Games today: 4
puckmodel
ANABOSBUFCARCBJCGYCHICOLDALDETEDMFLALAKMINMTLNJDNSHNYINYROTTPHIPITSEASJSSTLTBLTORUTAVANVGKWPGWSHUFA

Colorado Avalanche

108 projected pts · 1st of 32 · 88% playoffs · r/ColoradoAvalanche

Most net goals for the Avalanche

  1. 1Nathan MacKinnon953 GP · since 2013-14+134.2
  2. 2Cale Makar473 GP · since 2019-20+98.2
  3. 3Devon Toews428 GP · since 2020-21+45.2
  4. 4Scott Wedgewood64 GP · since 2024-25+24.1
  5. 5Martin Necas111 GP · since 2024-25+14.6

Projected lineup

Forwards
RankLWCRW
3rd15:265v5 / gp9285v5 min tog.LEHKONENArtturi Lehkonen+1.1LW · #62MACKINNONNathan MacKinnon+14.9C · #29NECASMartin Necas+5.5RW · #88
13th12:525v5 / gp345v5 min tog.LANDESKOGGabriel Landeskog−0.7LW · #92NELSONBrock Nelson+2.6C · #11KADRINazem Kadri+1.7RW · #91
21st12:335v5 / gp255v5 min tog.SCHWARTZJaden Schwartz−3.9LW · #71SVECHKOVFedor Svechkov−2.1C · #9HUGHEST.J. Hughes+0.7RW · #13
19th11:095v5 / gp155v5 min tog.KELLYParker Kelly−1.6LW · #17ROYNicolas Roy−4.2C · #10L'HEUREUXZachary L'Heureux−0.5RW · #68
Defence
RankLDRD
16th17:195v5 / gp2935v5 min tog.KULAKBrett Kulak−3.7LD · #27MALINSKISam Malinski+4.8RD · #70
1st16:405v5 / gp5,7545v5 min tog.TOEWSDevon Toews+6.9LD · #7MAKARCale Makar+15.6RD · #8
3rd15:115v5 / gp8805v5 min tog.MANSONJosh Manson−0.6LD · #42BURNSBrent Burns+4.0RD · #84
Goalies
StarterBackup
WEDGEWOODScott Wedgewood+5.7G · #41BLACKWOODMackenzie Blackwood+2.1G · #39

Lines from NHL.com’s projected lineups for the 8 Oct 2026 game at CGY (goalies in NHL.com’s order: projected starter first). The figure beside each name is his projected net goals per 84 games, the rating the standings simulation uses, and the bar runs to ±8 (a notch marks more); the pill beside each line is its league rank by that average against the other teams’ same line (hover it for the average), then the line’s average 5-on-5 ice time per game over each skater’s last 10 games (his own minutes, not time as a unit; the lines and pairs run from most to least of it) and the unit’s career 5-on-5 minutes with all of them on the ice together (regular season and playoffs since 2010-11; hover either for the detail); marks an injury with ESPN’s estimated return date (when ESPN’s date has passed or it lists none, a short assumed absence; hover the mark to see which). The simulation dresses these players (forced to 12 F / 6 D / 2 G; before a team’s first NHL.com lineup, its recent games’ lineups) and brings injured players back on their return dates, so the Proj GP column below can differ from these lines. Coaches shuffle lines by the period; treat this as the best guess going into the next game, not the final word.

Scratched

Power play 5 on 4 · 10/8 + 10/7

Penalty kill 4 on 5 · 10/8 + 10/7

Special-teams units, or who actually goes over the boards when a penalty is called, read off the shift charts of the latest games: the five skaters on the ice together most at 5 on 4 (PP1, then PP2 from everyone else), and the forward and defence pairs together most at 4 on 5. The percentage is that unit’s share of the time. A unit member who is not in the projected lineup is replaced by the second unit’s forward (or defenceman) with the most time per game in that situation, and the second unit’s open slot goes to the dressed forward (or defenceman) not on a unit with the most of it (time per game this season, pooled with last season until he has 20 games; dotted names, hover for details). Each power-play unit is drawn the way it sets up, a 1-3-1 (net front, bumper, two flanks, point) or an umbrella (net front, two flanks, two points): every unblocked power-play attempt of the last three regular seasons (2024–2026) goes to the nearest spot, each skater’s share per spot leans toward his position when he has few, and the five take the spots that fit them best together. A dashed ring means under 15 power-play attempts (his even-strength attempts count too), a dotted one none. Hover a number for his power-play attempts.

