The Colorado Avalanche will face off against the Los Angeles Kings at Ball Arena on Sept. 30 at 8 p.m. to start the 2026-27 season. The teams opened last season at Crypto.com Arena.
It is the first time the Avalanche have opened a season in September, and it will be the first of three games the teams will play each other. Two games will be at Ball Arena and one in LA. The Avs swept the Kings in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season. They also swept them in the regular season with two wins on the road and one at home.
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On Thursday, the NHL released full schedules with Colorado set to play 28 games against Central Division rivals. The Avs will face the Chicago Blackhawks, Dallas Stars, Minnesota Wild, Nashville Predators, St. Louis Blues, Utah Mammoth and Winnipeg Jets four times each this season.
The Avs will have 10 back-to-back sets of games this season.
What the Avalanche’s opening night lineup could be
The Avalanche made moves around the NHL Entry Draft and free agency opening, sending Ross Colton and Jack Drury to the Predators and Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Jaden Schwartz (signed as a free agent to a three-year contract) is expected to slide into the second-line position, while Zachary L’Heureux and Fedor Svechkov will fill in the fourth line.
Barring any major moves from now until the season opener, the projected opening night lineup is as listed below:
Forwards
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Jaden Schwartz — Brock Nelson — Gabriel Landeskog
Parker Kelly — Nazem Kadri — Nicolas Roy
Zachary L’Heureux — Fedor Svechkov — Logan O’Connor
Defense
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Brett Kulak — Sam Malinski
Josh Manson — Brent Burns
Goaltending
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
