The 2018–19 Colorado Avalanche season was the 24th operational season and 23rd playing season since the franchise relocated from Quebec prior to the start of the 1995–96 NHL season. As well as the franchise's 40th season in the National Hockey League and 47th season overall.

On April 4, 2019, the Avalanche clinched a playoff spot after a 3–2 overtime win against the Winnipeg Jets. In the playoffs, the Avalanche defeated the Calgary Flames 4–1 in the first round to secure their first playoff series win since 2008. Their season, however, would come to an end after losing to the San Jose Sharks in seven games in the second round.

Standings

Schedule and results

Preseason The preseason schedule was published on June 13, 2018. 2018 preseason game log: 3–3–0 (Home: 2–1–0; Road: 1–2–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Recap 1 September 18 Vegas 5–1 Colorado Varlamov — 0–1–0 2 September 22 Colorado 0–7 Minnesota Grubauer 18,410 0–2–0 3 September 24 Colorado 5–3 Vegas Francouz 17,880 1–2–0 4 September 26 Dallas 3–1 Colorado Varlamov — 1–3–0 5 September 28 Minnesota 3–4 Colorado OT Grubauer — 2–3–0 6 September 30 Colorado 6–5 Dallas Varlamov 12,211 3–3–0

Regular season The regular season schedule was released on June 21, 2018. 2018–19 game logOctober: 7–3–2 (Home: 3–1–1; Road: 4–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 1 October 4 Minnesota 1–4 Colorado Varlamov 18,086 1–0–0 2 2 October 6 Philadelphia 2–5 Colorado Varlamov 16,768 2–0–0 4 3 October 9 Colorado 2–5 Columbus Grubauer 11,694 2–1–0 4 4 October 11 Colorado 6–1 Buffalo Varlamov 15,396 3–1–0 6 5 October 13 Calgary 3–2 Colorado OT Varlamov 17,334 3–1–1 7 6 October 16 Colorado 2–3 NY Rangers SO Varlamov 17,251 3–1–2 8 7 October 18 Colorado 5–3 New Jersey Grubauer 13,374 4–1–2 10 8 October 20 Colorado 3–1 Carolina Grubauer 11,753 5–1–2 12 9 October 22 Colorado 4–1 Philadelphia Varlamov 19,326 6–1–2 14 10 October 24 Tampa Bay 1–0 Colorado Varlamov 16,753 6–2–2 14 11 October 26 Ottawa 3–6 Colorado Grubauer 16,851 7–2–2 16 12 October 27 Colorado 2–3 Minnesota Varlamov 19,093 7–3–2 16 November: 8–3–3 (Home: 3–1–2; Road: 5–2–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 13 November 1 Colorado 5–6 Calgary Varlamov 17,317 7–4–2 16 14 November 2 Colorado 6–7 Vancouver OT Grubauer 18,334 7–4–3 17 15 November 7 Nashville 4–1 Colorado Varlamov 16,923 7–5–3 17 16 November 9 Colorado 2–5 Winnipeg Varlamov 15,321 7–6–3 17 17 November 11 Colorado 4–1 Edmonton Varlamov 18,347 8–6–3 19 18 November 14 Boston 3–6 Colorado Varlamov 16,124 9–6–3 21 19 November 16 Washington 3–2 Colorado OT Grubauer 18,050 9–6–4 22 20 November 18 Colorado 4–3 Anaheim OT Grubauer 16,502 10–6–4 24 21 November 21 Colorado 7–3 Los Angeles Varlamov 17,840 11–6–4 26 22 November 23 Colorado 5–1 Arizona Grubauer 12,029 12–6–4 28 23 November 24 Dallas 2–3 Colorado Varlamov 18,010 13–6–4 30 24 November 27 Colorado 3–2 Nashville Varlamov 17,163 14–6–4 32 25 November 28 Pittsburgh 3–6 Colorado Grubauer 17,348 15–6–4 34 26 November 30 St. Louis 3–2 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,021 15–6–5 35 December: 4–7–3 (Home: 2–3–2; Road: 2–4–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 27 December 2 Colorado 2–0 Detroit Varlamov 18,248 16–6–5 37 28 December 4 Colorado 3–6 Pittsburgh Varlamov 18,415 16–7–5 37 29 December 6 Colorado 5–2 Florida Grubauer 10,077 17–7–5 39 30 December 8 Colorado 1–7 Tampa Bay Varlamov 19,092 17–8–5 39 31 December 11 Edmonton 6–4 Colorado Grubauer 15,809 17–9–5 39 32 December 14 Colorado 3–4 St. Louis OT Grubauer 16,366 17–9–6 40 33 December 15 Dallas 4–6 