In the second installment of their Heritage Series, the Colorado Avalanche—resplendent in their Quebec Nordiques throwback sweaters—are set to confront the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. This elegant homage to Quebec’s storied provincial rivalry marks the opening chapter of their two-game regular-season slate, with the rematch scheduled for January 29 in Montreal. 

Both teams enter this matchup on the second half of a back-to-back, though with markedly different momentum. Montréal prevailed in its opener, dispatching the Vegas Golden Knights 4–1 on Friday behind two-point performances from Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovský, and Zachary Bolduc. Colorado, by contrast, saw its 10-game winning streak dissolve in a 3–2 shootout loss to Minnesota. Nathan MacKinnon and Gabe Landeskog scored for the Avs. Even so, as December approaches, the Avalanche remain an imposing force with only a single regulation loss on the season.

Colorado Avalanche 

MacKinnon presently commands two of the league’s three major scoring categories, boasting 19 goals and 41 points. His 22 assists place him in a distinguished tie for second, trailing only Connor McDavid’s 24. It is worth noting that the NHL’s so-called “Triple Crown” — finishing a season as the league leader in goals, assists, and points — has not been achieved since Mario Lemieux accomplished the feat in 1996. In fact, only five players in the sport’s storied history have managed it: Howie Morenz, Gordie Howe, Phil Esposito, Wayne Gretzky, and Lemieux himself. Beyond MacKinnon’s individual brilliance, his supporting cast has been equally formidable. Martin Nečas, with 30 points, and Artturi Lehkonen, with 21, have established themselves as essential catalysts on his line, elevating Colorado’s attack with steady, intelligent play. On the back end, Cale Makar continues to redefine what it means to be a modern defenseman, leading all blueliners with 30 points while his closest challenger, Josh Morrissey at 23, remains well behind him in the race. 

Projected Lineup 

Forwards: 

Artturi Lehkonen - Nathan MacKinnon - Martin Nečas 

Gabe Landeskog - Brock Nelson - Ross Colton 

Parker Kelly - Jack Drury - Victor Olofsson 

Joel Kiviranta - Zakhar Bardakov - Ivan Ivan 

Defense: 

Cale Makar - Devon Toews 

Josh Manson - Brent Burns 

Sam Girard - Sam Malinski 

Goaltenders: 

Mackenzie Blackwood 

Scott Wedgewood 

Keep an eye out on Samuel Girard, though. He hasn’t been at his best since returning from an upper-body injury, so we’ll see if that allows for Ilya Solovyov to slide into his spot. But we’ll see. 

Montreal Canadiens 

Montréal has prevailed in three of its last four meetings with Colorado, most recently securing a home-ice triumph on January 4 in a tightly contested 2–1 shootout triumph. 

The Canadiens, as previously stated, are coming off a win, but the month of November as a whole hasn’t exactly been kind to them. They lost seven of eight games before going on their current three-game winning streak. It hasn’t exactly been due to a lack of effort, they’ve also been dealing with a number of injuries. Former Avalanche center Alex Newhook underwent surgery for a fractured ankle suffered against Dallas on November 13 and is expected to miss four months. He had opened the season well, posting six goals and six assists. Montréal will also be without center Kirby Dach, who is sidelined four to six weeks with a fractured foot. That loss is significant for the Canadiens, as Dach had been contributing consistently early in the year and had scored several key goals. 

On the back end, Kaiden Guhle required surgery for a partially torn adductor and could miss as much as 10 weeks. Patrik Laine, recovering from late-October core-muscle surgery, is expected to be out three to four months. 

These absences have disrupted what had been a promising start for Montréal, a team aiming to build on last year’s 40-31-7 breakthrough and its first playoff appearance since 2021. 

Projected Lineup 

Forwards: 

Cole Caufield - Nick Suzuki - Zack Bolduc 

Juraj Slafkovský - Oliver Kapanen - Ivan Demidov 

Alexandre Texier - Jake Evans - Josh Anderson 

Florian Xhekaj - Joe Veleno - Brendan Gallagher 

Defense: 

Mike Matheson - Noah Dobson 

Jayden Struble - Lane Hutson 

Arber Xhekaj - Alexandre Carrier 

Goalies: 

Jakub Dobeš 

Sam Montembeault 

The Game 

It’s a Saturday matinee. Coverage of Canadiens vs. Avalanche starts at 1 p.m. from Ball Arena.  

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