If NHL 26 has any say in the matter — and Avalanche fans should hope it doesn’t — the Colorado Avalanche are in for a frustrating night in Seattle. A simulation of Thursday’s matchup projects a 4–2 loss to the Seattle Kraken, a result Avalanche supporters will be perfectly happy to see proven wrong once the real puck drops.

You can watch the full simulation here.

Goals from Nazem Kadri and Gavin Brindley accounted for Colorado’s offense, while Mackenzie Blackwood finished with 17 saves.

Seattle received goals from Frederick Gaudreau, Kaapo Kakko, Jordan Eberle and Jared McCann. Adam Larsson, Chandler Stephenson and Matty Beniers each recorded two points, while Philipp Grubauer turned aside 29 shots.

Seattle wasted no time setting the tone.

Just 27 seconds into the opening frame, McCann deflected a Larsson point shot past Blackwood to give the Kraken an immediate 1–0 lead.

The early pressure continued. A little more than four minutes later, Kakko doubled the advantage when a relatively harmless shot from the slot slipped past Blackwood, who appeared to misplay the puck as it slid over the goal line to make it 2–0.

Colorado responded midway through the period. After Nicolas Roy poked the puck free from Jacob Melanson behind the net, he quickly fed Brindley in the slot. The rookie made no mistake, snapping a shot past Grubauer to cut the deficit to one.

After 20 minutes, Seattle held a 2–1 lead, though Colorado carried a slight 9–8 edge in shots.

Trouble began early in the middle frame.

Less than two minutes in, Nathan MacKinnon was sent off for holding Vince Dunn, forcing Colorado onto its first penalty kill of the night. The Avalanche successfully killed that penalty, but moments later Roy was called for interference after colliding with Dunn, giving Seattle another opportunity with the man advantage.

This time, the Kraken capitalized.

Eberle redirected a shot past Blackwood on the power play, pushing the lead to 3–1.

The Avalanche netminder’s difficult stretch continued shortly after. Gaudreau fired a shot that appeared to glance off Blackwood’s glove before trickling across the line, extending Seattle’s lead to 4–1.

Colorado was handed its first power play of the night when Stephenson was penalized for holding Brock Nelson. The opportunity, however, failed to generate much momentum. Sloppy puck management limited Colorado to just a single shot on goal.

By the end of the period, the Avalanche faced a three-goal deficit heading into the third.

Colorado caught a fortunate break early in the final frame.

Kadri was credited with a goal after a bizarre sequence in front of the net. His wrist shot from the top of the right circle deflected off Grubauer’s glove, and when Beniers attempted to clear the loose puck, he inadvertently knocked it into his own net, trimming the deficit to 4–2.

The comeback hopes didn’t gain much traction afterward.

Later in the period, Martin Necas was penalized for holding, sending Seattle back to the power play and further eating into Colorado’s remaining time.

Then came perhaps the most “video game” moment of the night.

Just past the midway point of the period, MacKinnon delivered a cross-check to Ryan Lindgren. In a moment that perfectly summarized the quirks of the Frostbite engine, MacKinnon’s stick somehow appeared to pass directly through Lindgren’s chest.

Naturally, the officials assessed a penalty.

Two minutes for cross-checking… and possibly an additional game misconduct for manslaughter?

EA… come on, man.

Colorado pulled Blackwood for the extra attacker in the final minute, but despite a few late opportunities, the Avalanche couldn’t close the gap. The simulation ended with a 4–2 Seattle victory.

Thankfully for Colorado, this was only a video game.

Real life, as always, has the final say.