Colorado Varlamov 17,646 18–9–6 42 34 December 17 NY Islanders 4–1 Colorado Varlamov 15,066 18–10–6 42 35 December 19 Montreal 1–2 Colorado Grubauer 15,469 19–10–6 44 36 December 21 Chicago 2–1 Colorado Grubauer 17,850 19–11–6 44 37 December 22 Colorado 4–6 Arizona Francouz 13,896 19–12–6 44 38 December 27 Colorado 1–2 Vegas Grubauer 18,505 19–13–6 44 39 December 29 Chicago 3–2 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,028 19–13–7 45 40 December 31 Los Angeles 3–2 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,017 19–13–8 46 January: 3–7–0 (Home: 2–3–0; Road: 1–4–0) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 41 January 2 San Jose 5–4 Colorado Francouz 17,891 19–14–8 46 42 January 4 NY Rangers 1–6 Colorado Grubauer 17,287 20–14–8 48 43 January 8 Colorado 4–7 Winnipeg Grubauer 15,321 20–15–8 48 44 January 9 Colorado 3–5 Calgary Varlamov 18,220 20–16–8 48 45 January 12 Colorado 0–3 Montreal Varlamov 21,302 20–17–8 48 46 January 14 Colorado 6–3 Toronto Varlamov 19,248 21–17–8 50 47 January 16 Colorado 2–5 Ottawa Varlamov 14,468 21–18–8 50 48 January 19 Los Angeles 1–7 Colorado Varlamov 18,043 22–18–8 52 49 January 21 Nashville 4–1 Colorado Varlamov 18,018 22–19–8 52 50 January 23 Minnesota 5–2 Colorado Grubauer 17,310 22–20–8 52 February: 6–4–4 (Home: 3–4–1; Road: 3–0–3) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 51 February 2 Vancouver 5–1 Colorado Varlamov 18,027 22–21–8 52 52 February 5 Columbus 6–3 Colorado Grubauer 15,398 22–22–8 52 53 February 7 Colorado 3–4 Washington OT Varlamov 18,506 22–22–9 53 54 February 9 Colorado 3–4 NY Islanders OT Varlamov 14,216 22–22–10 54 55 February 10 Colorado 1–2 Boston OT Varlamov 17,565 22–22–11 55 56 February 12 Toronto 5–2 Colorado Varlamov 16,426 22–23–11 55 57 February 14 Colorado 4–1 Winnipeg Varlamov 15,321 23–23–11 57 58 February 16 St. Louis 3–0 Colorado Varlamov 18,076 23–24–11 57 59 February 18 Vegas 0–3 Colorado Varlamov 17,808 24–24–11 59 60 February 20 Winnipeg 1–7 Colorado Varlamov 15,021 25–24–11 61 61 February 22 Colorado 5–3 Chicago Varlamov 21,653 26–24–11 63 62 February 23 Colorado 5–0 Nashville Grubauer 17,760 27–24–11 65 63 February 25 Florida 4–3 Colorado OT Varlamov 14,338 27–24–12 66 64 February 27 Vancouver 2–3 Colorado SO Varlamov 14,867 28–24–12 68 March: 8–5–1 (Home: 6–2–0; Road: 2–3–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 65 March 1 Colorado 3–4 San Jose Varlamov 17,351 28–25–12 68 66 March 3 Colorado 1–2 Anaheim Grubauer 16,690 28–26–12 68 67 March 5 Detroit 3–4 Colorado OT Varlamov 18,011 29–26–12 70 68 March 7 Colorado 0–4 Dallas Varlamov 18,011 29–27–12 70 69 March 9 Buffalo 0–3 Colorado Grubauer 18,052 30–27–12 72 70 March 11 Carolina 3–0 Colorado Grubauer 16,711 30–28–12 72 71 March 15 Anaheim 5–3 Colorado Varlamov 18,025 30–29–12 72 72 March 17 New Jersey 0–3 Colorado Grubauer 18,037 31–29–12 74 73 March 19 Colorado 3–1 Minnesota Grubauer 18,785 32–29–12 76 74 March 21 Colorado 3–1 Dallas Grubauer 17,543 33–29–12 78 75 March 23 Chicago 2–4 Colorado Grubauer 17,099 34–29–12 80 76 March 24 Colorado 1–2 Chicago OT Grubauer 21,410 34–29–13 81 77 March 27 Vegas 3–4 Colorado Grubauer 16,799 35–29–13 83 78 March 29 Arizona 2–3 Colorado SO Grubauer 18,045 36–29–13 85 April: 2–1–1 (Home: 2–0–0; Road: 0–1–1) # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Record Pts Recap 79 April 1 Colorado 2–3 St. Louis SO Grubauer 17,767 36–29–14 86 80 April 2 Edmonton 2–6 Colorado Varlamov 17,021 37–29–14 88 81 April 4 Winnipeg 2–3 Colorado OT Grubauer 18,003 38–29–14 90 82 April 6 Colorado 2–5 San Jose Varlamov 17,562 38–30–14 90 Legend:

Playoffs

The Avalanche faced the Calgary Flames in the first round of the playoffs, and defeated them in five games.

The Avalanche faced the San Jose Sharks in the second round of the playoffs, and were defeated in seven games. 2019 Stanley Cup playoffsWestern Conference first round vs. (P1) Calgary Flames: Colorado won 4–1 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 11 Colorado 0–4 Calgary Grubauer 19,289 0–1 2 April 13 Colorado 3–2 Calgary OT Grubauer 19,289 1–1 3 April 15 Calgary 2–6 Colorado Grubauer 18,098 2–1 4 April 17 Calgary 2–3 Colorado OT Grubauer 18,102 3–1 5 April 19 Colorado 5–1 Calgary Grubauer 19,289 4–1 Western Conference second round vs. (P2) San Jose Sharks: San Jose won 4–3 # Date Visitor Score Home OT Decision Attendance Series Recap 1 April 26 Colorado 2–5 San Jose Grubauer 17,562 0–1 2 April 28 Colorado 4–3 San Jose Grubauer 17,562 1–1 3 April 30 San Jose 4–2 Colorado Grubauer 18,106 1–2 4 May 2 San Jose 0–3 Colorado Grubauer 18,110 2–2 5 May 4 Colorado 1–2 San Jose Grubauer 17,562 2–3 6 May 6 San Jose 3–4 Colorado OT Grubauer 18,098 3–3 7 May 8 Colorado 2–3 San Jose Grubauer 17,562 3–4 Legend:

Player statistics Final stats Skaters

Regular season Player 82 41 58 99 +20 34 74 31 56 87 +13 54 73 34 41 75 +17 51 78 14 45 59 −3 36 82 23 26 49 −5 26 78 15 27 42 −9 38 66 16 16 32 −8 31 65 12 15 27 −6 8 82 4 23 27 +8 6 82 11 15 26 −10 58 70 11 15 26 −2 14 80 7 18 25 +8 38 64 4 19 23 +2 8 64 7 10 17 +10 14 71 2 13 15 −1 115 70 7 7 14 +19 75 74 1 9 10 +5 53 55 2 6 8 +3 10 40 3 3 6 −7 26 26 3 2 5 +4 2 23 2 3 5 −2 10 † 20 4 0 4 −7 8 15 1 1 2 −2 14 11 1 1 2 +2 0 12 1 0 1 −6 4 2 1 0 1 0 0 ‡ 8 0 0 0 −1 7 5 0 0 0 −2 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 −1 0