2026-27 forecast

The whole roster in one table, sorted by what the model expects each player to add this season. Proj GP = games played so far plus the games the standings simulation dresses the player for (injured players from their ESPN estimated return date; goalies split 65/35 starter/backup), and Projected, his forecasted total net goals for the season on that GP basis (his projected NG/84 × Proj GP ÷ 84; each card’s “2026-27 projection” panel shows how the NG/84 was built). Overall and the component columns are the career weighted average net goals per 84 games exactly as in the last season of each card’s Career-to-date view (games-played-weighted, each component regressed toward the league mean; goalies: career GSAx/84). Team total: Projected is the sum; Overall and the components are Proj-GP-weighted team averages (components over skaters only). Click a player for his card, any column header to sort.

PlayerPosProj GPProjected ▼OverallEV OffEV DefPPPKFinishingPlaymakingSuppressionPenaltiesFaceoffsShootout
Cale MakarD84+15.6+14.7+1.2+0.3+0.7+0.1+2.2+4.9+2.5+2.9-0.0-0.0
Nathan MacKinnonF84+14.9+11.1+1.0-0.9+0.3+0.1+0.6+8.1-0.1+2.6-0.7+0.1
Devon ToewsD84+6.9+6.6+1.0+0.8-0.0+0.2+0.1+2.1+1.6+0.8-0.0-0.0
Martin NecasF84+5.5+4.1+1.2-0.0-0.2+0.3+1.6+2.2-1.9+1.2-0.2-0.0
Sam MalinskiD84+4.8+3.7+0.6+0.3-0.1-0.0+0.2+1.1+1.2+0.4-0.0-0.0
Brent BurnsD84+4.0+4.1+0.5-0.1+0.6+0.1+0.4+2.2+0.7-0.2-0.0-0.0
Scott WedgewoodG53+3.6+0.7——————————
Brock NelsonF84+2.6+0.4+0.2-0.4+0.2+0.1+0.6-1.0+0.5+0.5-0.3-0.1
Nazem KadriF84+1.7+4.2+0.5-0.7+0.5+0.0-0.5+1.6+0.4+2.7-0.3-0.1
Artturi LehkonenF84+1.1+1.1+0.8+0.2-0.1-0.1-0.6-1.0+2.3-0.3-0.1-0.0
Mackenzie BlackwoodG31+0.8+6.2——————————
T.J. HughesF84+0.7+0.0——————————
Noah JuulsenD2-0.0-1.0-0.7-0.2+0.0-0.2-0.1-0.1-0.2+0.5-0.0-0.0
Zachary L'HeureuxF82-0.5-0.4-0.1+0.1+0.1+0.0-0.3-0.9+1.0-0.2-0.0-0.0
Josh MansonD84-0.6-1.5+0.7+0.3+0.1-0.1-0.2-0.8-0.1-1.3-0.0-0.0
Gabriel LandeskogF84-0.7+0.9+0.0-0.1-0.1+0.0+0.6-0.6+1.6-0.8+0.2+0.0
Parker KellyF84-1.6-1.8-0.5+0.5-0.0-0.1+0.1-1.7+0.1+0.2-0.4-0.0
Fedor SvechkovF84-2.1-2.1-0.3+0.1-0.0-0.0-0.1-0.8-0.4+0.2-0.9-0.0
Brett KulakD84-3.7-1.7+0.2+0.8-0.0-0.1-0.2-1.6-0.4-0.3-0.0-0.0
Jaden SchwartzF84-3.9+0.4-0.2+0.3-0.4+0.1-0.2+0.2+0.5+0.0-0.0-0.0
Nicolas RoyF84-4.2-2.5+0.2+0.2-0.1-0.0-0.9-0.5-0.1-1.0-0.3-0.0
Team total (rates: GP-weighted avg)+44.9+2.33+0.40+0.10+0.10+0.03+0.21+0.79+0.55+0.45-0.18-0.01

More player cards: Logan O'Connor

Projected points, game by game

107.9 projected points before game 4, +2.5 since the preseason projection of 105.4. Playoff odds 88% (preseason 83%).

