Early look The full preview opens on Friday 30 October, three days before puck drop, with the expected goalies, the latest team news and game-day prices. Until then this page shows the matchup as it stands.
Early look · NHL 2026-27

Colorado Avalanche at Chicago Blackhawks: game preview

Puck drop2 Nov · 8:00 PM ET
VenueUnited Center
All-time meetings132 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Forty-nine points apart last season

Colorado finished last season 1st in the league on 121 points. Chicago finished 31st on 72, and the 2025-26 season series went COL 3-0-0.

Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.

Head-to-head

Meeting number 133

Across 132 completed games, Colorado lead the head-to-head 80-39-13.

All-time record80-39-13Colorado's record in the series
Meetings played132This is number 133
2025-26 seriesCOL 3-0-0
Last 55-0Colorado
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
20 Mar 2026COL 4 – CHI 1——COL
28 Feb 2026CHI 1 – COL 3——COL
23 Nov 2025COL 1 – CHI 0——COL
2 Apr 2025COL 3 – CHI 2 SO——COL
10 Mar 2025CHI 0 – COL 3——COL
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateColoradoChicago
23 Nov 202516-1-5 · 37 pts1st10-8-4 · 24 pts24th
28 Feb 202635-6-9 · 79 pts1st21-23-8 · 50 pts27th
20 Mar 202645-13-10 · 100 pts1st26-31-12 · 64 pts30th

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 23 Nov 2025, Colorado were 1st in the league and Chicago 24th. By 20 Mar 2026 it was 1st and 30th.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Colorado out-attempted Chicago 214 to 135

Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.

Colorado Avalanche

214 att · 110 on goal · 8 G · 7.3%
Crease16 att · 0 G
Slot81 att · 4 G
Wing68 att · 3 G
Point41 att · 1 G
Neutral zone8 att · 0 G

Chicago Blackhawks

135 att · 57 on goal · 2 G · 3.5%
Crease12 att · 0 G
Slot42 att · 1 G
Wing54 att · 1 G
Point23 att · 0 G
Neutral zone4 att · 0 G
GoalOn goalMissedBlocked

Expected goals

Colorado have created the better chances, last 10 games

Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.

ColoradoChicago
3.16xG for per game2.41
2.55xG against per game3.83
55.4%xG share38.7%
+7.7FinishingGoals minus expected goals−0.7
+0.1GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed−1.7

This season: 2 games for Colorado, 4 for Chicago. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.

Every team’s xG →


Special teams

Power play and penalty kill, season and series

This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.

All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings

Colorado

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2744.4%
Power play · 2025-2617.1% · 27th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-27100.0%
Penalty kill · 2025-2684.6% · 1st
Faceoffs · 2026-2746.8% · 58/124
Drawn · 2026-279 (4.50/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-276 (3.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Chicago

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2711.1%
Power play · 2025-2616.9% · 29th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2763.6%
Penalty kill · 2025-2683.6% · 2nd
Faceoffs · 2026-2742.1% · 99/235
Drawn · 2026-279 (2.25/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2711 (2.75/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

Skaters

Skaters to watch

Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
88Martin Necas22242.00
16Anton Frondell41341.00
59Tyler Bertuzzi41120.50
91Frank Nazar41120.50
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
42Josh Manson21231.50
8Cale Makar21231.50
7Devon Toews20221.00
72Alex Vlasic40220.50
6Sam Rinzel31010.33
44Wyatt Kaiser40110.25
Defencemen stats

Goaltending

Who has stopped this matchup

Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.

Expected startersAn estimate until the teams confirmEvery game tonight →

Expected starter after their game on 31 Oct: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 31 Oct: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Colorado crease

COL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 30 Oct

Mackenzie Blackwood.9122 GP · 2-0-0 · GSAx +0.1

No appearances against Chicago in the last meetings.

Chicago crease

CHI · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 30 Oct

Spencer Knight.8913 GP · 1-2-0 · GSAx +0.5
Arvid Soderblom.8131 GP · 0-1-0 · GSAx −2.0

No appearances against Colorado in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.3 goals

No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.

Goals in the last 5 meetings

20 Mar 20265 · COL 4–1 CHI
28 Feb 20264 · CHI 1–3 COL
23 Nov 20251 · COL 1–0 CHI
2 Apr 20255 · COL 3–2 CHI
10 Mar 20253 · CHI 0–3 COL

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Colorado7.002.503.682.48
Chicago2.254.252.603.35

Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.

Scoring rates suggest6.3Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings3.6Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

7 on the injury lists

Colorado · injuries

Georgii MerkulovUndisclosedIRReturn16 Oct
Logan O'ConnorLower BodyIRReturn7 Oct
Trent MinerUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Zachary L'HeureuxLower BodyIRReturn7 Oct

Chicago · injuries

Andrew MangiapaneLower BodyOutReturn25 Oct
Connor BedardShoulderIRReturn7 Nov
Teuvo TeravainenUndisclosedOutReturn10 Oct
27 Sep · COL

Placed LD Keaton Middleton, LD Wyatt Aamodt, RW/LW Fabian Lysell, C Vinnie Hinostroza, LW Adam Beckman and LW Tristen Nielsen on waivers.

27 Sep · COL

Placed D Keaton Middleton, D Wyatt Aamodt, LW Fabian Lysell, C Vinnie Hinostroza, LW Adam Beckman and G Mads Sogaard Nielsen on waivers.

25 Sep · COL

Reassigned Ds Domenick Fensore, Saige Weinstein and Christian Wolanin to Colorado (AHL).

3 Oct · CHI

Assigned D Charles Alexis Legault to Chicago (AHL).

24 Sep · CHI

Agreed to terms with F Oliver Moore on a five-year contract extension. Loaned Fs Jiri felcman, Martin Misiak and Marek Vanacker and D Dylan Anhorn to Rockford (AHL). Assigned F Brett Seney to Rockford.

21 Sep · CHI

Placed D Derrick Pouliot on waivers.

Injury report
#43Egor ShilovRound 2 · VictoriavilleC
#74Beckett HamiltonRound 3 · Red DeerC
#126Tobias TvrznikRound 4 · WenatcheeG
#128Axel ElofssonRound 4 · Orebro Jr.D
Full draft
#34Xavier VilleneuveRound 2 · Blainville-boisbriandD
#35Ryan RoobroeckRound 2 · NiagaraLW
#66Samu AlalauriRound 3 · Pelicans Jr.D
#194Alexander IvanovRound 7 · Bars KazanD
Full draft

Updated after every final