There wasn’t much mystery to this one. The game was bad early, stayed bad, and only got uglier as the night wore on.

The Colorado Avalanche were handed a 7–3 loss by the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at Bell Centre, as the NHL’s top team dropped its second straight game in as many nights and failed to find any sustained rhythm. Colorado has now lost six of its last eight and sits at 4-4-2 over its past 10 after opening the season at a record-setting pace.

Brock Nelson, Joel Kiviranta, and Ross Colton scored for Colorado. Scott Wedgewood, returning after time away following the birth of his second child, struggled in net, surrendering seven goals on 28 shots.

Nick Suzuki led the way for Montreal with two goals and an assist. Juraj Slafkovský, Kirby Dach, Alexandre Carrier, Jake Evans, and Noah Dobson also found the back of the net, while Ivan Demidov chipped in with two assists. Jakub Dobeš made 26 saves for the Canadiens.

Brock Nelson is RED HOT 🔥

He now has 14 goals in his last 15 games! pic.twitter.com/XmAzLOji5j

— NHL (@NHL) January 30, 2026

First Period

Montreal wasted no time setting the tone. Just 56 seconds into the game, Lane Hutson found Dobson in the left circle, and the defenseman blasted a one-timer past Wedgewood to open the scoring.

Colorado responded quickly. A little more than three minutes later, Nelson continued his torrid January by toe-dragging around Hutson and snapping a wrist shot cleanly into the net to tie the game. It marked his 28th goal of the season and underscored his status as one of the league’s hottest scorers this month.

The momentum didn’t last. After Keaton Middleton was whistled for cross-checking, Suzuki capitalized on the power play by burying a rebound that kicked off Wedgewood’s pad, restoring Montreal’s lead.

The Avalanche then compounded their problems. Josh Anderson was called for tripping Martin Nečas, but Colorado’s power play imploded when they surrendered their ninth shorthanded goal of the season. Kapanen cleared the puck directly to Suzuki, who broke in alone and beat Wedgewood with a forehand fake before sliding home the backhand to make it 3–1.

Second Period

The middle frame opened with Cole Caufield taking a high-sticking penalty on Artturi Lehkonen, drawing blood but only earning a minor. Colorado couldn’t convert, and moments later frustration mounted when Nathan MacKinnon was slashed on the hands without a call.

Soon after, Sam Malinski was sent off for an accidental high stick on Demidov. While Malinski immediately apologized, Slafkovský took exception, only to be met by Valeri Nichushkin, who stepped in and dropped him with a forearm.

Midway through the period, Sam Girard nearly sparked a comeback with a breakaway, but Dobeš shut the door with a brilliant pad save.

The game took a scary turn minutes later when Josh Manson crushed Kaiden Guhle along the boards after Guhle reached for a puck with his head down. Guhle stayed down in obvious pain. Zachary Bolduc confronted Manson, but neither dropped the gloves. After review, officials assessed no penalty.

Montreal quickly made Colorado pay. Evans extended the lead after Wedgewood mishandled the puck behind his net, allowing Evans to wrap it into an empty cage. Less than a minute later, Dach added another on a wraparound that slowly trickled across the line, pushing the lead to 5–1.

Colorado finally stopped the bleeding late in the period when Kiviranta jammed home a rebound from the left doorstep off an initial shot by Malinski with 1:54 remaining.

Third Period

The Avalanche showed some life to start the third, forcing turnovers and generating early chances. On one sequence, Cale Makar tried to set up MacKinnon for a tap-in at the back door, but the puck bounced awkwardly off his stick.

Colorado broke through at 4:38 when Nichushkin danced around defenders and found Colton behind the net. Colton snapped the puck past Dobeš, ending a 25-game scoreless drought and briefly cutting the deficit to two.

Any hope of a comeback vanished quickly. Just 67 seconds later, Montreal restored its four-goal cushion on a 2-on-1 rush. After a turnover in the defensive zone, Dach fed Suzuki, who drew both Makar and Nečas before sliding a pass to Carrier in the left circle for a wide-open finish.

Slafkovský delivered the final blow midway through the period. His initial shot sailed wide, but Wedgewood slid out of position while trying to disrupt Kapanen, inadvertently pushing the puck back to Slafkovský, who calmly buried it into the open net to seal a 7–3 result.

For Colorado, it was another discouraging night that raised more questions than answers as their early-season dominance continues to fade.

Next Game

The Avalanche (35-8-9) are back in action Saturday morning, visiting Patrick Kane and the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena for an 11:30 a.m. puck drop.