 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins; he is considered week-to-week. Rounding out the wounded on the forward lines is center Isac Lundeström, who is out with a lower body injury; he last saw action on December 22 in a 3-1 victory over Los Angeles.
It’s not all doom and gloom, however. Due to the compact standings in the East, Columbus sits eight points back of the final wild card spot (hey, if the Buffalo Sabres can make a push for the playoffs after languishing in last place for so long, Columbus can do the same). Prior to losing to the Avalanche in October, Columbus previously enjoyed a two-game win streak against Colorado, outscoring the Avalanche by a 10-5 margin in those games. The most recent of those victories came at Ball Arena on October 16, 2024 (a 6-4 decision).
Defenseman Zach Werenski, perennial bridesmaid to Cale Makar’s bride in Norris Trophy conversations, currently leads the Columbus roster in goals (16, a mark he shares with right wing Kirill Marchenko), assists (30), and points (46). His goal total is tops among all NHL defensemen (Makar is third with 13). In addition to leading all Columbus forwards in goals, Marchenko also leads all forwards in points (35) and is tied with Coyle for the team lead in assists (19).
With goaltender Jet Greaves making the last four starts for Columbus, expect Elvis Merzlikins to get the call between the pipes today. He last saw action on December 20, a 4-3 loss to the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center.
Projected Lineup
Forwards:
Dmitri Voronkov – Adam Fantilli – Kirill Marchenko
Boone Jenner – Sean Monahan – Kent Johnson
Cole Sillinger – Charlie Coyle – Mathieu Olivier
Zach Aston-Reese – Brendan Gaunce – Mikael Pyyhtiä
Defense:
Zach Werenski – Denton Mateychuk
Ivan Provorov – Damon Severson
Yegor Zamula – Dante Fabbro
Between the Pipes:
Elvis Merzlikins
Jet Greaves
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