Colorado Avalanche News

Colorado is locked into third place in the Central Division and will rest several key players for their final two games, including Nathan MacKinnon, in anticipation of their first round playoff matchup. MacKinnon already missed Colorado's previous game and ends the 2024-25 season with 116 points (32G / 84A) in 79 games.

Colorado is locked into third place in the Central Division and will rest several key players for their final two games, including Josh Manson, in anticipation of their first round playoff matchup. Manson has been out of the lineup since March 14th and ends the 2024-25 campaign with 15 points (1G / 14A) in 48 games.

Colorado is locked into third place in the Central Division and will rest several key players for their final two games, including Ross Colton, in anticipation of their first round playoff matchup. The 28-year-old Colton ends the 2024-25 campaign with 29 points (16G / 13A) in 61 games.

Colorado is locked into third place in the Central Division and will rest several key players for their final two games, including Cale Makar, in anticipation of their first round playoff matchup. The 26-year-old Makar completes another Norris-worthy season, scoring 92 points (30G / 62A) in 80 games.

Ahcan is an undrafted 27-year-old defenseman with nine games of NHL experience. That said, he has exclusively played in the AHL the previous three seasons, including scoring 41 points (5G / 36A) in 67 games with the Colorado Eagles (AHL) this season.

Aamodt is an undrafted 27-year-old defenseman that has yet to play an NHL game. He has spent most of the previous four seasons in the AHL, including scoring 16 points (3G / 13A) in 2024-25 through 66 games with the Colorado Eagles.

Colorado is coming off a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights and will turn to Blackwood between the pipes on Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks. Blackwood struggled in his most recent outing, allowing four goals on 21 shots (.810 SV%) in a 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Blues. The 28-year-old netminder has a 2.23 GAA and .916 SV% in 35 games with Colorado this season (22-10-3). Colorado enters Thursday's contest as sizeable -223 home favorites against a Vancouver team coming off a roller coaster come-from-behind 6-5 overtime win over the Dallas Stars.

Colorado's head coach Jared Bednar stated that MacKinnon would likely play if they were fighting for a playoff spot, indicating that he should be ready to play in the postseason. The 29-year-old MacKinnon has a league-leading 116 points (32G / 84A) in 79 games this season.

Necas has not played since April 2nd but will draw back into the lineup on Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks. Colorado will rely heavily upon Necas on Thursday as they will be without Nathan MacKinnon (undisclosed). The 26-year-old Necas has 26 points (11G / 15A) in 27 games with Colorado this season.

Colorado is coming off a 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights and will likely turn to Blackwood between the pipes on Thursday against the Vancouver Canucks. Blackwood struggled in his most recent outing, allowing four goals on 21 shots (.810 SV%) in a 5-4 loss to the St. Louis Blues. The 28-year-old netminder has a 2.23 GAA and .916 SV% in 35 games with Colorado this season (22-10-3). Colorado enters Thursday's contest as sizeable -223 home favorites against a Vancouver team coming off a roller coaster come-from-behind 6-5 overtime win over the Dallas Stars.

Puustinen last appeared in an NHL game in mid-November. He's spent most of the season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, tallying 35 points (16G / 19A) in 47 games. The 25-year-old has appeared in 10 NHL games this season, scoring one goal with one assist.

Landeskog has not played since the 2021-22 season and still doesn't have definitive timeline for a return, but has been skating regularly with the team and will partake in a conditioning stint in the AHL with the Colorado Eagles. Landeskog missed the entire 2022-23 regular season as he recovered from knee surgery and followed that up with a cartilage transplant in his right knee during the offseason. The 32-year-old has 571 points (248G/323A) and a +77 plus/minus across 738 career NHL games.

Colton was a surprise scratch on Tuesday, with the Avalanche not announcing his absence prior to warmups. Chris Wagner will draw into the lineup in his place.

Heading into the postseason, Colorado has opted to rotate goalies and will turn to Wedgewood between the pipes for the third time in their last five games. The 32-year-old Wedgewood was solid in his most recent outing, saving 21 of 23 shots (.913 SV%) in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Chicago Blackhawks. The 32-year-old Wedgewood has a 2.00 GAA and .919 SV% in 17 appearances this Colorado this season (11-4-1). Colorado enters Tuesday's contest as -128 home favorites against a Vegas Golden Knights team riding a two-game winning streak.

Necas played 22:35 time-on-ice, scoring a goal, Wednesday's 3-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks, showing no signs of an ailment, but will be sidelined on Thursday due to an undisclosed injury. The 26-year-old Necas has 26 points (11G / 15A) in 27 games with Colorado this season.

On the tail end of a back-to-back, after a 3-2 shootout win over the Chicago Blackhawks, Blackwood will be tending the twine for the Avalanche on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Blackwood was solid in his previous outing, saving 25 of 27 shots (.926 SV%), but did not receive ample goal support in a 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues. The 28-year-old netminder has a 2.14 GAA and .919 SV% in 33 games with the Avalanche this season (21-9-3). Colorado enters Thursday's contest as -141 road favorites against a Columbus team that has won three of their last four games (3-1-0).