Colorado AvalancheCOL 3–1 Final St. Louis BluesSTL

Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Final 1st2nd3rd T SOG
Colorado AvalancheCOL 210 3 37
St. Louis BluesSTL 010 1 19
Playoff odds, % Change
STL -2.8
COL +0.0
NSH +0.9
SJS +0.6
LAK +0.5

How the result moved each team's playoff odds, calculated Apr 7, 2026 7:18 PM EDT.

Highlights

Scoring

1st Period
16:11 COL Valeri Nichushkin (16) Devon Toews (21), Sam Malinski (31) · tip-in xG 0.08 1–0 ▶
19:32 COL Martin Necas (37) Nathan MacKinnon (72), Artturi Lehkonen (27) · wrist xG 0.14 2–0 ▶
2nd Period
1:40 COL Valeri Nichushkin (17)SH Brock Nelson (31) · between-legs xG 0.22 3–0 ▶
15:38 STL Robert Thomas (22) Theo Lindstein (2), Jimmy Snuggerud (26) · wrist xG 0.17 3–1 ▶
3rd Period
No scoring

Score away–home after each goal; season totals in parentheses.

Shot quality

Expected goals (xG) rate every unblocked shot by how often shots like it go in, from where it was taken, the shot type, the strength and what happened just before it. How it works

COL 61%Deserve to win39% STL
COLSTL
3.23Expected goals2.19
3Goals (no shootout)1
2.44Expected goals, 5 on 51.32
73Shot attempts51
54Unblocked attempts31
37Shots on goal19

Game notes

What stood out as the game went on, from the play-by-play and the shifts. Time on the bench is counted in 5-on-5 play outside the penalty box; the note says the player sat, not why. Goals saved are against the shots' expected goals (xG).

2nd Period
14:30 COL No shift No shift · Kadri, 25:56 on the bench
No shift after 4:29 of the 2nd; 7 shifts (6:09) before that
3rd Period
15:10 STL No shift No shift · Dvorsky, 10:33 on the bench
No shift after 3:06 of the 3rd; 14 shifts (9:47) before that
15:40 STL Pulled goalie Pulled goalie · Pulled Hofer, down 3–1
With 4:20 left

Shot map

COL shoots ←Bigger circle: higher xG; filled: goal→ STL shoots
Josh Manson: wrist, 63 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 0:11) Robert Thomas: wrist, 38 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 3:17) Nazem Kadri: wrist, 15 ft, xG 0.05 (P1 5:35) Nazem Kadri: tip-in, 14 ft, xG 0.06 (P1 5:39) Sam Malinski: slap, 65 ft, xG 0.02 (P1 5:46) Pius Suter: wrist, 82 ft, xG 0.00 (P1 6:08) Brock Nelson: wrist, 35 ft, xG 0.12 (P1 6:23) Brett Kulak: wrist, 50 ft, xG 0.02 (P1 6:32) Sam Malinski: slap, 61 ft, xG 0.03 (P1 6:37) Brent Burns: snap, 68 ft, xG 0.00 (P1 9:08) Valeri Nichushkin: slap, 54 ft, xG 0.04 (P1 9:37) Devon Toews: wrist, 63 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 9:44) Brett Kulak: wrist, 19 ft, xG 0.06 (P1 11:06) Brent Burns: slap, 62 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 11:43) Valeri Nichushkin: slap, 60 ft, xG 0.02 (P1 11:47) Brent Burns: wrist, 66 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 12:05) Devon Toews: wrist, 61 ft, xG 0.02 (P1 12:42) Martin Necas: wrist, 35 ft, xG 0.04 (P1 13:00) Sam Malinski: snap, 62 ft, xG 0.02 (P1 13:16) Parker Kelly: backhand, 80 ft, xG 0.00 (P1 14:55) Artturi Lehkonen: wrist, 8 ft, xG 0.18 (P1 17:04) Gabriel Landeskog: wrist, 40 ft, xG 0.01 (P1 17:22) Jordan Kyrou: wrist, 38 ft, xG 0.02 (P1 18:53) Nathan MacKinnon: slap, 19 ft, xG 0.18 (P1 19:18) Martin Necas: snap, 32 ft, xG 0.08 (P1 19:24) Jake Neighbours: snap, 44 ft, xG 0.06 (P2 0:59) Jordan Kyrou: tip-in, 11 ft, xG 0.12 (P2 1:24) Valeri Nichushkin: wrist, 9 ft, xG 0.15 (P2 2:15) Jordan Kyrou: wrist, 30 ft, xG 0.06 (P2 2:51) Logan Mailloux: wrist, 65 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 2:57) Logan Mailloux: slap, 53 ft, xG 0.00 (P2 3:06) Jimmy Snuggerud: snap, 14 ft, xG 0.19 (P2 3:14) Dylan Holloway: backhand, 6 ft, xG 0.08 (P2 3:52) Gabriel Landeskog: backhand, 14 ft, xG 0.06 (P2 4:17) Sam Malinski: wrist, 53 ft, xG 0.02 (P2 4:59) Alexey Toropchenko: wrist, 51 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 5:08) Robert Thomas: backhand, 6 ft, xG 0.12 (P2 5:51) Brett Kulak: tip-in, 12 ft, xG 0.09 (P2 6:00) Jonathan Drouin: wrist, 36 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 8:16) Martin Necas: tip-in, 6 ft, xG 0.11 (P2 8:27) Brett Kulak: wrist, 63 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 9:21) Josh Manson: wrist, 67 ft, xG 0.01 (P2 10:04) Jack Drury: snap, 22 ft, xG 0.02 (P2 10:13) Brett Kulak: slap, 47 ft, xG 0.06 (P2 10:37) Nicolas Roy: deflected, 16 ft, xG 0.10 (P2 10:55) Ross Colton: tip-in, 6 ft, xG 0.10 (P2 12:08) Valeri Nichushkin: wrist, 7 ft, xG 0.09 (P2 12:10) Brock Nelson: bat, 27 ft, xG 0.02 (P2 12:14) Sam Malinski: slap, 64 ft, xG 0.02 (P2 13:47) Nicolas Roy: tip-in, 30 ft, xG 0.04 (P2 13:59) Brock Nelson: slap, 43 ft, xG 0.06 (P2 14:11) Josh Manson: slap, 67 ft, xG 0.00 (P2 17:00) Gabriel Landeskog: tip-in, 17 ft, xG 0.08 (P2 17:46) Robert Thomas: wrap-around, 5 ft, xG 0.04 (P2 18:44) Devon Toews: slap, 52 ft, xG 0.06 (P2 19:06) Philip Broberg: wrist, 57 ft, xG 0.02 (P2 19:53) Martin Necas: snap, 38 ft, xG 0.08 (P3 0:42) Jake Neighbours: wrist, 7 ft, xG 0.16 (P3 1:19) Jimmy Snuggerud: wrist, 4 ft, xG 0.10 (P3 1:20) Ross Colton: wrist, 42 ft, xG 0.02 (P3 2:42) Ross Colton: backhand, 5 ft, xG 0.06 (P3 2:48) Jimmy Snuggerud: wrist, 29 ft, xG 0.07 (P3 3:09) Josh Manson: slap, 67 ft, xG 0.01 (P3 3:18) Gabriel Landeskog: tip-in, 13 ft, xG 0.06 (P3 5:35) Dylan Holloway: backhand, 25 ft, xG 0.04 (P3 6:11) Brent Burns: wrist, 42 ft, xG 0.04 (P3 6:50) Brent Burns: slap, 72 ft, xG 0.00 (P3 6:54) Sam Malinski: wrist, 54 ft, xG 0.01 (P3 8:34) Nick Blankenburg: slap, 69 ft, xG 0.00 (P3 9:15) Philip Broberg: slap, 43 ft, xG 0.07 (P3 10:48) Jimmy Snuggerud: wrist, 9 ft, xG 0.13 (P3 11:08) Jordan Kyrou: wrist, 29 ft, xG 0.13 (P3 12:26) Logan Mailloux: wrist, 43 ft, xG 0.02 (P3 12:38) Jordan Kyrou: backhand, 21 ft, xG 0.10 (P3 15:00) Jimmy Snuggerud: snap, 23 ft, xG 0.23 (P3 15:38) Robert Thomas: wrist, 16 ft, xG 0.07 (P3 16:36) Pavel Buchnevich: wrist, 56 ft, xG 0.03 (P3 17:18) Valeri Nichushkin: wrist, 80 ft, xG 0.44 (P3 17:56) Philip Broberg: wrist, 66 ft, xG 0.01 (P3 18:11) Jake Neighbours: wrist, 11 ft, xG 0.09 (P3 18:17) Logan Mailloux: wrist, 64 ft, xG 0.01 (P3 18:36) Valeri Nichushkin: GOAL, tip-in, 11 ft, xG 0.08 (P1 16:11) Martin Necas: GOAL, wrist, 10 ft, xG 0.14 (P1 19:32) Valeri Nichushkin: GOAL, between-legs, 7 ft, xG 0.22 (P2 1:40) Robert Thomas: GOAL, wrist, 8 ft, xG 0.17 (P2 15:38)
About these numbers

