Through 19 games played so far in the 2025-26 season, the Colorado Avalanche are on top of the world, tied with the Carolina Hurricanes in wins (13). They have a +31 goal differential (78 for vs 47 against). A lot of it has to do with the stellar play of 1b goaltender Scott Wedgewood, who has gotten the majority of the starts so far because Mackenzie Blackwood was dealing with an injury. Even with Blackwood back, Wedgewood has seen more time, somewhat due to Blackwood’s rust.
I still think Wedgewood will see a good number of starts despite Blackwood being healthy again.
Despite the good things the Avs have done to this point in the season, there is always room for improvement. While it is harder to find faults of a team who is winning more than losing, a lot of things could be better. With an 82-game season, some things are bound to get worse, even if just slightly. That’s okay, but if the Avalanche want to maintain their steady pace, they can’t let things get out of control.
You have to play the game as if you are playing from behind, trying to catch up—not only in-game, but also when thinking about the overall standings. It’s possible that the Avalanche don’t stay ontop of the league, it’s also possible they don’t stay atop the Central Division. The Dallas Stars and Winnipeg Jets are four (27) and seven (24) points behind the Avs, respectively. Don’t sleep on the young Blackhawks team, either. They also have 24 points. We’ve seen in the past where the Avalanche “didn’t have their legs” as put by head coach Jared Bednar in the past. Hopefully the team can avoid that.
With all that being said, here are three areas the Avalanche need to improve on this year to keep up their solid play overall.
3 Areas the Colorado Avalanche have to improve on this season
Overtime losses are a major concern for the Colorado Avalanche
Simply put, the Avalanche have to improve on their ovetime play. They have one regulation loss and five overtime/shootout losses. They’re now tied with the St. Louis Blues in that category.
The good thing is that the Avs have the franchise’s all-time leader in overtime goals currently on their squad. That player is none other than Nathan MacKinnon, who has 14 career overtime game-winners. Unfortunately, none have come yet this season.
The easiest thing I can say is that the Avs have to do their best to avoid overtime. Either that, or they need to win more often in regulation but also have some overtime experience here and there. That way, they don’t go completely away from practicing that situation in real game action.
Power Play Goals need to be more frequent
The Avalanche hired Dave Hakstol this offseason to be their assistant head coach to Jared Bednar. Hakstol is in charge of the team’s special teams units. He replaced Ray Bennett, as last year was just not good enough, to put it lightly.
So far this season, the Avalanche are ranked 24th in power play percentage at 16.7 percent. To put that not so lightly, those are garbage numbers. However, I’m willing to give Hakstol and the new additions to the power play units the benefit of the doubt.
As a team, the Avs have 12 power play goals, with MacKinnon leading the way with five, Martin Necas with three, Victor Olofsson with two, and Artturi Lehkonen and Valeri Nichushkin each with one.
Per StatMuse, the Avalanche have gotten 72 power play opportunities so far this season. That is tied for second in the league with the Calgary Flames with the Montreal Canadiens holding the top spot with 76.
Depth scoring
Here is one that I find quite interesting. The top line, consisting of Lehkonen, MacKinnon and Necas has combined for 35 goals. The second line (Ross Colton/Landeskog, Brock Nelson, Gavin Brindley) has combined for 12. The third line, sprinkled with Landeskog, has consisted of Jack Drury and Victor Olofsson, has contributed with 11 goals.
Finally, the fourth line, consisting of Parker Kelly, Zakhar Bardakov, and Taylor Makar (with a few others sprinkled in) has contributed to six goals. Makar has played the last couple of games, but we’ll see how much more Bednar puts him out on the ice as opposed to some other players.
One interesting note from Wednesday’s skate is that Brindley was seen at practice on the second line for the Avalanche. It appears that Bednar might be quite comfortable with him in that spot in Valeri Nichushkin’s absence. Nichushkin would obviously continue to slot in at second-line right wing once he’s healthy again. Depth players aren’t always around, so it’s nice to see that Brindley has found a home where he can play in different spots.