Adams Division Values

Your eyes are not deceiving you, those jerseys are legit. It was announced prior to the start of the season that the Colorado Avalanche would don the throwback Quebec Nordiques jerseys during a number of select games, and this game was the first of the seven that would see these jerseys return. Even better, the Avs were at home facing the Carolina Hurricanes, and the Canes decided to don the old Hartford Whalers jerseys.

Now, for those who don't know, here's a history lesson. Once upon a time, four franchises from the World Hockey Association were transferred into the National Hockey League. The teams were the Edmonton Oilers, the Winnipeg Jets, the Quebec Nordiques, and the Hartford Whalers, and they were placed in the NHL in 1979 as part of the WHA-NHL merger--the last merger in pro sports until the XFL and USFL merged last year. Regarding the Nordiques and Whalers, the clubs spent a good bit of time in the old Adams Division along with the Boston Bruins, the Buffalo Sabres, and the Montréal Canadiens. Neither team had much playoff success, though at least the Nordiques reached the Conference Finals in 1982 and 1985. The Whalers? Not so much.

The teams' relocation occurred during an immense wave of relocation and expansion during the 1990s. The Nordiques were moved to Denver in 1995 and became the Colorado Avalanche, and it was two years later in 1997 that the Whalers moved down south to Raleigh and became the Carolina Hurricanes. It wasn't until the teams moved that the success came. The Avs' first year in Denver ended with the team standing alone as Stanley Cup Champions, and two more Cups followed in 2001 and 2022. As for the Hurricanes, they made their first Cup Final appearance in 2002, and their first Stanley Cup came four years later in 2006.

This game saw Scott Wedgewood in net for the Avalanche/Nordiques, and Frederik Anderson in net for the Hurricanes/Whalers. The action started early, and it was Eric Robinson who struck for the Canes. The goal came at 3:07, and less than a minute later, Valeri Nichushkin tied it up (my first successful Avs Twitter Psychic pick of the season! Avs went on the power play (get used to that phrase), but it was Seth Jarvis who broke away shorthanded and put it in. It didn't end there. Sebastian Aho made it 3-1, marking the first time that the Avs were down by two goals in any part of a game. 59 seconds later, Logan Stankoven (Carolina's prize in the Mikko Rantanen deal) scored.

Avs trailed 4-1 after 20 minutes. First time all year that we were getting punched in the mouth. However, we've been known to come back in recent years.

In the 2nd period, the Avs were on the power play. That was killed off. Then at 4:46, Parker Kelly scored, and Rod Brind'Amour challenged, figuring that a whistle wasn't blown at some point. The goal stood, and that gave the Avs another power play. Knocked off. Another PP came for the Avs. No go. Finally, it was Carolina/Hartford's turn on the PP. Colorado/Quebec had a few shorthanded chances, but no go. Another Avs PP at 18:39, spanned into the third period, killed off.

Avs killed off another Carolina PP early in the third, and at 4:45, Martin Necas cut our deficit to one. Right after, matching minors were called, and during that four-on-four, another penalty on Carolina. Power play #6 for Colorado. Nothing. With 6:42 left, the Avs were on the power play for the seventh time. Seventh time's the charm! Valeri Nichushkin tied it up on the PP, but he would be in the box minutes later. During Carolina's PP, matching minors were called. After everything was settled, Brock Nelson was in the box at 18:13. Oh boy.

Thankfully, we knocked off the remaining 1:47 in regulation, and we were in OT for the second straight game. Rest of the PP was killed off, but we were shorthanded again. Yikes. That was killed off, too, and then, yep, you guessed it. Power Play #8 for Colorado. Close calls, but nothing doing. Game went to a shootout, only one goal was scored, and it was Seth Jarvis.

On October 23, 2025, the Hartford Whalers (Carolina Hurricanes) defeated the Quebec Nordiques (Colorado Avalanche), 5-4 via shootout. Back when Hartford and Quebec City had NHL teams, there were no shootouts. This game definitely lived up to the Adams Division fire that was resurrected that evening. For the Avs, the streak continues. No regulation losses in our first eight games, 13 points out of the maximum 16 in the standings. Even so, the Avs have lost back-to-back games for the first time this season. Granted, they were past regulation, but still, we need some wins.

The Avs face off against another former Adams Division rival on Saturday: the Boston Bruins. We'll be in our normal Avs jerseys for that one.

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