xG comes from hockeystats.io's own model, a gradient-boosted tree model trained on every unblocked shot from the 2021-22 to 2025-26 regular seasons using the NHL's public play-by-play. Each shot's value is the share of similar shots that became goals. A team's xG is the sum over its shots; "deserve to win" asks how often the team would outscore its opponent if every shot went in at exactly that rate. Blocked shots count as attempts but have no xG (the NHL records where they were blocked, not where they were taken), so the map leaves them out.

Box score

Colorado Avalanche

Skater GAP+/− AttxG HitBlkTOI
Forwards
88 Martin Necas 101 +1 50.45 1121:21
29 Nathan MacKinnon 011 +1 10.18 3121:08
62 Artturi Lehkonen 011 +1 10.18 0020:11
11 Brock Nelson 011 +2 30.19 0219:13
43 Valeri Nichushkin 202 +2 111.03 1215:45
92 Gabriel Landeskog 000 0 60.20 0015:16
18 Jack Drury 000 -1 10.02 0013:21
10 Nicolas Roy 000 0 20.14 2011:48
79 Ross Colton 000 +1 40.18 1010:54
25 Logan O'Connor 000 -1 00.00 0009:35
17 Parker Kelly 000 -1 20.00 1109:25
91 Nazem Kadri 000 0 30.11 0306:09
Defense
7 Devon Toews 011 +2 40.08 0223:44
27 Brett Kulak 000 0 50.24 0022:40
42 Josh Manson 000 +1 80.04 1121:15
70 Sam Malinski 011 +1 110.11 0119:34
84 Brent Burns 000 0 50.07 1019:14
3 Nick Blankenburg 000 0 10.00 0213:27
Goalie SAGA SVSV% xGA GSAx
Scott Wedgewood 19118 .947 2.19 +1.19

St. Louis Blues

Skater GAP+/− AttxG HitBlkTOI
Forwards
81 Dylan Holloway 000 0 30.12 2124:07
18 Robert Thomas 101 0 70.41 0024:04
21 Jimmy Snuggerud 011 0 60.72 0021:38
29 Jonatan Berggren 000 -1 00.00 2116:47
63 Jake Neighbours 000 0 30.30 3016:20
92 Jonathan Drouin 000 -2 10.01 0115:43
89 Pavel Buchnevich 000 -1 20.03 2014:53
25 Jordan Kyrou 000 -2 60.42 1014:35
22 Pius Suter 000 0 20.00 0013:16
15 Dalibor Dvorsky 000 -1 10.00 0009:47
13 Alexey Toropchenko 000 0 10.01 2208:24
37 Jack Finley 000 0 10.00 1007:44
Defense
6 Philip Broberg 000 -1 60.11 1325:12
55 Colton Parayko 000 0 20.00 3320:51
23 Logan Mailloux 000 -2 60.05 1020:04
17 Cam Fowler 000 0 00.00 0118:47
4 Theo Lindstein 011 0 10.00 1115:59
75 Tyler Tucker 000 0 30.00 3113:58
Goalie SAGA SVSV% xGA GSAx
Joel Hofer 37334 .919 2.80 -0.20

Skaters by time on ice. Goalie lines count shots with the goalie in net, from the NHL play-by-play.

Player ratings

What each player added to the result, in goals, from most to least. Hover a number for what it's made of.