Playoff odds
Projected points±1 SD8th in the West3rd in the CentralWinOT/SO lossRegulation loss

Each point is the standings simulation (10,000 runs of the rest of the schedule, played games locked in) as it stood on the morning of that game: the mean season points, the shaded band ±1 SD (about two seasons in three finish inside it). The dashed line is the 8th-best projection in the West, a rough playoff line; the dotted line the 3rd-best in the Central, the last guaranteed division spot. The strip under the chart is the results. The lower chart is the share of the 10,000 runs that make the playoffs (top three in the division or a wild card). Moves come from the results and from the model re-rating the lineup every day. Full table: Standings.

Playoff chances

Playoffs 88% (+0.1 since the morning of Wednesday, October 7) · Stanley Cup 11.6% · Presidents’ Trophy 14.3% · likeliest first round: DAL 14%, MIN 12%, WPG 11%

Big games for COL

What if: final points

ChanceDivision placeWild cardMissed: West place
Final ptsSimsPlayoffsCupTrophy1st2nd3rdWC1WC2910111213141516
131+31003694991
125–13061002875964
119–1241210022428811<1
113–1181610015966304<1
107–1121810011<13745153<1
101–10617>997123732144<1
95–1001392421630261961<1
89–948472<1212923251873<1
83–88473141324272161<1
≤823<1<1310192024185
All sims100881214392314753322111<1

First-round opponent, what if

Final ptsPlayoffsCupDALMINWPGAnyone else
131+100366121072
125–1301002810111070
119–1241002210101070
113–1181001513121361
107–1121001117151454
101–106>99719151452
95–10092418141249
89–9447286626
83–88701213
≤82<10<1
All sims881214121152

Every one of the standings simulation’s 10,000 seasons, split by where COL finish: each row is one band of final point totals (Sims = the share of seasons that land there), and the rest of the row is what happened in those seasons, playoff bracket included. Rows in the same band can still miss or make it: that’s the rest of the West doing its thing, and ties go to regulation wins, then regulation plus overtime wins. Missed is the place among the conference’s eight non-playoff teams. Full league table: Standings.

Where they were born

Above averageBelow averageNo NHL gamesCareer NG/84 ±1±4±10

Each dot is a player on the projected roster, placed at his birthplace (NHL.com; geocoded with GeoNames via Open-Meteo). Dot size = career net goals per 84 games, the Career figure in the forecast table (GP-weighted, regressed); blue is above the positional average, red below. Players born in the same town are nudged apart and a thin line points to the spot. Hold Ctrl (⌘ on a Mac) and scroll, pinch, double-click or use the buttons to zoom; drag to pan; click a dot for the player page. Map: Natural Earth.

Team stats

Loading team stats…

Rates are pooled over the window (total xG over total minutes). Power play = every own-advantage state with both goalies in; the PP1 / PP2 and PK1 / PK2 lines are 5-on-4 / 4-on-5 time only. At each game PP1 is the five skaters with the most 5-on-4 time over the window and PP2 the next five (PK1 the two forwards and two defencemen with the most 4-on-5 time, PK2 the next two of each), from the shift charts; a unit is on when 4 of its 5 (PK: 3 of its 4) are, and its rate pools the window’s games. A bigger dot marks a change of group, a point needs 2 minutes as a unit, and a hollow dot on the top edge is off the scale. Hover a chart for the players. All teams, head-coach views and tables: Team stats.