Getty Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche expect to reach great heights this season.
A loaded Colorado Avalanche team has its sights set on the Stanley Cup this season.
In 2021-22, most Avalanche games will be televised in local markets on Altitude, while some games will be nationally televised on NHL Network (usually out of market only, but those will also be on Altitude), TNT or ESPN.
Additionally, every out-of-market game (and some nationally broadcast games) will also stream on ESPN+, which replaces NHL.tv this season.
Whether you live in the Avalanche market or somewhere else in the United States, here’s a full rundown of the different ways you can watch every Avalanche game live online without cable in 2021-22:
Note: Heavy may earn an affiliate commission if you sign up via a link on this page
If You’re in the Avalanche Market
Note: A couple Avalanche games this season will stream exclusively on ESPN+ nationally with no blackout for in-market viewers. The following option is for how to watch all other in-market games:
DirecTV Stream
This is the only streaming service that has Altitude
DirecTV Stream (formerly AT&T TV) has four different channel packages: “Entertainment,” “Choice,” “Ultimate” and “Premier.” ESPN and TNT are included in all of them, Altitude (local markets) is in “Choice” and up, and NHL Network is in “Ultimate” and up.
You can sign up right here:
Once signed up for DirecTV Stream, you can watch Avalanche games live on the DirecTV Stream app, which is available on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Samsung TV, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet. Or you can watch on your computer via the DirecTV Stream website.
If you can’t watch live, DirecTV Stream also comes with 20 hours of Cloud DVR storage (with the ability to upgrade to 500 hours).
If You’re out of the Avalanche Market
ESPN+
You can watch every out-of-market, non-nationally televised NHL game (over 1,000 games total) on ESPN+, which replaces NHL.tv and is a must-have for any NHL fan in the United States:
ESPN+, which also includes about 75 exclusive national NHL games, plus dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary in existence and additional original content (both video and written), costs $6.99 for a month or $69.99 for a year (or about seven cents per NHL game if you want to look at it that way).
If you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $13.99 per month. Separately, the three streaming services would cost a total $20.97 per month, so you’re saving about 33 percent:
Get the ESPN+, Disney+ and Hulu Bundle
Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch every out-of-market Avalanche game live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Firestick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4 or 5, Xbox One or Series X/S, any device with Android TV (such as a Sony TV or Nvidia Shield), Samsung Smart TV, Oculus Go, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
Avalanche Season Preview 2021-22
Colorado comes into this season with so much talent that The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn projects the Avalanche as the strongest team in the NHL this season.
Avalanche general manager and former star center Joe Sakic would agree. Sakic led the Avalanche to a pair of Stanley Cup wins as a player in 1996 and 2001, but the Avalanche hasn’t been back to the finals or the conference finals since 2002. The last three seasons ended in the conference semifinals, including a tough 2021 squad that went 39-13-4.
“Our goal is to try to win the Stanley Cup,” Sakic said according to Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post. “We’re one of the favorites, and that’s a good position to be in. It doesn’t guarantee anything. But to be picked as one of the favorites going into the season, it means you’re doing a pretty good job with your roster.”
The Avalanche has dynamic first line, arguably the best in the NHL.
Center Nathan MacKinnon had 20 goals and 45 assists in 48 games last season. He posted 90-point seasons the past three years when playing 69 or more games.
Right wing Mikko Rantanen scored 30 goals and assisted on 36 in 52 games for 2020-2021. He went over 80 points in the last two seasons where the NHL had a full schedule before COVID-19.
Left wing Gabriel Landeskog tallied 20 goals and 32 assists in 54 contests last season. He had 75 points in the last full NHL season and 62 the year before that.
Colorado also has young talent in rookie Alex Newhook. The former Boston College standout appeared in six games and tallied three points. The Avalanche also have defenseman Bowen Byram, the No. 4 pick in the 2019 draft. Byram played in 19 games last season and had a plus-minus of one, and he tallied two assists.
A change in goaltending shouldn’t slow down the Avalanche either. Philipp Grubauer left in free agency for Seattle after a Vezina Trophy-worth season in goal. The Avalanche obtained Darcy Kuemper from the Arizona Coyotes in a trade to replace Grubauer.
Though Kuemper played for a perennial cellar dweller, he still showed promise throughout his time in the desert. Kuemper had a .907 save percentage, a 2.56 goals allowed average, and a 10-11-3 record in 27 games last sea son.
Colorado also has backup goalie Pavel Francouz back from injury. Francouz went 21-7 with a .923 save percentage and 2.41 goals allowed in the 2019-2020 season.
While the Avalanche are an easy favorite to win the Central Division, the team will need to move past its recent postseason demise.
“To get over the hump, everybody’s got to take that step up,” Sackic said per Kiszla. “In every round, there’s another emotional level you’ve got to get to. You can only do that by going through it. I’m hoping the lessons from last year (in the playoffs), we’re going to learn from those. You’ve got to get there. And then we’ve got to prove it on the ice. None of that’s going to be answered until we actually get in that position again and see if we can take the next step.”