Out East, the Avs had some battles last year and look to rebound this year.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Florida Panthers
The last time the Avs and Panthers faced off, it was a bloodbath. The Panthers pounced on a Colorado team in the middle of a winless streak last February, winning 4-0 in South Florida.
Of course, Florida went on to win its first Stanley Cup in franchise history in seven games over the Edmonton Oilers. Looking at a cup defense for the first time ever, the Panthers will do so without Kyle Okposo, who announced his retirement.
They also lost Ryan Lomberg, Oliver Ekman-Larsson, and Brandon Montour. But, they managed to sign Sam Reinhart long-term to an eight-year deal. With all the changes and coming off of a cup high, they’ll face the Avs on November 23 in Florida and January 6 in Denver.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Boston Bruins
The Bruins beat the brakes off the Avalanche last time out. It came on January 18 in Bean Town, where Boston won 5-2. The B’s got old friend Nikita Zadorov on their books now, looking to play a role as a big man on defense. The same can be said about Riley Tufte, the former Colorado Eagles forward.
Their big signing, however, was Elias Lindholm on a seven-year deal. Predicted to pair up with David Pastrnak, they will be a duo to watch for when these two play. Those games will come on October 16 in Denver and January 25 in an afternoon showdown in Boston.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto came into Denver on February 24 and managed to sneak out a 3-2 win the last time these two played. Of course, it’s always must-watch TV whenever Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner come up against Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen.
But of course, Toronto has bigger fish to fry out East first after losing in Game 7 in overtime against the aforementioned Bruins – again. They’ve brought in Ekman-Larsson from the Panthers, signed Chris Tanev, and have Max Pacioretty on a camp invite too.
Will those guys make a difference? Who knows – they have four points up for grabs against the Avs on March 8 in the Mile High City, and March 19 in Toronto.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Tampa Bay Lightning
The 2022 Stanley Cup Final rematch went in favor of the losers of the series – with Tampa Bay winning convincingly 6-3. At the time, it was the fifth loss in six games right out of the All-Star break last season.
However, this Lightning team is far from what they once were when they made it to three straight Stanley Cup Finals. This is mostly due to losing their captain, Steven Stamkos to the Nashville Predators. While they re-signed Victor Hedman, they may be taking a step back this season. We’ll see how they fare against the Avs on October 30 at Ball Arena and on November 25 at Amalie Arena.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Detroit Red Wings
Colorado got the best of their old-time rivals, demolishing the Red Wings in a 7-2 showing. It was right after the trade deadline last season, and a stretch where the Avs won nine games in a row.
While the rivalry is nowhere near the same, at least it’s more competitive than it has been in years past. Detroit missed the postseason by virtue of a tiebreaker. With Moritz Seider and Lucas Raymond signed to new deals and new faces such as Vladimir Tarasenko and Cam Talbot, they have more to push for.
They’ll go through the Avs twice as do the rest of the teams out East. Those games will occur on December 7 in the Motor City, and March 25 in Denver.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Buffalo Sabres
Buffalo’s last visit to Ball Arena was Erik Johnson’s first game back in Denver after leaving the Avs. Sadly for EJ and the Sabres, it was a heartbreaking 5-1 loss at the hands of a dominant Avalanche team.
While EJ is no longer with Buffalo, they also lost Casey Mittelstadt to the Avs. In return, they gained Sam Lafferty and old friend Nicolaus Aube-Kubel. They also signed James Reimer with goaltender Dustin Tokarski hitting the market. Colorado will visit Buffalo on December 3 at the newly-renovated KeyBank Center and start 2025 in Denver on January 2.
Colorado Avalanche vs. Ottawa Senators
The Avs and Senators have had some wild games recently, having combined for 60 goals in their previous six matchups. Most recently, it was a 7-4 win for the Avalanche on January 16 in Denver.
Ottawa’s big splash move of the offseason was getting Linus Ullmark from the Boston Bruins in exchange for Joonas Korpisalo to improve in the crease. Outside of that, they also lost Parker Kelly and Erik Brannstrom – both now with the Avs – with the only big-name signee being Nick Cousins.
But, the Sens look to finally get a new arena in Ottawa closer to the city. Nonetheless, the Avs will go to Kanata on March 20 and host the Sens on October 27.
Coloardo Avalanche vs. Montreal Canadiens
Last, but not least, the Habs were the ones who played spoilers and snapped a nine-game win streak for the Avs with a 2-1 win in Denver on March 26. In fact, they won both games against Colorado last season by one goal, the first game in Montreal by the score of 4-3.
Montreal didn’t make many moves this offseason, but the one they did make was big. Patrik Laine looks for a reset with the Habs in a nice deal made with the Columbus Blue Jackets. Plus, Juraj Slafkovsky signed a new eight-year contract to keep him under Montreal’s wing.
Both games with the Habs will occur in 2025. January 4 will be in Denver, and on March 22 the two will play at the Bell Centre.