Aarif Deen
On Thursday, the Colorado Avalanche joined the rest of the NHL in unveiling their 2026-27 regular-season schedule.
Earlier, I highlighted the marquee dates, including former players returning to Denver, the first meeting with the Vegas Golden Knights, the Winter Classic, and more. You can check that out below.
But there are plenty of other schedule quirks worth noting.
Back-to-backs: Colorado has 10 back-to-backs this season, beginning with a home-and-home against the Dallas Stars on Oct. 13-14. Six of those 10 sets are entirely on the road.
Day games: The Avalanche are scheduled for 12 matinee games, six fewer than the franchise-record 18 they played last season. Seven of those afternoon contests will be at Ball Arena. Colorado has been the best team in the NHL in matinee games dating back to the start of the 2019-20 season.
Longest breaks: Colorado’s three longest breaks come in November, December, and February.
The holiday pause takes up one of those. After hosting a game on Dec. 20, the Avalanche won’t play again until Dec. 27.
The February break coincides with the All-Star Game. Colorado plays its final game before the pause on Jan. 31 and doesn’t return until Feb. 9, when it visits the Stanley Cup champion Carolina Hurricanes.
November also features an unusually light stretch. After playing in Montreal on Nov. 14, the Avalanche have just two games over the next 10 days — a back-to-back on Nov. 18 and 19. They’ll have three days off before that and a whopping five days off after the game on the 19th. That leads directly into a stretch of three games in four nights around the off-day on Thanksgiving Thursday.
Longest homestand: Colorado’s longest homestand is five games, and it happens twice. The first runs from Dec. 12-20 before the holiday break, while the second comes March 9-17.
Longest road trip: The Avalanche’s longest trip away from Ball Arena is a five-game swing from Dec. 1-8.
Home-and-home series: After playing consecutive home-and-home sets against Detroit and New Jersey last season, Colorado has four this year. Each begins on the road before shifting back to Ball Arena in the second leg.
Two come against Dallas. The first is the Oct. 13-14 back-to-back, followed by another set with games in Dallas on Jan. 22 and Denver on Jan. 24. Kudos to the NHL for digging into this rivalry to allow for all four regular-season meetings to be home and homes.
The Avalanche also visit Vegas on Jan. 2 before hosting the Golden Knights on Jan. 4, then travel to Winnipeg on March 25 before welcoming the Jets two days later. The series against Vegas should also be must-watch, as it is the first two meetings between last year’s Western Conference finalists.
Busiest stretch: January is packed.
In fact, the grind begins immediately after the holiday break. Starting Dec. 27, the Avalanche play every other night until the All-Star break in early February.
That stretch includes the New Year’s Eve Winter Classic in Salt Lake City. Colorado hosts a game against Seattle two nights before the outdoor matchup and visits Vegas just two nights afterward. It’ll be the most demanding part of the schedule.