Brock Nelson scored a hat trick, including two quick goals in the first period, to lead the Colorado Avalanche to a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday. The win improves Colorado's record to 35-6-9 while handing Toronto a fourth straight home loss. Nelson, bound for the Olympics with Team USA, now has 13 goals in his last 13 games.
The Colorado Avalanche secured a 4-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena on January 25, 2026, in a matchup featuring Olympic-bound stars Nathan MacKinnon and Auston Matthews. This was their final NHL clash before the Olympic break, with MacKinnon representing Canada and Matthews the United States.
Brock Nelson opened the scoring at 6:19 of the first period, capitalizing on a neutral-zone turnover to beat Joseph Woll with a shot from the right face-off circle, making it 1-0. Just over a minute later, at 7:31, Nelson one-timed a pass from Artturi Lehkonen from above the goal line to extend the lead to 2-0. These goals, scored 1:12 apart, marked the second-fastest pair by an Avalanche player this season.
In the second period, Jack Drury added to the advantage at 18:53, wristing a shot from the top of the left circle off a pass from Parker Kelly to make it 3-0. Mackenzie Blackwood preserved the shutout bid with key saves, including a sprawling pad stop on Matias Maccelli's rebound in the third.
Nelson completed his fifth career hat trick—and first since March 19, 2022—with an empty-net goal at 17:41, his 25th of the season. Max Domi scored Toronto's lone goal on a power play at 18:58, tipping in a loose puck.
Blackwood made 32 saves for Colorado, which became the fourth team in NHL history with six or fewer regulation losses through 50 games. Woll stopped 33 shots for Toronto, now 1-4-2 in their last seven.
"If I knew how to bottle it up, but I think it’s just trying to just play, not really think about it too much," Nelson said of his hot streak. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar praised the team's defensive details: "Great start to our road trip. I liked our defending details tonight."
Toronto captain Auston Matthews stressed unity: "It’s about this next game now, pulling each other up, helping each other out when things aren’t going well." The loss extends Toronto's home skid to 0-3-1.
This victory highlights Colorado's dominance, tying them for the fewest regulation losses in league history at this stage, while Toronto searches for consistency ahead of the playoffs.