Nelson pushes Avalanche past Maple Leafs 4-1

TORONTO – Brock Nelson scored goals 72 seconds apart early in the first period before sealing his fifth career hat trick into the empty net as the Colorado Avalanche cruised to a 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday afternoon.

Jack Drury had the other goal for Colorado (35-6-9). MacKenzie Blackwood made 32 saves.

Max Domi replied late on a power play for Toronto (24-19-9). Joseph Woll stopped 33 shots.

The Maple Leafs picked up a 4-3 overtime victory against the Avalanche in Denver on Jan. 12, but have now dropped six of seven (1-4-2), including an ugly 0-3-1 start to their current five-game homestand following an 8-0-2 run.

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Colorado became just the fourth team in NHL history with six or fewer regulation losses through 50 games, joining the 1979-80 Philadelphia Flyers (35-3-12), 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens (38-5-7) and 1975-76 Canadiens (36-6-8).

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The last team with at least 77 points through 50 contests was the 2022-23 Boston Bruins (38-7-5), who went on to set the NHL record for wins in a season with 65.

TAKEAWAYS

Maple Leafs: Head coach Craig Berube’s group sat in the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card spot after beating Colorado on Jan. 12, but woke up Sunday five points below the playoff cutline.

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Avalanche: The club entered play 1-2-2 over its last five games following a 33-4-7 start to the schedule.

KEY MOMENT

Nelson opened the scoring at 6:19 of the first on a 2-on-1 before adding his second just over a minute later on a sneaky pass off the stick of Artturi Lehkonen from behind Woll’s net to give him 26 goals on the campaign. The centre’s eventual hat trick was his first since March 19, 2023.

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KEY STAT

Nelson tied Alex DeBrincat and Kyle Connor — both with eight — for the third-most 25-goal seasons among active American players. The list is led by Patrick Kane (11) and Toronto captain Auston Matthews (10).

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UP NEXT

Maple Leafs: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday.

Avalanche: Visit the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 25, 2026.