Thursday, Oct 1, 2026 · Morning Edition
The Avalanche briefing
1–0–0 after an 8–4 opening-night win over the Kings: MacKinnon scored twice and fought, Lehkonen scored twice, and the power play went 4-for-5 · Jared Bednar signed a four-year extension before the game · next: Sat Oct 3 vs Blues, 7:00 PM MDT, Ball Arena · DK Cup +700, West +320, Central +115 · Kalshi Oct 3 game 70¢ / Cup 14¢.
Record
One game into 2026–27 (W–L–OT). Last season (2025–26): 55–16–11, 121 points, first in the Central and first in the NHL. Playoffs: reached the Western Conference Final and were swept 4–0 by Vegas (AP).
Opening night · Wed Sep 30 vs Kings
Nathan MacKinnon scored twice in a four-goal second period and then had a rare fight. Colorado beat Los Angeles 8–4 at Ball Arena. MacKinnon scored on a 5-on-3 just 23 seconds into the second and made it 4–2 at 8:33. Late in the third, with the Avs up 6–4, he fought Kings defenseman Brandt Clark; the AP says it was his first fight in four years. Gabriel Landeskog scored less than a minute later, and Artturi Lehkonen got his second goal 1:03 after that.
Brock Nelson had a goal and two assists. Colorado went 4-for-5 on the power play but allowed two short-handed goals (Joel Armia, Trevor Moore). Mackenzie Blackwood got the win.
Behind the bench: Hours before the game, the Avs gave Jared Bednar a four-year extension. He was in the last year of his contract. Joe Sakic said he didn’t want Bednar fielding questions about his future all season.
Sources: NHL standings API NHL 2025–26 final standings AP recap via ESPN ESPN (Bednar extension)
Last game
NHL GamecenterRegular season · Wed Sep 30, 2026 · vs Kings · TNT / truTV / HBO Max
Avalanche 8, Kings 4 · Ball Arena · attendance 18,092 · COL 1–0–0
| Team | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | Final | SOG | PP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kings | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 31 | 0/4 |
| Avalanche | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 29 | 4/5 |
- Colorado
- MacKinnon 2 G · Lehkonen 2 G (both PP) · Nelson 1 G, 2 A · Kelly 1 G, 1 A · Roy 1 G · Landeskog 1 G · Kadri, Makar, Toews, Schwartz 2 A each.
- Goalie
- Blackwood (W): 27 saves on 31 shots, .871. NHL box score; the AP recap says 26 saves.
- Los Angeles
- Dumoulin, Armia (SH), Moore (SH), Panarin 1 G each · Laferriere 2 A · Kuemper (L): 21 saves on 29 shots.
- Team
- Faceoffs LAK 37–21 · hits COL 19–17 · PIM COL 13, LAK 15. Three stars: MacKinnon, Nelson, Lehkonen.
Closing line (DraftKings via ESPN): COL −205 / LAK +170 · puck line COL −1.5 (+130) · total 6.5. The Avs covered and the game went over (12 goals).
Sources: NHL boxscore API NHL game landing API ESPN summary (DK line) AP recap
Next
ESPN game pageSat Oct 3 · vs Blues
- Venue
- Ball Arena · Denver · HOME
- Puck drop
- 7:00 PM MDT
- TV
- Altitude (ALT) in Colorado · ESPN also lists ESPN+
- Context
- Second game of the season. St. Louis went 37–33–12 (86 pts) last season, 5th in the Central. The Blues open Thu Oct 2 at Dallas.
- Then
- Wed Oct 7 @ Jets · Thu Oct 8 @ Flames · Sat Oct 10 vs Maple Leafs.
Sportsbook odds
ESPN / DraftKingsBottom line: There’s no line on Saturday’s game yet. For the season, DraftKings rates Colorado a top-three Cup contender at +700, behind only Carolina and Florida (+650 each). The Avs are the West favorite at +320 and a clear Central favorite at +115, ahead of Dallas and Minnesota (+320 each).
Sat Oct 3 vs Blues: Lines not posted yet.
Futures (DraftKings): Stanley Cup +700 · Western Conference +320 · Central Division +115.
Season points total: Not captured this morning. Futures as of Thu Oct 1, ~7:25 AM MDT (Cup/West via ESPN); Central via VegasInsider’s DraftKings column, fetched ~7:25 AM MDT.
