Nathan MacKinnon and Resurgent Depth Power Colorado’s +700 Cup Push

Early in the third period inside Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena on Tuesday night, Gabriel Landeskog planted his skates near the hash marks and snapped home his second goal of the evening to break a deadlock and propel Colorado to a commanding 6-3 victory. Watching the longtime captain bury a decisive third-period winner alongside Nazem Kadri felt like a championship time capsule brought roaring into November 2026.

Winners of consecutive statement games—blanking Detroit 4-0 on Saturday before handing Toronto its fourth straight defeat Tuesday—Jared Bednar’s club sits second in the Central Division at 11-6-2 (24 points), trailing only red-hot Minnesota. Armed with an offense pouring in 4.00 goals per game (third in the NHL) and a battle-tested veteran spine, Colorado heads to Ottawa on Thursday carrying the division’s shortest Stanley Cup futures price.

Championship Continuity Meets Reloaded Four-Line Depth Under Bednar

Entering the 2026-27 season, Colorado’s front office doubled down on speed, center depth, and veteran poise so Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar would no longer have to log unsustainable 26-minute rescue missions every night. Slotting electric right-shot winger Martin Necas onto the top line beside MacKinnon and relentless forechecker Artturi Lehkonen gave Jared Bednar instantaneous transition firepower, while anchoring the middle six with Brock Nelson between Jaden Schwartz and T.J. Hughes on line two and reuniting Landeskog with Nazem Kadri and Nicolas Roy on a heavy third unit created mismatches across every shift.

On the back end, pairing steady left-shot defender Brett Kulak alongside Makar freed Devon Toews to mentor mobile right-shot blueliner Sam Malinski on the second pair, while ironman Brent Burns—celebrating more than 1,000 consecutive NHL games played—anchors the third pairing next to Noah Juulsen. That deep architectural balance explains why oddsmakers price the 11-6-2 Avalanche at +700 to capture the Stanley Cup in June 2027, ahead of even first-place Minnesota (+1000) and third-place Dallas (+1600) in the Central hierarchy.

Four Goals Per Night and MacKinnon’s Relentless Playmaking Engine

Colorado’s offensive avalanche overwhelms opponents across all three periods because puck movement never stalls at the blue line. Entering Tuesday’s six-goal outburst in Toronto, the Avalanche already ranked third in the NHL in scoring at 4.00 goals per game (72 goals), second in total assists (133), second in cumulative skater points (205), and fifth in goal differential (+19). MacKinnon dictates terms at warp speed with team highs of 20 assists and 30 points, feeding Lehkonen (team-best 13 goals) on backdoor cuts while Necas—fresh off a two-goal, two-assist clinic against Detroit—stretches penalty-kill seams on a 23.3 percent power play (14-for-60, 11th in the NHL).

Unlike top-heavy contenders that manufacture offense purely off the rush, Bednar’s group sustains suffocating offensive-zone possession. Colorado controls 52.9 percent of five-on-five shot share—the percentage of even-strength shots on goal directed at the opposing net, acting as a clean possession proxy—ranking eighth in the league by firing 30.6 shots per game while allowing just 27.2 (+60 shot differential, eighth). Behind that territorial edge, confirmed starting goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood (.901 save percentage, highlighted by Saturday’s 27-save shutout of the Red Wings) and backup Scott Wedgewood have provided calm crease management.

Puck-Management Giveaways, Physicality Gaps, and Josh Manson’s Absence

Even at 11-6-2, video review from Bednar’s coaching room highlights subtle defensive vulnerabilities when Colorado gets loose with east-west passes through the neutral zone. Because the Avalanche play at breakneck tempo, they have coughed up 311 giveaways (27th in the NHL), occasionally hanging their netminders out to dry on high-danger odd-man rushes and leaving team save percentage tied for 15th (.891) alongside a 3.06 goals-against average (tied for 13th). Colorado also plays one of the league’s least punishing physical styles, ranking 30th in hits (285), 20th in blocked shots (246), and 20th at the faceoff dot (49.2 percent).

Injuries have specifically trimmed Colorado’s snarl along the boards and in front of Blackwood’s crease. Rugged right-shot defenseman Josh Manson remains sidelined on injured reserve with an ankle injury and is not eligible to return until December 27, depriving the 14th-ranked penalty kill (78.2 percent, 12 power-play goals allowed on 55 shorthanded situations) of its heaviest net-front clearer. Up front, agitating winger Zachary L'Heureux sits on long-term injured reserve with an upper-body injury (eligible November 27), placing greater physical responsibility on fourth-line regulars Parker Kelly, Fedor Svechkov, and Logan O'Connor.

Weighing Elite Possession Against a Scorching 102.2 PDO Heater

From an analytical standpoint, the sharpest question surrounding Colorado is how much of its four-goal-per-game eruption stems from repeatable structure versus early shooting heat. The Avalanche currently post a 102.2 five-on-five PDO—the combined metric of even-strength shooting percentage and save percentage centered around a 100.0 league baseline. Any reading above 101.4 triggers a mild caution flag for shooting cooling, and Colorado’s fifth-ranked 13.1 percent team shooting clip is primed to dip slightly during dog-day winter road trips.

Crucially, however, Colorado is built to weather minor finishing dips better than almost anyone in the Western Conference. A 52.9 percent five-on-five shot share (eighth), 74 takeaways (tied for 12th), and balanced scoring across three deep centermen—MacKinnon, Nelson, and Kadri—mean Colorado generates authentic shot volume in every period (ranking seventh in first-period shots, fourth in second-period shots, and sixth in third-period shots). When shooting luck inevitably normalizes from 13.1 percent toward 11.5 percent, Blackwood’s rebounding .901 form and Manson’s eventual late-December return provide built-in defensive counterbalance.

Stalking First-Place Minnesota Across the Central Division Runway

Continuing their Eastern Canadian swing on Thursday night against the Ottawa Senators at Canadian Tire Centre, the Avalanche sit squarely in position to pressure 13-3-4 Minnesota for the Central Division crown. With Dallas (10-5-2) two points back in third and the Utah Mammoth (10-7-1) and Nashville (8-4-5) crowding the middle tier, banking road points against Atlantic Division foes in November builds vital tiebreaker insulation before winter divisional clashes intensify.

Looking toward January and April 2027, Bednar’s blueprint revolves around keeping Landeskog, Kadri, and Burns fresh while tightening neutral-zone puck security ahead of postseason hockey. If Blackwood maintains top-half save efficiency until Manson rejoins the right side of the blue line after Christmas, Colorado possesses every Championship ingredient needed to justify its pole position on the futures board.