First Avalanche game of 2026-27 season announced, it’s in September

Colorado Avalanche hockey will be back before you know it.

And the first regular season game of the 2026-27 campaign will be in September.

With the NHL moving to 84 games, the calendar is getting moved up. That means the Avalanche will host the Kings at Ball Arena on Sept. 30 to begin another journey toward (hopefully) a Stanley Cup.

The contest will be on TNT as part of a doubleheader, with puck drop shortly after 8:00 p.m. MT.

Hockey at home in September? Yes, please. pic.twitter.com/ArVKL4nG0l

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) July 15, 2026

The full 84-game slate will drop on Thursday, with the league announcing every team’s first game on Wednesday.

The season will actually start on Sept. 29 with a tripleheader. The Hurricanes will host the Panthers and raise their championship banner, followed by the Bruins and Rangers and then the Golden Knights and Blackhawks.

Colorado didn’t begin its season until Oct. 7 in 2025, ironically enough against the Kings. That resulted in a 4-1 victory in Los Angeles.

That feels like a long time ago, but an incredible year resulted in the Avalanche winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the most points during the regular season.

And things looked good in the opening two rounds of the playoffs, with Colorado sweeping the Kings and then taking down the Wild in five games. But that 8-1 record quickly became irrelevant after a shocking sweep by Vegas in the Western Conference Final.

The Avalanche are retaining head coach Jared Bednar and most of the core will be back, although they traded Valeri Nichushkin to the Blue Jackets and added veteran Jaden Schwartz in free agency.

Buckle up, another grind is about to begin. And the fun starts really early with the opener at Ball Arena in only 2.5 months.

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