Sources: ESPN scoreboard (Oct 3) ESPN conference futures VegasInsider Central odds
Kalshi markets
Kalshi| Market | Ticker | Last | Bid / Ask | Prev |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Avs beat Blues (Oct 3) | KXNHLGAME-26OCT03STLCOL-COL | 70¢ | 67¢ / 69¢ | 65¢ |
| Blues beat Avs (Oct 3) | KXNHLGAME-26OCT03STLCOL-STL | 32¢ | 32¢ / 34¢ | 38¢ |
| Avs win 2027 Stanley Cup | KXNHL-27-COL | 14¢ | 13¢ / 14¢ | 12¢ |
| Avs win Western Conference | KXNHLWEST-27-COL | 20¢ | 19¢ / 20¢ | 19¢ |
| Avs win Central | Market not located this morning | |||
Kalshi Cup leaders: COL 14¢, CAR 10¢, FLA 10¢ (down from 14¢), EDM 9¢, VGK 8¢, MIN 7¢. Day-over-day: Avs game last 70¢ (was 68¢ at ~5:52 AM; +2¢); Blues side 32¢ (was 33¢). Cup and West prices unchanged. Open interest ~783 contracts on the Avs side. “Prev” is Kalshi’s own previous-price field. Fetched Thu Oct 1, ~7:25 AM MDT from Kalshi’s public API (*_dollars fields), read through a web fetch because the box’s direct requests got HTTP 429. These are prediction-market share prices, not sportsbook odds.
Sources: API game market API KXNHL-27 API West
Injuries
ESPN COL injuries| Player | Pos | Injury / note | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan O’Connor | RW | Lower body. Out for the start of the season (Colorado Hockey Now via ESPN) | IR (ESPN, Sep 29) |
| Zachary L’Heureux | LW | Lower body. Out for the start of the season (Colorado Hockey Now via ESPN) | IR (ESPN, Sep 29) |
| Trent Miner | G | Undisclosed | Non-roster IR (ESPN, Sep 28) |
| Georgii Merkulov | C | Undisclosed. Placed on non-roster IR Sep 28; expected to report to AHL Colorado once cleared | Non-roster IR (ESPN, Sep 28) |
| Taylor Makar | LW | Undisclosed | Non-roster IR (ESPN, Sep 28) |
With O’Connor and L’Heureux out, ESPN’s note said Colorado would dress 11 forwards and 7 defensemen in the opener. No new designations were added after the game. Dates are when ESPN last updated each entry.
Sources: ESPN core injuries API Roster page
Upcoming
- vs Blues · Sat Oct 3 · 7:00 PM MDT · Ball Arena · ALT Tickets
- @ Jets · Wed Oct 7 · 5:30 PM MDT · Canada Life Centre · ALT Tickets
- @ Flames · Thu Oct 8 · 7:00 PM MDT · Scotiabank Saddledome · ALT / KTVD Tickets
- vs Maple Leafs · Sat Oct 10 · 5:00 PM MDT · Ball Arena · NHL Network / ALT Tickets
- @ Stars · Tue Oct 13 · 6:30 PM MDT · American Airlines Center · ESPN Tickets
- vs Stars · Wed Oct 14 · 6:30 PM MDT · Ball Arena · TNT / truTV / HBO Max Tickets
Sources: NHL schedule API (times, US TV, ticket links) Full schedule page · Tickets: the host team’s official link from NHL schedule data. Avalanche home games use the Avs’ avs.social link, resolved to its Ticketmaster event; road games use Ticketmaster links from the Jets, Flames and Stars. Tracking parameters removed.
Ball Arena & team news
nhl.com/avalanche newsOvernight (after opener): No new transactions or injury designations. ESPN posted game highlights overnight. Bednar’s four-year extension (announced before the opener) still leads the news. Arena: KSE’s ~$135M Ball Arena renovation (announced Sep 18); nothing new on it overnight.
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Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche: Game Highlights
Official highlights from the 8–4 opener.
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MacKinnon has 2 goals and a rare fight in the Avs’ 8–4 victory over the Kings in opener
Four power-play goals, two short-handed goals allowed. Lehkonen scored twice and Nelson had three points.
-
Avalanche signing coach Jared Bednar to four-year extension
Bednar, who coached Colorado to the 2022 Cup, was in the final year of his deal.
-
Canes, Panthers, Avs favored to win Stanley Cup entering new season
The three preseason Cup favorites. They’re still DraftKings’ top three this morning.
-
Brent Burns sports new look as Avalanche open camp
Burns had an assist and 15:23 of ice time in the opener.
-
KSE announces $135 million Ball Arena renovations
Privately funded. Construction starts summer 2027, with completion targeted for 2028–29.
Sources: ESPN news API (COL) · Denver Gazette
Stanley Cup odds · top 5 by conference
ESPN futures (DraftKings)2027 Stanley Cup winner, DraftKings via ESPN futures, as of Thu Oct 1, 2026 · ~7:25 AM MDT.
West
- Colorado Avalanche+700
- Edmonton Oilers+800
- Vegas Golden Knights+850
- Dallas Stars+1300
- Minnesota Wild+1400
The Avs are the West’s Cup favorite. West winner: COL +320, EDM +425, VGK +475.
East
- Carolina Hurricanes+650
- Florida Panthers+650
- Tampa Bay Lightning+1000
- Washington Capitals+1700
- Montréal Canadiens+2200
Carolina and Florida are tied for the overall favorite. East winner: CAR +300, FLA +320.
Source: ESPN NHL futures (DraftKings) · conference futures · cross-check VegasInsider futures