Final
STL at COL game report
Saturday, October 3, 2026 · 7:00 p.m. MT · Ball Arena
Avalanche beat the Blues 6–1 and earned it, out-chancing them 3.3–2.0 in expected goals and 11–6 in high-danger chances.
Team comparison
- 6Goals1
- 3.25Expected goals1.99
- 2.665-on-5 expected goals1.79
- 11High-danger chances6
- 36Shots on goal26
- 66Shot attempts55
- 555-on-5 shot attempts50
- 9:35Power-play time4:07
5-on-5 shares for COL: 52.4% of shot attempts, 59.7% of expected goals.
Expected goals through the game
Each step is a shot; the bigger the step, the better the chance. A goal on a small step was a low-percentage finish.
Shot map
By strength
| COL at… | Time | Attempts | xG | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 on 5 | 46:18 | 55–50 | 2.66–1.79 | 6–1 |
| Power play | 9:35 | 11–4 | 0.59–0.20 | 0–0 |
| Shorthanded | 4:07 | 0–1 | 0.00–0.00 | 0–0 |
| Other (4 on 4, 3 on 3, empty net) | 0:00 | 0–0 | 0.00–0.00 | 0–0 |
Read pairs as COL–STL. “Power play” means COL had the extra skater.
Goaltending
| Goalie | Saves | SV% | xGA | GSAx |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jordan Binnington STL | 30/36 | .833 | 3.25 | -2.75 |
| Mackenzie Blackwood COL | 25/26 | .962 | 1.99 | +0.99 |
GSAx above zero means the goalie stopped more than an average goalie would have, given the shots faced.
Player ratings
Out of 10, from each player's Game Score (goals, assists, shots, blocks, penalties, faceoffs and 5-on-5 shot and goal differential while on the ice) compared with every NHL game of the last two seasons. 6 is above average, 7 very good, 8 excellent. Goalies are rated on goals saved above expected. ★ = top three of the night. How ratings work
Average ratingAvalanche6.8Blues5.2
| ★Top three of the night: Martin NecasFCOL | 9.2 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 19:21 | 46.4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ★Top three of the night: Nathan MacKinnonFCOL | 9.0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 18:16 | 52.9 |
| ★Top three of the night: Josh MansonDCOL | 8.7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16:36 | 57.5 |
| Parker KellyFCOL | 8.5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 15:31 | 66.7 |
| Nicolas RoyFCOL | 8.1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 12:53 | 57.1 |
| Artturi LehkonenFCOL | 7.7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 19:26 | 39.3 |
| Cale MakarDCOL | 7.4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 20:04 | 57.1 |
| Fedor SvechkovFCOL | 6.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15:05 | 66.7 |
| Mackenzie BlackwoodGCOL | 6.6 | 0 | 0 | — | 60:00 | — |
| Gabriel LandeskogFCOL | 6.4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14:35 | 41.2 |
| T.J. HughesFCOL | 6.4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 19:56 | 58.1 |
| Connor McMichaelFSTL | 6.3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15:19 | 66.7 |
| Sam MalinskiDCOL | 6.2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 15:37 | 40.6 |
| Brent BurnsDCOL | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 13:10 | 67.6 |
| Pavel BuchnevichFSTL | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15:43 | 60.0 |
| Jaden SchwartzFCOL | 6.1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 14:14 | 59.3 |
| Dalibor DvorskyFSTL | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 12:17 | 40.0 |
| Mason McTavishFSTL | 6.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14:57 | 53.8 |
| Devon ToewsDCOL | 5.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18:55 | 53.8 |
| Brandon CarloDSTL | 5.8 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 17:36 | 53.1 |
| Theo LindsteinDSTL | 5.8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 14:26 | 42.1 |
| Cam FowlerDSTL | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 23:24 | 50.0 |
| Colton ParaykoDSTL | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 20:45 | 58.6 |
| Nazem KadriFCOL | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 18:27 | 34.5 |
| Noah JuulsenDCOL | 5.3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 10:55 | 44.4 |
| Philip BrobergDSTL | 5.2 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20:16 | 59.4 |
| Brock NelsonFCOL | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 16:11 | 37.5 |
| Jimmy SnuggerudFSTL | 5.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 14:51 | 54.3 |
| Brett KulakDCOL | 5.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:48 | 40.6 |
| Jake NeighboursFSTL | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13:43 | 37.5 |
| Pius SuterFSTL | 4.8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:14 | 44.4 |
| Robert ThomasFSTL | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 16:30 | 48.4 |
| Dylan HollowayFSTL | 4.7 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 15:35 | 45.2 |
| Dillon DubeFSTL | 4.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13:16 | 41.2 |
| Zach DeanFSTL | 4.6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12:37 | 47.8 |
| Jordan BinningtonGSTL | 4.5 | 0 | 0 | — | 60:00 | — |
| Jonatan BerggrenFSTL | 4.4 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 14:48 | 33.3 |
| Adam JiricekDSTL | 4.1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 19:43 | 30.0 |
Lines used
Each team's most-used forward lines and defence pairs at 5 on 5, from the NHL's shift charts · time together · shot attempts for–against · expected goals for–against
Avalanche
Forward lines
- Lehkonen – MacKinnon – Necas10:46 · 9–14 · xG 0.5–0.4
- Kadri – Nelson – Landeskog7:04 · 3–9 · xG 0.2–0.3
- Schwartz – Svechkov – Hughes4:40 · 10–2 · xG 0.3–0.0
Defence pairs
- Toews – Makar8:39 · 11–9 · xG 0.5–0.1
- Burns – Manson6:43 · 16–6 · xG 0.7–0.2
- Kulak – Malinski5:01 · 7–8 · xG 0.3–0.3
Blues
Forward lines
- Dube – Suter – Dean10:26 · 6–10 · xG 0.1–0.5
- Thomas – Holloway – Snuggerud9:16 · 10–10 · xG 0.5–0.4
- Buchnevich – McMichael – McTavish7:26 · 9–5 · xG 0.2–0.2
- Berggren – Neighbours – Dvorsky6:33 · 6–11 · xG 0.3–0.6
Defence pairs
- Parayko – Broberg12:28 · 12–10 · xG 0.2–0.7
- Fowler – Jiricek11:30 · 9–19 · xG 0.2–0.4
- Carlo – Lindstein8:26 · 9–15 · xG 0.4–0.8
Three stars
- ★M. NecasCOL · 2G 1A
- ★★N. MacKinnonCOL · 0G 3A
- ★★★A. LehkonenCOL · 1G 1A
Scoring
Period 1
- 04:09COL C. Makar (from M. Necas, N. MacKinnon)0–1
- 13:12COL M. Necas (from N. MacKinnon, A. Lehkonen)0–2
Period 2
- 05:38COL J. Manson (from N. Roy, P. Kelly)0–3
- 11:40COL A. Lehkonen0–4
- 18:02COL N. Roy (from P. Kelly, J. Manson)0–5
- 18:25COL M. Necas (from G. Landeskog, N. MacKinnon)0–6
Period 3
- 02:34STL D. Dvorsky (from T. Lindstein)1–6