The Eastern Canadian road trip continues for the Colorado Avalanche. They take on the Ottawa Senators Wednesday night in the first leg of a back-to-back.
Colorado and Ottawa look to up the ante again after their first game in Ball Arena this season. The Avs took the first game back on January 8 by the score of 8β2.
Colorado Avalanche (35β6β9, 79 pts)
The Avs had a solid get-right game with a good win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday afternoon. Brock Nelson exploded for his first hat trick in burgundy and blue to continue his hot streak.
Don’t know who needs to see this but Brock Nelson since Nov. 29:
26 games
21 goals
1st in the League in goals per gameWhat a player he’s been for the @Avalanche π₯ pic.twitter.com/Uoz2kGnmwL
β NHL (@NHL) January 25, 2026
Jack Drury tacked on the scoring as well, just over a year since his arrival in Denver. Mackenzie Blackwood, who had some struggles in the season-long seven-game home stand, was also solid.
His counterpart, Scott Wedgewood, has joined the team on the road trip and could get the nod in this second leg of the back-to-back. While Devon Toews and Gabriel Landeskog aren’t ready to return yet, Ross Colton could return to action. Keaton Middleton got called up from the Colorado Eagles and will slot in on the blue line as Colorado eyes eclipsing 80 points.
Keaton Middleton has been recalled from the Colorado Eagles to the Avs. This would be his first call-up of the season (played 41 NHL games last season). So far this season he has 2 goals, 7 assists and only 25 PIMS in 39 games played for the Eagles. #Avs #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/qtLfWwj34L
— Hockey Mountain High (@HockeyMtnHighCO) January 27, 2026
Projected Lines
Victor Olofsson β Nathan MacKinnon β Martin Necas
Artturi Lehkonen β Brock Nelson β Valeri Nichushkin
Taylor Makar β Jack Drury β Gavin Brindley
Zakhar Bardakov β Parker Kelly β Joel Kiviranta
Samuel Girard β Cale Makar
Josh Manson β Brent Burns
Sam Malinski β Keaton Middleton
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Ottawa Senators (24-21-7, 55 pts)
The Senators snapped a short two-game losing streak with a massive win of their own on Sunday. It came over the Vegas Golden Knights in a 7β1 final.
However, don’t let the over .500 record fool you. Ottawa is second-to-last in the Eastern Conference and last in the Atlantic Division. The gap has separated a bit in the East, as they currently sit 10 points back of a postseason spot.
An average of 4β4β2 in their last 10 games will need to be improved if they have any shot of making it to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second year in a row. With tons of turmoil around the side, theyβll look to go toe-to-toe with the best team in the league to get a second straight win.
Projected Lines
Drake Batherson β Tim Stutzle β Claude Giroux
Brady Tkachuk β Dylan Cozens β Ridly Greig
Nick Cousins β Shane Pinto β Michael Amadio
Xavier Bourgault β Lars Eller β Fabian Zetterlund
Jake Sanderson β Artem Zub
Thomas Chabot β Nick Jensen
Tyler Kleven β Jordan Spence
James Reimer
Linus Ullmark
Game Details
Time: 5:30 p.m. MT
Watch: Altitude, Altitude+, SN (OTT), TVAS (OTT), ESPN+ (Out of Market Only)
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM/AM 950