DENVER — On the eve of Thanksgiving, Ross Colton served up the first course himself — snapping a shot past San Jose Sharks netminder Yaroslav Askarov and giving Colorado Avalanche fans something to savor before the holiday feast.
From that point on, Colorado did what it has done most of the season — laid down a country-style butter whipping. Nathan MacKinnon added a late first-period power-play goal to stretch the lead to 2–0, and the Avalanche blew the game wide open in the second. Colorado struck three times in a blistering 76-second span — Sam Malinski at 3:44, Josh Manson at 4:51, and then Joel Kiviranta, who buried one in his first game back from injury just nine seconds later — pushing the advantage to 5–0 and effectively ending the night for San Jose, who wound up taking a 6-0 loss.
Colorado Stands Alone
And the Avalanche (17-1-5) aren’t just lighting it up offensively; they’re smothering teams defensively, and the numbers make that abundantly clear. Colorado has stacked three consecutive shutouts, a feat the franchise hasn’t achieved in more than 24 years. Two of those have come from Mackenzie Blackwood, who turned aside 26 shots last night and posted a 35-save, 3-0 win over Nashville on Nov. 22. Scott Wedgewood, who opened the season as the starter while Blackwood recovered from lower-body surgery, is playing the best hockey of his career. He leads the NHL in wins (13) and was recently named to Team Canada’s Olympic long list.
The entire team is firing on all cylinders, from goal scorers to shot blockers to goaltenders making pivotal saves. At this point last season, it was a different story. Players were finding the back of the net, but like a fighter leaving gaps in their guard, the team was absorbing too many hits and surrendering far too many chances. While no game this season has been flawless, rather than searching for every way to lose, this Avalanche squad is discovering countless ways to win, with everyone contributing to the effort.
SAM MALINSKI TOP SHELF SNIPE #GoAvsGopic.twitter.com/WUlrsm2ScB
— PrimeMakar8 (@retro_colorado) November 27, 2025
The Hockey News spoke with Colton following Wednesday’s night win to comment on Colorado’s much-improved defensive structure.
“I think we’re playing well. I think obviously we’re getting amazing goaltending with that tandem back there, so they give us all the confidence in the world to play our game in front of them on a nightly basis, which is awesome,” Colton said. “The whole season has has kind of what we’ve been preaching, let’s play well in the d zone, limit turnovers, because we know we got the horses in here that are going to produce some offense for us.”
Horsepower
The Avalanche right now are like a finely tuned race car. Every gear is operating at full capacity, and no matter the course, they’re ready for the challenge. In hockey terms, that translates to depth. Consider this: Colorado has scored 94 goals this season, and their top three scorers — Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, and Cale Makar — have combined for 40 of those goals, roughly 42 percent of the total. That’s a healthy balance. If a team’s premier players are producing more than half of its goals, concerns about being top-heavy start to emerge. While the Avalanche certainly boast a trio of generational talents, they are not carrying the team alone; their contributions are significant but proportionate, thanks to the remarkable depth across the roster.
17 ottelun tauon jälkeen heti maalin makuun! 🚨
— NHL Suomi (@NHL_fi) November 27, 2025
Joel Kiviranta is back. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/2QONuAfdj2
Players like Ross Colton are a key part of that depth. The 29-year-old has tallied three goals in his last five games, including strikes in consecutive contests. He is riding a hot streak alongside the rest of the team, which has won 10 straight, yet Colton continues to approach each game with a business-as-usual mindset.
An absolute rocket from Josh Manson. pic.twitter.com/bW6tUYM0wk
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 19, 2025
“We do a great job managing the bodies, managing the time on and off the ice. We’ll do some video, study what we can change, and then turn the page here. We got a big back-to-back coming up here.”
Another Back-to-Back
The Avalanche will face the Minnesota Wild (13-7-4) on Friday at Grand Casino Arena at 1:30 p.m. local time, before quickly flying back to Denver to take on the Montreal Canadiens (12-7-3) on Saturday with a 1 p.m. start.
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