Playoffs Player 12 6 8 14 −1 4 12 6 7 13 −4 2 12 4 4 8 0 2 12 3 5 8 −2 10 12 1 7 8 +1 4 12 4 3 7 +6 2 12 4 2 6 +1 0 10 1 5 6 +3 0 12 0 5 5 +6 16 12 3 1 4 +3 0 8 0 4 4 +3 18 12 2 1 3 −1 4 12 0 3 3 −1 6 12 0 2 2 +4 8 9 0 2 2 +3 0 12 1 0 1 0 2 9 0 1 1 −2 8 12 0 0 0 −5 24 7 0 0 0 +4 4 5 0 0 0 −2 2

Goaltenders Regular season Player 2 0 61:11 0 2 0 2 1.96 35 .943 0 0 0 0 37 33 2020:44 18 9 5 89 2.64 1071 .917 3 0 0 0 49 49 2839:12 20 19 9 136 2.87 1496 .909 2 0 0 2 Playoffs Player 12 12 731:47 7 5 28 2.30 373 .925 1 0 1 0 †Denotes player spent time with another team before joining the Avalanche. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only. ‡Denotes player was traded mid-season. Stats reflect time with the Avalanche only. Bold/italics denotes franchise record.

Transactions The Avalanche have been involved in the following transactions during the 2018–19 season.

Trades Date Details Ref To Washington Capitals2nd-round pick in 2018To Colorado AvalanchePhilipp GrubauerBrooks Orpik To Pittsburgh PenguinsNSH's 2nd-round pick in 2018To Colorado AvalancheOTT's 3rd-round pick in 20185th-round pick in 2018 To Ottawa SenatorsJ. C. BeaudinTo Colorado AvalancheMax McCormick To Florida Panthers3rd-round pick in 2020To Colorado AvalancheDerick BrassardConditional 6th-round pick in 2020

Free agents Date Player Team Contract term Ref Jonathan Bernier to Detroit Red Wings 3-year Matt Calvert from Columbus Blue Jackets 3-year Ian Cole from Columbus Blue Jackets 3-year Blake Comeau to Dallas Stars 3-year Rocco Grimaldi to Nashville Predators 1-year Andrew Hammond to Minnesota Wild 1-year Sheldon Dries from Texas Stars (AHL) 1-year Scott Kosmachuk from Hartford Wolf Pack (AHL) 1-year Nail Yakupov to SKA Saint Petersburg (KHL) 1-year Felix Girard to Manitoba Moose (AHL) 1-year Logan O'Connor from Denver Pioneers (NCHC) 2-year Brooks Orpik to Washington Capitals 1-year Jesse Graham to Utica Comets (AHL) 1-year

Waivers Date Player Team Ref Marko Dano from Winnipeg Jets Marko Dano to Winnipeg Jets

Contract terminations Date Player Via Ref Brooks Orpik Buyout

Retirement Date Player Ref

Signings Date Player Contract term Ref Philipp Grubauer 3-year Joe Cannata 1-year Martin Kaut 3-year Matt Nieto 2-year Mason Geertsen 1-year Ryan Graves 1-year Spencer Martin 1-year Patrik Nemeth 1-year Nick Henry 3-year Shane Bowers 3-year Cale Makar 3-year Adam Werner 2-year Pavel Francouz 1-year

Draft picks

Below are the Colorado Avalanche's selections at the 2018 NHL entry draft, which was held on June 22 and 23, 2018, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas.

Round # Player Pos Nationality College/Junior/Club team (League)116 Martin Kaut RW Dynamo Pardubice (ELH)3641 Justus Annunen G Karpat U20 (Nuorten SM-liiga)378 Sampo Ranta LW Sioux City Musketeers (USHL)4109 Tyler Weiss LW U.S. NTDP (USHL)5140 Brandon Saigeon C Hamilton Bulldogs (OHL)51462 Danila Zhuravlyov D Irbis Kazan (MHL)6171 Nikolai Kovalenko RW Loko Yaroslavl (MHL)7202 Shamil Shmakov G Sibirskie Snaypery (MHL) Notes: