Nhl: Avalanche head to Delta Center to face Mammoth after Olympic break and roster shake-up
nhl play resumes for the Colorado Avalanche with a 7 p. m. MT matchup at Delta Center against the Utah Mammoth, the first of five games in seven days and the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the clubs.
The regular-season series has been tight: Colorado won 2-1 in Denver on October 9, Utah won 4-3 in overtime in Salt Lake City on October 21, and Colorado won 1-0 at home on December 23. In six previous regular-season games against the Mammoth, the Avalanche hold a 4-1-1 record.
Game-day logistics and broadcasts
The matchup is listed for 7 p. m. MT at Delta Center with local viewing notes that include Altitude and Altitude+; other broadcast listings supplied for this game include ALT, ALT+, KUPX-TV for the Utah area, +, NHL Center Ice for outside regional U. S. areas, SN+ and NHL Centre Ice for Canadian broadcast areas. Listening options in the provided context include Altitude Sports Radio on 950 AM and Altitude Sports Radio KKSE-FM 92. 5 FM.
Recent form: Avalanche win and game details
Colorado defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-2 on Wednesday, February 4 at Ball Arena. Artturi Lehkonen scored twice, Nathan MacKinnon recorded the 700th and 701st assists of his career, Josh Manson and Brock Nelson each added a goal, and Mackenzie Blackwood stopped 23 of the 25 shots he faced.
The scoring sequence included Lehkonen opening the scoring at 1: 05 of the second period with his 18th goal of the season a shot in a net-front scramble, then doubling the lead at 15: 47 of the middle frame for his 19th on a right-circle one-timer set up by MacKinnon’s cross-ice feed. San Jose tied the game with third-period tallies from Timothy Liljegren at 43 seconds a one-timer from the top of the right circle and Philipp Kurashev at 3: 34 a left-circle shot off the rush. While the teams skated four-on-four, Manson gave Colorado a 3-2 lead at 12: 44 of the third period with his fifth goal of the season a one-timer from the point, and Nelson sealed the 4-2 win with his 29th goal at 18: 43 of the third an empty-net tally.
Nhl leaders and matchup numbers
Nathan MacKinnon leads the nhl in goals with 40, sits second in points with 93 and is tied for third in assists with 53. Cale Makar is tied for fourth among NHL defensemen in points and assists while ranking tied for fifth among blueliners in goals. Brock Nelson is tied for 10th in the NHL with 29 goals, and Nelson’s 13 goals since January 1 are tied for the most in the NHL. Colorado’s. 908 team save percentage on the road is tied for the second highest in the NHL, and Martin Necas’s 51 even-strength points this season are tied for the fifth most in the NHL.
Mammoth form and individual leaders
The Utah Mammoth defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 at Delta Center on Wednesday, February 4. Sean Durzi scored at 57 seconds and Nick Schmaltz added a power-play tally at 8: 11 in the first period to make it 2-0. Dylan Guenther added a third for Utah at 4: 40 of the third period. Detroit cut it to 3-1 when Dylan Larkin scored on the power play at 15: 52 of the final frame, and Clayton Keller scored an empty-net goal at 17: 42 of the third to make it 4-1.
For Utah’s season leaders, Clayton Keller leads the Mammoth in points and assists while ranking fourth in goals; Dylan Guenther leads the Mammoth in goals with 25, is third in points with 47 and fifth in assists with 22; and Nick Schmaltz is second on the Mammoth in goals, assists and points.
Matchup histories, Olympic returns and roster changes
Nathan MacKinnon has posted six points (2g/4a) in six games against the Mammoth. Martin Necas has three points (2g/1a) in four contests versus Utah, and Cale Makar has registered three points (2g/1a) in six games against the Mammoth.
The Avalanche return from a three-week pause for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy, after which Colorado begins the five-games-in-seven-days stretch; four of those five games come in two back-to-back sets. Tonight’s game is the first of those back-to-back pairs, and the Avs are scheduled to face the Minnesota Wild at Ball Arena on Thursday evening.
At least eight Avalanche players went to Italy for the Olympics: Martin Nečas represented Czechia; Gabriel Landeskog returned to the Olympics representing Sweden as captain; Joel Kiviranta and Artturi Lehkonen were on Finland’s roster and captured the bronze medal; Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Devon Toews played for Canada and earned the silver medal; and Brock Nelson captured gold with the United States and is a third-generation Olympian, joining his grandfather Bill Christian and great uncle Roger Christian (Squaw Valley, 1960) and his uncle Dave Christian (Lake Placid, 1980) on the family medal list.
The Avalanche announced a trade that sent defenseman Sam Girard and their second-round pick in 2028 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defenseman Brett Kulak. Kulak, 32, was acquired from the Edmonton Oilers in the deal that sent him and goaltender Stuart Skinner to Pittsburgh. During his brief tenure with the Penguins, Kulak scored one goal and added six assists for a total of seven points in twenty-five games, and he had two assists in thirty-one games played with Edmonton earlier this season. In the prior season with Edmonton he set career bests with seven goals, 18 assists and 25 points.
Coach Jared Bednar praised Kulak’s all-around game: "You’re getting a big, solid D that can skate, and defend real well, and move the puck. He does a lot of good things, a guy that has been to back to back Stanley Cup Finals, and was an integral part of [Edmonton’s] blue line, and what they were trying to do as a team. We like the player a lot, and so, we’re excited. " Bednar added, "This is a big, strong guy that defends really well. He’s got a ton of experience as well. It’s just a different look for us, right? I think Kulak’s a guy, that depending on how you’re matching up in the playoffs, that he can go up and play with a guy like Cale if I want to move [Toews] against another team’s top line. […] Maybe Kulak can go up and Toews can go down and he can take care of that matchup with a guy like Manson. It gives us flexibility there that I don’t think we necessarily had with [Girard]. " Bednar noted that Kulak, along with most of the unclear in the provided context
One more item from the provided materials: a listed headline for this coverage reads "Avalanche 4-2 Mammoth (Feb 25, 2026) Game Recap, " as supplied in the set of provided headlines for this story.
The Avalanche open tonight at Delta Center and then return to Ball Arena to face the Minnesota Wild on Thursday evening as the next confirmed game on the schedule.
