The Colorado Avalanche just had their best game of the 2025-26 season, in terms of goals for. They demolished the Edmonton Oilers 9-1in Edmonton on Saturday night. By doing so, they suddenly have a target on their back.
In the game vs Edmonton, four players had two goals apiece: Nathan MacKinnon, Parker Kelly, Jack Drury, and Cale Makar. You could tell that they all wanted even more, as the attempts towards Oilers goalie Calvin Pickard continued. Oh, by the way, Pickard didn’t even start the game—Stuart Skinner did, and was replaced after allowing four goals on 13 shots. Doing the math, and Pickard allowed five more.
It was as sweet of a victory as one can imagine, especially given that the Oilers have a superstar of their own, and the best forward in the league in Connor McDavid, who ended up scoring the Oilers’ lone goal.
The game was filled with penalties, as Edmonton led with seven, while Colorado have five. McDavid scored the lone power play goal of the game, but Parker Kelly recorded a shorthanded goal, which is pretty awesome to see.
I know that some people are going to argue with the fact that Edmonton’s goaltending situation is very bad and that there shouldn’t be much stock in this Avalanche victory. Well, the Avalanche are not going to apologize for the dominant win, nor are they in control of who they play. They played the next team on their schedule. It’s as simple as that.
A huge takeaway from this game was the fact that though MacKinnon and Makar both scored two goals, the team also got some depth scoring in the mix with Jack Drury, Parker Kelly, and Gavin Brindley (who I wrote about in June). This is something they had struggled with last season. By having the type of game that they had on Saturday night, they can piggyback off of it into other games. Sure, each matchup is different, but there are definitely some things they can use from this game into others.
The Avalanche now have a target on their back
As would be expected, the Colorado Avalanche have a target on their back after this victory. They now officially have the most goals in a single game this season out of any team in the league. While some teams have scored seven and even eight, no other team has scored nine until Saturday. Oh, and the Avalanche are one of those teams that have scored eight in a game (8-4 against the New Jersey Devils).
That being said, they cannot allow themselves to be caught sleeping against other teams. Sure, they have the most points in the league right now (23), but they have come close to losing several times and have lost some heartbreakers, five of which ended in overtime. Only one time have they lost in 60 minutes of play.
To me, that shows fight. They have fought so hard and really there is no sign of them slowing down. They are on a mission to be the very best. Other teams know that, and will do everything in their power to take away their momentum.