The Devils vs Avalanche preview for Wednesday centers on a quick rematch, with New Jersey (7-4-0) visiting Colorado (6-5-1) at Ball Arena just eight days after the Devils beat the Avalanche 4-3 on Oct. 20. New Jersey already leads the season series 1-0, and both teams enter on uneven stretches that make this meeting a measuring stick early in the 2026-27 season.
Devils Vs Avalanche Game Information
- Date: Wednesday, Oct. 28
- Time: 9 p.m. ET
- Venue: Ball Arena, Denver, CO
- TV/Streaming: ESPN+, MSGSN, Altitude Sports
New Jersey Devils Outlook
New Jersey has won four of its last five games, including a 7-1 rout of the New York Rangers and back-to-back wins over the Anaheim Ducks and Los Angeles Kings. The Devils’ only loss in that stretch came against the Washington Capitals, 4-2, a game recapped in a previous Total Apex Sports report.
The Devils sit third in the Metropolitan Division at 14 points, trailing only Carolina and the Rangers. Their 51.3% faceoff rate leads this matchup and has helped limit opponent shot volume, with New Jersey allowing just 263 shots against compared to 342 for Colorado. Forward Arseny Gritsyuk leads the team with six goals, while center Jack Hughes paces New Jersey with nine assists and 12 points.
Jake Allen is the projected starting goalie for New Jersey. Defenseman Seamus Casey remains on injured reserve with a knee injury and is not expected back until Nov. 21.
Colorado Avalanche Outlook
Colorado has alternated wins and losses over its last five games, beating Pittsburgh 5-2 and Tampa Bay 6-3 but dropping decisions to Philadelphia, New Jersey and Nashville, the last a 6-2 defeat on Oct. 26. The Avalanche sit fourth in the Central Division with 13 points.
Despite the mixed results, Colorado’s offense has produced 49 goals on 351 shots, a 14.0% shooting rate that outpaces New Jersey’s mark. Nathan MacKinnon leads the team and the matchup in points with 21, built on a league-high 14 assists among the listed leaders, while Artturi Lehkonen tops Colorado with 10 goals. Mackenzie Blackwood is projected to start in net for Colorado, a continuation of the goaltending workload the Avalanche have leaned on through 12 games. Left wing Zachary L’Heureux remains on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, with a return targeted for Nov. 7.
Key Matchup
Colorado’s offense against New Jersey’s goaltending and faceoff edge shapes up as the decisive factor. The Avalanche have scored 49 goals to New Jersey’s 36 and shoot at a 14.0% clip, but Jake Allen’s unit has held opponents to a 2.91 goals-against average, the better of the two marks in this preview. New Jersey’s 51.3% faceoff rate, against Colorado’s 46.4%, gives the Devils a path to limiting offensive-zone possession time for MacKinnon’s line. If New Jersey wins the special-teams and faceoff battles the way it did in the Oct. 20 meeting, it can again blunt a Colorado attack that has produced 138 total points this season.
What To Watch
A Devils win would complete a season-series sweep of Colorado and extend New Jersey’s position near the top of the Metropolitan Division standings. For the Avalanche, a win would snap a pattern of alternating results and help stabilize their spot in a tightly packed Central Division, where Colorado trails Minnesota by five points. New Jersey continues divisional play after this trip, having also faced Washington recently in a matchup detailed in a Total Apex Sports preview. Colorado, meanwhile, is coming off a stretch that included a matchup against Tampa Bay covered in a Total Apex Sports preview of that game.
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