Thursday night will be the home opener for the Colorado Avalanche in a building rivalry with the Utah Mammoth. The Avalanche own a 31–10–4 record in franchise history during their home openers. Thursday will mark the 30th home opener in Avalanche history since their move in from Quebec in 1995. This will also mark the return of Gabriel Landeskog for his first regular season game since March 5, 2022 (1,312 days).
Colorado Avalanche (1–0–0)
The Avalanche are coming off a fantastic opening night 4–1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday night. In a game that saw Martin Necas score two goals, the Avalanche put up three goals in the second period. With two assists, Nathan MacKinnon also passed Joe Sakic for all-time points in Colorado Avalanche history. He is now up to 1,017 total points in his career as an Avalanche. Fans can once again expect Scott Wedgewood to be in the net for the Avalanche. He posted a .960 save percentage on Tuesday as he is starting in place of Mackenzie Blackwood, who is out with an injury.
Call it a connection. pic.twitter.com/MNaVIW58c5
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) October 8, 2025
Projected Lines
Artturi Lehkonen — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Gabriel Landeskog — Brock Nelson — Valeri Nichushkin
Ross Colton — Jack Drury — Victor Olofsson
Joel Kiviranta — Parker Kelly — Gavin Brindley
Devon Toews — Cale Makar
Samuel Girard — Josh Manson
Sam Malinski — Brent Burns
Scott Wedgewood
Trent Miner
Utah Mammoth (0–0–0)
The Utah Mammoth will play their first game in franchise history with the new name on Thursday. Many experts believe the Mammoth could make a run for the playoffs this season with the moves they made during the offseason. In a trade with the Buffalo Sabres, the team added JJ Peterka to the roster over the summer, increasing offensive capabilities. The biggest challenge for the Avalanche will be goaltender Karel Vejmelka. He has worked his way up through the AHL and earned a starting spot in Utah with a .904 save percentage and 2.58 goals allowed average last season.
Projected Lines
Appreciate the footwork and focus from Karel Vejmelka on this lengthy PK sequence. pic.twitter.com/Ic0gCIkaOh
— The Goalie Guild (@TheGoalieGuild) October 21, 2023
Dylan Guenther — Logan Cooley — JJ Peterka
Clayton Keller — Jack McBain — Nick Schmaltz
Lawson Crouse — Barrett Hayton — Kailer Yamamoto
Brandon Tanev — Kevin Stenlund — Michael Carcone
Mikhail Sergachev — John Marino
Nate Schmidt — Sean Durzi
Ian Cole — Dmitri Simashev
Karel Vejmelka
Vitek Vanecek
Game Details
Time: 7 p.m. MT
Watch: Altitude Sports
Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM
