PuckCast Edge
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2026-27 forecast · Tue, Feb 9, 7:30 PM ET
Brandon Bussi · 0.895 SV%
The preseason ratings make Carolina Hurricanes 53.9% to win at home — barely a lean at all, worth 4.0 points over a coin flip, which grades C. Over a full season those same ratings project CAR for 105 points and COL for 107.
A preseason forecast from each team's regressed rating and home ice, the ratings behind the projected standings. The full model read, with the starting goalies, rest and form, publishes within seven days of the game and replaces this page’s numbers. How the model works
COL controlled play at 5v5 last season, 57.6% of the expected goals to 56.5%; CAR's power play ran at 23.4% against a COL kill at 84.0%.
In goal, neither team has named a starter. Last season Mackenzie Blackwood (COL) saved -6.0 goals above expected to Brandon Bussi's -14.9, on save percentages of 0.904 and 0.895.
None of that is the model read. This is a rating-and-home-ice forecast; the full prediction — confirmed goalies, rest and form, priced against the market — publishes inside the seven days before puck drop and replaces these numbers. Carolina Hurricanes over Colorado Avalanche is where it starts, not where it ends.
No starter is named this far out. These are each side’s projected starters on the current roster, with last season’s numbers.
COL
Mackenzie Blackwood
39 games, 2025-26
CAR
Brandon Bussi
39 games, 2025-26
| COL | Metric | CAR |
|---|---|---|
| 57.6% | xGF% (5v5) | 56.5% |
| 56.3% | Shot share | 57.3% |
| 3.7 | Goals for / game | 3.5 |
| 2.4 | Goals against / game | 2.7 |
| 17.8% | Power play | 23.4% |
| 84.0% | Penalty kill | 82.7% |
| 51.2% | Faceoffs | 49.8% |
Colorado Avalanche
| Player | Pos | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 38 | 70 | 108 | |
| D | 23 | 60 | 84 | |
| C | 29 | 51 | 80 | |
| C | 18 | 27 | 45 |
Carolina Hurricanes
| Player | Pos | G | A | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | 29 | 47 | 76 |
| Date | Game | Pick | Score | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-01-03 | COL @ CAR | COL | COL 5–3 CAR | Correct |
| 2025-10-23 | CAR @ COL | COL | CAR 5–4 COL | Missed |
| Team | Proj. points | Playoff odds |
|---|---|---|
| Colorado Avalanche | 107 | 78.3% |
| Carolina Hurricanes | 105 | 69.3% |
Forecast method preseason-elo-v1; ratings as of 2026-08-19.
| R | 33 | 38 | 71 |
| R | 26 | 37 | 63 |
| L | 22 | 36 | 58 |