Early look The full preview opens on Friday 15 January, 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

Vancouver Canucks at Colorado Avalanche: game preview

Puck drop18 Jan · 3:00 PM ET
VenueBall Arena
All-time meetings152 completed
BasisLast 5 meetings + 2025-26
The thesis

Sixty-three points apart last season

Vancouver finished last season 32nd in the league on 58 points. Colorado finished 1st on 121.

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

Head-to-head

Meeting number 153

Across 152 completed games, Colorado lead the head-to-head 82-55-15.

All-time record82-55-15Colorado's record in the series
Meetings played152This is number 153
2025-26 series—
Last 53-2Vancouver
DateResultShotsPower playWinner
1 Apr 2026VAN 8 – COL 6——VAN
2 Dec 2025VAN 1 – COL 3——COL
9 Nov 2025COL 5 – VAN 4 OT——COL
10 Apr 2025VAN 4 – COL 1——VAN
4 Feb 2025COL 0 – VAN 3——VAN
Head-to-head finder

The table on each 2025-26 meeting night

DateVancouverColorado
9 Nov 20258-8-1 · 17 pts22nd10-1-5 · 25 pts1st
2 Dec 202510-14-3 · 23 pts30th19-1-6 · 44 pts1st
1 Apr 202622-44-8 · 52 pts32nd49-15-10 · 108 pts1st

League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 9 Nov 2025, Vancouver were 22nd in the league and Colorado 1st. By 1 Apr 2026 it was 32nd and 1st.


Where the shots come from · last 5 meetings

Colorado out-attempted Vancouver 190 to 178

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

Vancouver Canucks

178 att · 80 on goal · 13 G · 16.3%
Crease20 att · 5 G
Slot70 att · 3 G
Wing60 att · 4 G
Point26 att · 0 G
Neutral zone2 att · 1 G

Colorado Avalanche

190 att · 93 on goal · 14 G · 15.1%
Crease12 att · 0 G
Slot65 att · 7 G
Wing75 att · 5 G
Point34 att · 2 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.

VancouverColorado
2.44xG for per game3.16
3.15xG against per game2.55
43.6%xG share55.4%
+9.2FinishingGoals minus expected goals+7.7
−5.4GoaltendingExpected goals against minus goals allowed+0.1

This season: 4 games for Vancouver, 2 for Colorado. 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

Vancouver

Small sample
Power play · 2026-2723.1%
Power play · 2025-2621.8% · 14th
Power play · last 5 meetings—
Penalty kill · 2026-2768.8%
Penalty kill · 2025-2671.5% · 32nd
Faceoffs · 2026-2749.3% · 112/227
Drawn · 2026-2713 (3.25/gm)
Drawn · last meetings0 (0.00/gm)
Shorthanded · 2026-2716 (4.00/gm)
PP goals · last meetings0

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

Skaters

Skaters to watch

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

PlayerGPGAPP/GP
47Paul Cotter44261.50
23Marco Rossi43141.00
88Martin Necas22242.00
Points leaders
PlayerGPGAPP/GP
17Filip Hronek40551.25
5Tom Willander40330.75
42Josh Manson21231.50
8Cale Makar21231.50
7Devon Toews20221.00
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 16 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Expected starter after their game on 16 Jan: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.

Vancouver crease

VAN · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 15 Jan

Kevin Lankinen.8243 GP · 1-2-0 · GSAx −6.4
Leevi Meriläinen.9432 GP · 1-0-0 · GSAx +1.0

No appearances against Colorado in the last meetings.

Colorado crease

COL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 15 Jan

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

No appearances against Vancouver in the last meetings.


Totals

Scoring rates point to about 6.8 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

1 Apr 202614 · VAN 8–6 COL
2 Dec 20254 · VAN 1–3 COL
9 Nov 20259 · COL 5–4 VAN
10 Apr 20255 · VAN 4–1 COL
4 Feb 20253 · COL 0–3 VAN

Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.

Scoring rates

Team26-27 GF26-27 GA25-26 GF25-26 GA
Vancouver4.754.502.633.85
Colorado7.002.503.682.48

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 suggest6.8Goals in this game
Last 5 meetings7.0Goals per game
Line—No total posted yet
Books at the line—With the game-day prices

Team news

9 on the injury lists

Vancouver · injuries

Akil ThomasUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Filip ChytilShoulderIRReturn8 Oct
Jack ThompsonUndisclosedIRReturn11 Oct
Mackenzie MacEachernUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Thatcher DemkoHipIRReturn21 Dec

Colorado · injuries

Georgii MerkulovUndisclosedIRReturn16 Oct
Logan O'ConnorLower BodyIRReturn7 Oct
Trent MinerUndisclosedIRReturn10 Oct
Zachary L'HeureuxLower BodyIRReturn7 Oct
27 Sep · VAN

Placed G Nikita Tolopilo on waivers.

25 Sep · VAN

Claimed G Leevi Merilainen off waivers from Ottawa. Placed F Filip Chytil on injured reserve. Assigned F Braeden Cootes to Abbotsford (AHL).

24 Sep · VAN

Assigned Fs Ty Mueller, Riley Patterson, Ilya Safonov and Chase Wouters, Ds Kirill Kudryavtsev and Sawyer Mynio to Abbotsford (AHL). Loaned F Ben Berard and D Isaac Belliveau to Abbotsford. Waived for the purpose of assignment to Abbotsford F Trey Fix-Wolansky and Ds Cole Clayton and Jimmy Schuldt.

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).

Injury report
#3Caleb MalhotraRound 1 · BrantfordC
#24Adam NovotnyRound 1 · PeterboroughLW
#33Brooks RogowskiRound 2 · OshawaC
#41Niklas Aaram-OlsenRound 2 · Orebro Jr.LW
Full draft
#43Egor ShilovRound 2 · VictoriavilleC
#74Beckett HamiltonRound 3 · Red DeerC
#126Tobias TvrznikRound 4 · WenatcheeG
#128Axel ElofssonRound 4 · Orebro Jr.D
Full draft

Updated after every final