3 Takeaways From the Avalanche’s 4-3 Loss to the Senators

Things have been very un-Avalanche-like for the Colorado Avalanche this season. Prior to a 6-3 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs, they were staring down a two-game losing streak and a position on the edge of the Western Conference playoff picture.

In a game that felt like they had it late, the Avalanche experienced as much adversity in one night as they have this season. They managed a point but ultimately fell in overtime 4-3 to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday.

A Major Cause for Concern

The biggest takeaway from this game is that the Avalanche’s two biggest stars went down in the second period. Nathan MacKinnon went down to his knees, appearing to favor his hip after a battle along the boards with Ottawa’s Artem Zub.

Perhaps more concerning is the injury to Cale Makar. Makar pulled up lame without being touched, favoring his leg. It is speculated that Makar injured his leg while making a block against the Detroit Red Wings a few games ago and it just caught up to him.

MacKinnon has been durable and Makar has had his battles with injury before, but losing both at once is a major concern. If they can come back within the next few games, all should be okay, but Avalanche fans will be waiting with bated breath until their prognoses come out.

A Very Good Night for the Power Play

Avalanche special teams have been confounding. What was once the best penalty kill in the league has mired near the bottom of the rankings. The power play has had its noted issues in the past, especially with so much talent at its disposal.

Against the Senators on Thursday, the power play had its best night in a while. In five chances, they connected twice and puck movement looked better than it has in quite a while.

Artturi Lehkonen continues to score at a torrid pace, racking up his 14^th on a nifty pass into the slot from Nazem Kadri. Gabriel Landeskog scored a similar goal, posted up in the slot, receiving a nifty pass into traffic from Brock Nelson. They seem to have found a formula where they work along the wall and spread out the defenders until there is space in the slot for a premium chance.

Scott Wedgewood Has Come Back to Earth

Since coming over in a trade with the Nashville Predators during the 2024-25 season, Scott Wedgewood has been excellent for the Avalanche. In fact, he had a career season in 2025-26, winning a career-high 31 games on his way to an incredible 31-6-6 record.

With the Avalanche putting the reins fully in Mackenzie Blackwood’s hands, Wedgewood has fallen back to Earth. Some of it could be attributed to inconsistent play, but he’s largely been a backup throughout his career, so this isn’t new territory.

Wedgewood was done no favors on a couple of Ottawa’s goals, but the first one was about as bad as it gets. Stats don’t always tell the tale, but his 3.99 goals against average and .863 save percentage tell more than enough.

Wait and See

There is never a good time to lose your two best players, but this is about as inopportune a time as possible. The Avalanche have the Montreal Canadiens (twice), Utah Mammoth, Anaheim Ducks, and Minnesota Wild over their next five games.

Without MacKinnon and Makar, that’s a steep ask. The Avalanche are third in the Central Division but could fall fast with that schedule. This is going to test the mettle of this group and, hopefully, the two stars won’t be out long.