Open Thread: Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (7 p.m. MT)

The Colorado Avalanche will host the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight at Ball Arena for their 11th game of the season. Tampa Bay looks fresh and focused, while the Avalanche have struggled lately to live up to their potential and meet expectations. Tampa, with seven wins in its first nine games, is confident, while Colorado is licking its wounds after two disappointing defeats.

Colorado Avalanche

We’ve heard a lot from Jared Bednar this week about leaving the 11-7 approach, with Logan O’Connor’s welcome return this evening and a call-up for Taylor Makar. Both players are making their 2026-27 regular-season debut, with Makar registering his 13th NHL game. It will be a fun night for the Makar family as they watch brothers Taylor and Cale work toward a victory for the same side.

Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar caught a bit of heat after a couple of losses, as some graphics ranked them among Colorado’s worst skaters by metrics.

Jared Bednar mentioned, “I think he is. I don’t know if it was the Dallas and Pittsburgh; you know, he looked like he was tired,” when asked if Nathan MacKinnon was “okay” by Altitude’s Vic Lombardi. “We did all the same things, like giving them the rest and recovery time they need to be ready to go,” he continued, “but sometimes it’s just not enough.” Let’s see if MacKinnon finds more jump tonight.

Cale Makar, on the other hand, is, as we know, a new father of twins, and that comes with late nights and early mornings. Trust me.

Projected Lineup

Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Nazem Kadri
Jaden Schwartz — Fedor Svechkov — T.J. Hughes
Logan O’Connor — Parker Kelly — Taylor Makar

Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Brett Kulak — Sam Malinski
Josh Manson — Brent Burns

Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood

Tampa Bay Lightning

As mentioned in the intro, the Jon Cooper-led Lightning are cruising into the new season. Tonight marks their 10th game, and they will have a 70% win rate at worst after this evening. Nikita Kucherov is on a hot streak, logging his 1,137th point with Tampa and tying former teammate Steven Stamkos for most points in franchise history.

Andrei Vasilevskiy will get the net for Tampa. The 13-year pro from Tyumen, Russia, has allowed 12 goals on 121 shots in his last 5 starts. Vassy has a 7-5-1 record against the Avalanche, allowing 35 goals in 13 matchups.

Jon Cooper confirmed that forward Anthony Cirelli will return to the lineup, bolstering the Lightning’s top six.

Projected Lineup

Brandon Hagel — Anthony Cirelli — Nikita Kucherov
Gage Goncalves — Brayden Point — Jake Guentzel
Ilya Mikheyev — Zemgus Girgensons — Pontus Holmberg
Jeffrey Viel — Conor Geekie — Scott Sabourin

J.J. Moser — John Carlson
Ryan McDonagh — Erik Cernak
Victor Hedman — Emil Lilleberg

Andrei Vasilevskiy
Dennis Hildeby

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