TLDR: Colorado has hung 6 or more on 3 of its first 4 opponents, and on Saturday, October 10, Ball Arena gets Auston Matthews, a Toronto team that already climbed out of a 3-goal hole, and the No. 1 overall pick. Early-season hockey doesn't get much louder than this.
Colorado, 3-1-0 with 6 or more goals in 3 of its 4 games, hosts a Toronto team that split a 1-goal loss to Ottawa and an overtime comeback against Nashville. The game likely comes down to whether Toronto's defense and its still-unsettled goaltending can slow MacKinnon and Makar, or whether Matthews, Nylander and rookie Gavin McKenna can keep pace in a high-scoring game. No betting markets are open for this game yet.
−O'Connor's status uncertain after his father's passing
−Merkulov and Miner on injured reserve
−Lost 3-2 in Winnipeg, the one low-scoring game
Start with Colorado's offense, because that's the story of its first 4 games. The Avalanche put up 8 on the Kings and 6 on the Blues at home. After a 3-2 loss in Winnipeg, they went into Calgary on the back end of a back-to-back and won 7-3. Cale Makar and Nathan MacKinnon had 3 points apiece in that one, Devon Toews and Jaden Schwartz scored 2 each, and Scott Wedgewood made 26 saves in his first start of the year. A 1-1 game after the 1st turned into a 3-0 Avalanche 2nd period, and the Flames never got back in it.
Toronto's week has been a lot more chaotic. The Leafs lost their opener to Ottawa 3-2 on a Stephen Halliday goal in the 3rd, with Matthews and Kirill Marchenko scoring for Toronto. Then they fell behind Nashville by 3 and came all the way back, winning 5-4 when Matthews scored with 14 seconds left in overtime. He also had 3 assists in that game. Sergei Bobrovsky started 1 of those games and Anthony Stolarz the other, so it's still open which goalie Toronto sends out in Denver.
The headliner on the Toronto side might not be Matthews. Gavin McKenna, the No. 1 overall pick, scored his first NHL goal in the Nashville comeback, and William Nylander, John Tavares and Jack Roslovic also scored. That's plenty of skill up front. The concern is the other end: Toronto gave up 4 to the Predators and needed a late rally to cover for it. Giving up 4 against Colorado is how you lose by 3.
For Colorado the question is health and depth, not scoring. Logan O'Connor sat out the Calgary game after the sudden passing of his father, Myles, and he's also listed with a lower-body issue, so his status for Saturday is unclear. Georgii Merkulov and goalie Trent Miner are both on injured reserve. None of those names drives the top of the lineup, but O'Connor is a regular in the bottom-6, and those minutes have to go somewhere.
Puck drop is 5:00 PM MT. Colorado gets a day off after the Calgary back-to-back and comes home to Ball Arena, where it has scored 14 goals in 2 games. Toronto's 2 games so far have been decided by 1 goal each. If the Leafs can keep this tight into the 3rd, Matthews has already shown he can win it late. If it turns into a track meet, that suits the Avalanche.
Toronto Maple Leafs at Colorado Avalanche — Maple Leafs Bring McKenna and Matthews Into Denver's Scoring Machine | Polymarket Odds · Barstool Bush