Colorado Avalanche

Player Rating Points Shots On ice Pen FO Other GSAx TOI
13 Valeri Nichushkin R +3.05 +1.50 +0.67 +0.65 +0.15 0.00 +0.08 — 15:45
7 Devon Toews D +2.36 +0.70 +0.05 +1.64 -0.15 0.00 +0.12 — 23:44
88 Martin Necas C +1.67 +0.75 +0.30 +0.60 0.00 0.00 +0.03 — 21:21
11 Brock Nelson C +1.67 +0.70 +0.12 +0.76 0.00 +0.01 +0.08 — 19:13
70 Sam Malinski D +1.63 +0.55 +0.07 +1.15 -0.15 0.00 +0.01 — 19:34
29 Nathan MacKinnon C +1.63 +0.70 +0.12 +0.81 0.00 +0.01 -0.01 — 21:08
62 Artturi Lehkonen L +1.32 +0.55 +0.11 +0.66 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 20:11
41 Scott Wedgewood G +1.19 0.00 — — 0.00 — — +1.19 60:00
20 Ross Colton C +0.87 0.00 +0.12 +0.75 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 10:54
92 Gabriel Landeskog L +0.35 0.00 +0.13 +0.33 -0.15 +0.04 0.00 — 15:16
37 Nick Blankenburg D +0.29 0.00 0.00 +0.19 0.00 0.00 +0.10 — 13:27
10 Nicolas Roy C +0.26 0.00 +0.09 +0.17 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 11:48
42 Josh Manson D +0.23 0.00 +0.02 +0.15 0.00 0.00 +0.05 — 21:15
91 Nazem Kadri C +0.19 0.00 +0.07 -0.02 0.00 -0.01 +0.15 — 6:09
84 Brent Burns D +0.07 0.00 +0.05 +0.02 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 19:14
17 Parker Kelly C -0.13 0.00 0.00 -0.18 0.00 0.00 +0.05 — 9:25
18 Jack Drury C -0.16 0.00 +0.01 -0.17 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 13:21
25 Logan O'Connor R -0.18 0.00 0.00 -0.18 0.00 0.00 0.00 — 9:35
27 Brett Kulak D -0.27 0.00 +0.16 -0.38 0.00 0.00 -0.04 — 22:40

St. Louis Blues

Player Rating Points Shots On ice Pen FO Other GSAx TOI
18 Robert Thomas C +1.51 +0.75 +0.27 +0.54 0.00 +0.01 -0.06 — 24:04
21 Jimmy Snuggerud R +1.46 +0.55 +0.47 +0.46 0.00 0.00 -0.02 — 21:38
81 Dylan Holloway L +0.71 0.00 +0.08 +0.43 +0.15 0.00 +0.05 — 24:07
41 Theo Lindstein D +0.48 +0.70 0.00 -0.25 0.00 0.00 +0.03 — 15:59
89 Pavel Buchnevich L +0.03 0.00 +0.02 -0.16 +0.15 -0.01 +0.02 — 14:53
17 Cam Fowler D -0.02 0.00 0.00 -0.09 0.00 0.00 +0.07 — 18:47
30 Joel Hofer G -0.20 0.00 — — 0.00 — — -0.20 55:51
75 Tyler Tucker D -0.22 0.00 0.00 -0.23 0.00 0.00 +0.01 — 13:58
63 Jake Neighbours L -0.23 0.00 +0.20 -0.43 0.00 +0.01 0.00 — 16:20
29 Jonatan Berggren R -0.26 0.00 0.00 -0.27 0.00 0.00 +0.01 — 16:47
55 Colton Parayko D -0.31 0.00 0.00 -0.44 0.00 0.00 +0.13 — 20:51
13 Alexey Toropchenko R -0.45 0.00 +0.01 -0.56 0.00 0.00 +0.10 — 8:24
37 Jack Finley C -0.49 0.00 0.00 -0.43 0.00 -0.06 0.00 — 7:44
25 Jordan Kyrou R -0.61 0.00 +0.27 -0.82 0.00 0.00 -0.06 — 14:35
6 Philip Broberg D -0.68 0.00 +0.07 -1.03 +0.15 0.00 +0.13 — 25:12
22 Pius Suter C -0.72 0.00 0.00 -0.74 0.00 +0.02 0.00 — 13:16
92 Jonathan Drouin L -0.80 0.00 +0.01 -0.82 0.00 +0.01 +0.01 — 15:43
23 Logan Mailloux D -1.01 0.00 +0.03 -0.89 -0.15 0.00 0.00 — 20:04
54 Dalibor Dvorsky R -1.22 0.00 0.00 -1.19 0.00 -0.03 0.00 — 9:47

An expected-goals take on Dom Luszczyszyn's Game Score: goals and assists, the quality of a player's own shots, shot quality for and against while they were on the ice at 5v5, penalties, faceoffs and puck plays, all in goals; goalies by goals saved above expected. From the NHL play-by-play and shift charts.