It's January, and for the first time this season, the Avalanche have looked human. The team dropped their first regulation home this season and snapped a 22 home winning streak with a 7-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Friday night. It's one of the widest margin of victories the Avs have let an opponent have all season, and came in the wake of starting goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood's return from injured reserve.
Blackwood, who the Avalanche traded for last season, has been struggling with injury for the entirety of the season, with Scott Wedgewood stepping into net most nights so far this season. He's still 13-2-1 in his 16 appearances and has looked solid when playing. However, given his contract and status, it is frustrating both for him and the team that he has not been able to start more games this year. The Avalanche's loss to Nashville, however, was not down to Blackwood looking shaky in his return to the lineup.
Bad Breaks
Brock Nelson, who had the Avalanche's first two goals in the game, was one of very few positives on the night, with head coach Jared Bednar saying, "There were no positives. There really weren’t. I hated that game from start to finish, pretty much. And then we get slightly better in the second period, and OK at the start of the third, but we didn't do enough to win the hockey game."
The Avalanche's 22 point home game streak was the fifth longest in NHL, and the blow certainly wasn't softened by the fact that former Avs forward Ryan O'Reilly had a hat trick before the start of the third period. Nashville opened scoring 30 seconds into the game, setting the tone for a long night in Ball Arena.
The Predators had incredible puck luck in addition to Colorado struggling early in the game. O'Reilly's second goal came off a bad deflection by defenseman Samuel Girard, and the Avs found themselves down 2-0 before the second period had even started.
It's been a rough week for the Avalanche, and a tough opening to 2026. However, the team has some of the best players in the NHL to see them through this and an experienced head coach at the helm to steady the ship.
Said Nelson, "We weren't at our best, especially early, but I don't know that there's cause for concern and panic.”