Drury scored an empty-net goal on three shots in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Predators.
Drury tallied with 51 seconds left in the game to produce the final score. He had posted just one assist over his last five outings. The 25-year-old has been the Avalanche's third-line center for much of the year, racking up four goals, nine points, 29 shots on net, 17 blocked shots and a plus-6 rating over 21 appearances. He doesn't score enough to help in standard fantasy formats, but he's on track to exceed the 30-point mark for the first time in his career.
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Avalanche's Brent Burns: Early goal is enough in win
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Burns scored a goal on three shots and went plus-2 in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Predators.
Burns scored an unassisted goal just 15 seconds into the game, and Mackenzie Blackwood made it stand as the game-winner. Over his last 10 outings, Burns has racked up two goals and four assists while seeing top-four minutes and time on the second power-play unit. He's at 11 points, 43 shots on net, 30 blocked shots, 12 PIM and a plus-6 rating through 21 appearances in his age-40 season.
MacKinnon scored an empty-net goal in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Predators.
MacKinnon reclaimed the NHL goals lead for himself with the empty-netter, his 17th goal of the season. He's earned seven goals and 10 assists over his last seven outings. For the season, the superstar center is up to 37 points, 90 shots and a plus-23 rating over 21 appearances. MacKinnon's playing at an MVP level and should be locked into a starting spot in fantasy lineups.
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Avalanche's Mackenzie Blackwood: Locks things down in shutout win
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Blackwood posted a 35-save shutout in Saturday's 3-0 win over the Predators.
The final score was bolstered by two empty-netters -- Blackwood had a one-goal lead for the vast majority of the contest. The Avalanche weren't at their best despite Brent Burns' goal 15 seconds into the game, but Blackwood was sharp. This was the 28-year-old goalie's first shutout of the season, and he's won his last three outings. He's allowed 10 goals on 112 shots through four appearances. Scott Wedgewood has been too good to get pushed into the backup role, but Blackwood now has some momentum to reclaim a larger share of starts. Expect Wedgewood to start in Chicago on Sunday, with his performance in that game potentially dictating the short-term work distribution for the week ahead.
Brindley (lower body) is week-to-week, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports Saturday.
There's no firm timeline for the 21-year-old forward's return, but he will be evaluated further in a few weeks. Tristen Nielsen and Jason Polin are likely to both be in the lineup at least for Saturday's game versus the Predators. The Avalanche have made a lot of adjustments to their depth forwards via roster moves this year, so numerous players from AHL Colorado could be in the mix to help cover Brindley's absence.
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Avalanche's Gavin Brindley: Not on road trip
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Brindley (lower body) didn't accompany Colorado on the team's two-game road trip, Avalanche journalist Collen Flynn reported Friday.
Brindley won't be available for at least Saturday's game against Nashville and Sunday's matchup versus Chicago. However, it's unclear when he will be available to return to the lineup. He has contributed four goals, seven points, 22 shots on net and 19 hits in 18 appearances this season.
Blackwood will guard the visiting goal in Nashville on Saturday, Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette reports.
Blackwood will make only his fourth start of the season, as Scott Wedgewood's outstanding play between the pipes has relegated Blackwood to a backup role. Blackwood is 2-0-1 with a 3.28 GAA and a weak .870 save percentage this season. He could get a break Saturday, as the Predators sit 31st in the NHL this year with 2.40 goals per game.
The Avalanche are in dire need of someone up front, as they have only 11 healthy forwards after Gavin Brindley suffered a lower-body injury against the Rangers on Thursday. Polin had three goals and three assists in 16 AHL games before his recall.
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Avalanche's Martin Necas: Distributes three assists in win
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Necas logged three assists, three shots on goal and a plus-3 rating in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Rangers.
Necas has four goals and six assists during his five-game point streak. He had a hand in two goals by Nathan MacKinnon and one by Cale Makar in this contest. Necas is up to 13 goals, 28 points, 45 shots on net, 22 hits, 14 PIM and a plus-19 rating over 20 outings this season, matching his point total from a 30-game sample following his trade from the Hurricanes last year. It would be another sizable leap to see Necas become a 100-point player this year after his gains in 2024-25, but playing alongside MacKinnon has its benefits.
