The Colorado Avalanche and the rest of the National Hockey League released their regular season schedules today. Once again, the topic of Valeri Nichushkin comes up. When can he come back to the Avalanche? How many games will he miss? These are all valid questions as the Avalanche had to build their roster yesterday around a man who cannot play for them. There was a lot of movement throughout the league on the first day of free agency and there will be a “new” team in the mix. Here I would like to breakdown a few things on the schedule that stand out for the Avalanche.
Here is the #Avs regular season schedule. The first game against the Stars is on Nov 29th. #GoAvsGo @TheRinkColorado pic.twitter.com/vQvZ2cfewd
— Brennan Vogt (@brennan_vogt) July 2, 2024
Valeri Nichushkin
Nichushkin went into Stage Three of the Player Assistance Program on May 13. This will lead to his suspension for a minimum of six months, resulting in him missing 16 games. You can raise it to 17 games at least for him to get on the ice and get back in the mix of things. Big games that he will miss include one against rebuilt Nashville Predators, Utah Hockey Club, Las Angeles Kings, and Vegas Golden Knights.
Back-to-backs
When the schedule is released, the back-to-backs always cause enormous concern. This year the Avalanche will have to do 11 of them. Their first set will be in October (27–28) at home against the Ottawa Senators and Chicago Blackhawks. The next one has me concerned on November 29–30, where they play at Dallas and Edmonton at home. The following weekend it will be Detroit and New Jersey on the road.
Breakdown by month
— October: 1
— November: 1
— December: 2
— January: 2
— February: 1
— March: 2
— April: 2
#Avs have an eight-day stretch to end November that goes at Florida, at Tampa, home vs Vegas and finishes with at Dallas, home vs Edmonton in a back-to-back.
Yikes.
— Corey Masisak (@cmasisak22) July 2, 2024
Key opponents
The Avalanche will meet the new Utah Hockey Club only three times this regular season. The first will be on October 24th. Colorado will open the season on national television against the Golden Knights on October 9th and meet only three times through the season. The genuine test will come as the Avalanche meet the defending Stanley Cup Champions on November 23rd and January 6th. Nashville may be the team to beat this year, as they have added Steven Stamkos and Jonathan Marchessault through free agency. They meet four times this season.
WE’RE BACCCCCKKKKK 😏
The #NHLonTNT season kicks off with a jam-packed doubleheader on October 9th 🔥 pic.twitter.com/opjhLfNhLZ
— NHLonTNT (@NHL_On_TNT) July 2, 2024
Conclusion
The key part of the schedule will be the first twenty games for the Avalanche. They will be without both Nichushkin and potentially Gabriel Landeskog during this stretch. Colorado cannot let themselves get into a slump right out of the gate and will have to fight for their victories. Colorado hasn’t completely built the bottom-six yet, but we are making progress. The return of Logan O’Connor will help for sure. Either way, if they slip, do not let yourself go into panic mode.