The Colorado Avalanche’s Historic Start to the Regular Season
On Thursday, December 4th, 2025, the Colorado Avalanche lost 6-3 to the Islanders on Long Island. This wasn’t just any loss though, this was a loss that ended the longest streak to start an NHL season without losing by two or more goals.
Heading into the game with a record of 19-1-6, the Avalanche were on an incredible run having lost only once in regulation, and were simultaneously on a 14-0-3 run and a 17-game point streak. While the six extra time losses implies all of these losses must have been by one goal, their one previous regulation loss was against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. However, this too was a one-goal loss, as down 3-1 with 20 seconds left, the Avalanche got within one with a goal courtesy of Arturri Lehkonen with the goalie pulled for the extra attacker. As a result, the Avalanche went a whopping 26 games to start the season without a loss by more than one goal, setting a new NHL record, with the streak finally coming to an end in their 27th game.
While there have been three other teams to surpass the 22 game mark with only one regulation loss, those being the 1927-1928 Montreal Canadiens, 1979-1980 Philadelphia Flyers, and 2013 Chicago Blackhawks, none of these teams lasted as long as the 2025-2026 Colorado Avalanche when it came to not losing by two or more goals.
The four teams in NHL history that went 22 or more games with only one regulation loss
How long it took each of these four teams to lose by two or more goals
Even among other fantastic teams not included above, like the 1929-1930 Boston Bruins who hold the record for the highest points percentage in a single season (.875), the 1976-1977 Montreal Canadiens who hold the record for fewest regulation losses in a season (8), or the 2022-2023 Boston Bruins who hold the record for most wins and points in a season (65 wins, 135 points), no other team began their season with more games without losing by two or more goals than Colorado this season.
Losses highlighted in orange indicate overtime or shootout losses; losses shaded in red indicate regulation losses
The Colorado Avalanche are a truly dominant team, and it’s no surprise that their competitiveness in all 26 games prior to game 27 has resulted in an average goal differential of 1.85 per game, which would extrapolate out to a goal differential of +152 in a full season, which would subsequently be the fourth highest in NHL history, and the highest among any season outside of the 1970s. Being the most dominant team both offensively and defensively this season, it will be interesting to see if the Avalanche will bounce right back, or if they will start to lose games in regulation at a higher rate. All three of the other teams that had long streaks with only one regulation loss would lose their third regulation game within two games after losing their second, and it wouldn’t be surprising if the same happened with the Avalanche, perhaps because teams subconsciously reserve their effort and energy once there is no longer a need to protect a record. However, the streaks are no over. One streak that Avalanche fans can still cheer about is their point streak at home, as they currently hold an 11-0-2 record in Colorado so far this season.