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Avalanche's Ross Colton: Adds empty-netter
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Colton scored an empty-net goal on five shots in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Rangers.
Colton has scored in back-to-back games for the first time this season, and he's gotten on the scoresheet in three straight outings. The 29-year-old forward has found a little chemistry with Brock Nelson on the second line. Colton is up to four goals, 11 points, 44 shots on net, 45 hits and a plus-4 rating through 20 appearances. He's a reliable option for 30-40 points when healthy for the full season, and that should hold true if he can maintain his spot on the second line.
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Avalanche's Brock Nelson: One of each in win
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Nelson scored a power-play goal on four shots and added an assist in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Rangers.
Nelson has a four-game point streak going, earning three goals and three assists in that span. He's put up multiple points in each of the last two contests, the first times he's done that this season. The second-line center is up to six goals, five helpers, 35 shots on net, 15 blocked shots, 12 hits, 10 PIM and a plus-10 rating through 20 outings. His tally Thursday was his first power-play point since Opening Night, and his offense should increase if he can improve in that situation.
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Avalanche's Cale Makar: Puts up three points in win
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Makar scored twice on nine shots, added an assist, blocked four shots and went plus-3 in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Rangers.
Makar's point streak is up to six games, but this was his first multi-point effort since Nov. 9 versus the Canucks. The blueliner has picked up four goals and six assists during his streak. For the season, Makar is up to a stellar eight goals, 28 points, 58 shots on net, 36 blocked shots and a plus-20 rating through 20 appearances. Last year's 30-goal, 92-point regular season was the best of his career, but he's on pace to best those numbers at the quarter mark in 2025-26.
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Avalanche's Nathan MacKinnon: Three-point effort in win
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MacKinnon scored twice on four shots, dished an assist, blocked two shots and went plus-3 in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Rangers.
MacKinnon featured on three of the Avalanche's first four goals, with his second tally being the game-winner. The 30-year-old retook the NHL's goals lead outright with the effort, which comes after just his third time being held off the scoresheet. MacKinnon has 16 goals, 20 helpers, 89 shots on net, 17 hits, 15 blocked shots, 12 PIM and a plus-22 rating through 20 appearances, a big reason why the Avalanche are 14-1-5 at the quarter mark of their season.
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Avalanche's Scott Wedgewood: Not at his best Thursday
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Wedgewood stopped 16 of 19 shots in Thursday's 6-3 win over the Rangers.
Wedgewood was far from his best in this contest, but the Avalanche's top players more than made up for it. It's still a win, and that's now seven in a row for Wedgewood, who has given up two goals or less in five of those victories. He's at a 12-1-2 record with a 2.23 GAA and a .913 save percentage through 16 appearances. The 33-year-old hasn't played more than two games in a row since Mackenzie Blackwood's season debut, and both goalies should get a start in this weekend's road back-to-back versus Nashville and Chicago on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.
Brindley (lower body) won't return to Thursday's game versus the Rangers.
Brindley was initially injured in the first period. He tried to tough it out at the start of the second but couldn't continue in the contest. The Avalanche are already a bit thin at forward, so Brindley's absence could be troublesome if he's out beyond Thursday.
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Avalanche's Nikita Prishchepov: Activated, sent down
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Prishchepov (undisclosed) was activated from non-roster injured reserve and assigned to AHL Colorado on Thursday.
Prishchepov was hurt during training camp but is now healthy enough to play. He'll likely spend a majority of the campaign with the Eagles. He failed to record a point in 10 NHL appearances during the 2024-25 regular season.
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Avalanche's Scott Wedgewood: Slated to start Thursday
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Wedgewood is expected to defend the home goal against the Rangers on Thursday, Jesse Montano of Guerilla Sports reports.
Wedgewood has won six straight games, allowing just 11 goals on 166 shots (.934 save percentage). He is 11-1-2 with a 2.17 GAA and a .917 save percentage across 15 appearances this season. He has taken over as the No. 1 goaltender in Colorado, bumping Mackenzie Blackwood to a backup role. The Rangers are 30th in NHL scoring, generating only 2.48 goals per game.
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