Avalanche Streak Snapped — But Landeskog’s Grit Saves a Crucial Point on Black Friday

The Colorado Avalanche saw their win streak end but still managed to pick up a point against the NHL's hottest team at the moment.

The Colorado Avalanche hit the ice on Black Friday but were unable to extend their winning streak against the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. The Avs played a tough, tight-checking game, but ultimately came up short on the night.

Despite the shootout loss, the Avalanche rescued a point in the standings. The club is now at 40 points on the season and continues to widen its lead on the rest of the league.

So, let’s jump into this edition of the Colorado Avalanche notes following their Black Friday tilt with the Minnesota Wild.

Avalanche streak ends

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. That was the case for the Colorado Avalanche and their 10-game winning streak. The 3-2 shootout decision was technically a loss, though it doesn’t count in the loss column.

The Avalanche rallied in the third period after giving up a pair to Kirill Kaprizov in the second period. The shootout loss, however, should be taken with a grain of salt. The Wild are the hottest team in the league right now. The win over the Avs extends their winning streak to seven.

Plus, the Wild are 9-0-1 in their last 10 games. So, it seems fitting that Colorado would lose such a tight game against a worthy opponent.

On a side note, Friday’s loss also marks the end of the Avalanche’s three-game shutout streak. Scott Wedgewood had a fantastic game, making 35 saves on the night.

The Cap rescues a point

Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog was clutch on Friday. He notched his third of the season to tie the game at the 11:08 mark of the third period.

Here’s a look at the tally:

THAT'S OUR CAPTAIN 🫡 pic.twitter.com/5jGe1hFPv7
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) November 28, 2025

The replay showed Landeskog got clipped as he and the Wild defender hit the ice. It took him a little while to get back up, but when he did, the Wild allowed him time and space to get back into the play.

Landeskog got two cracks at the puck before popping the rebound home for the game-tying goal. The Cap was rewarded for a tough hit. It’s the sort of plays that make Landeskog the heart and soul of the Colorado Avalanche.

Colorado to face Montreal on Saturday

With Black Friday’s game in the books, the Avalanche will head back home to face the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday night at Ball Arena.

The Habs are coming off a 4-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights, so they will be looking to continue their momentum in Colorado. The game will be the first of two meetings between the Avalanche and Canadiens this season. The two teams will meet on Saturday and then again on January 29 to close out their season series.

3 Jets players with high stakes on the line vs. Falcons

While New York Jets fans might not be overly invested in Sunday’s outcome against the Atlanta Falcons (unless they’re rooting for the tank, even if Aaron Glenn despises the concept), it will be a massive Sunday for numerous players on the roster.

Only six games remain for New York’s players to strengthen their resumes ahead of an offseason that will be filled with changes. How these “bubble” players perform over the next six weeks could shape how the Jets’ roster looks in 2026 as they look to snap their soon-to-be 15-year playoff drought.

These three players, in particular, are facing high stakes on Sunday as the Falcons march into MetLife Stadium.

TE Jeremy Ruckert

Following the Jets’ Week 11 loss to the New England Patriots, we evaluated Jeremy Ruckert’s performance over the first 10 games of the season. The conclusion was that Ruckert has enjoyed a significantly improved year, solidifying him as a respectable TE2, but hasn’t necessarily stood out enough to secure his role for the 2026 season.

Ruckert performed so poorly in 2024 that his merely decent production in 2025 (as both a receiver and blocker) is enough to represent a massive jump. In reality, though, he’s a player that the Jets can significantly improve upon in the offseason with their mountain of assets, especially as they seek to upgrade a bottom-feeding offense in any way possible.

The bad news for Ruckert is that he is starting to trend back down toward his 2024 performance. After executing efficiently as a receiver and blocker through the first couple of months, he’s been making more mistakes recently.

In the Jets’ Week 10 loss to New England, Ruckert failed to secure a well-thrown fourth-down pass in the fourth quarter that would have given the Jets first-and-goal as they attempted to cut the Patriots’ lead to one score. A defender punched the ball out of Ruckert’s grasp, ending the Jets’ chances of a comeback.

In a Week 11 loss to Baltimore, Ruckert whiffed badly on multiple run blocks.

These two rough games against quality opponents continued an extended stretch of shaky play from Ruckert. At this point, his improved production in 2025 mostly comes from the first six games of the season. The last five games have resembled his 2024 season.

Through Week 6, Ruckert earned an overall grade of 66.2 at Pro Football Focus, good enough for 23rd out of 83 qualified tight ends. It seemed like he was turning a corner. Ruckert caught all eight targets thrown his way and appeared to be an average blocker.

Since Week 7, though, Ruckert’s grade has dropped to 54.9, placing 63rd out of 86 tight ends. The decline has occurred due to a couple of critical receiving mistakes (specifically the botched catch vs. New England and a drop vs. Carolina) and a dip in his blocking consistency.

As an impending free agent who was drafted by the previous regime, Ruckert is squarely on the 2026 roster bubble. He must shine over the next six weeks if he wants to return in a key offensive role. Otherwise, the Jets will likely pursue a more dynamic option to place beside Mason Taylor.

Ruckert has improved into a usable offensive player, and it is also worth noting that he has performed well on special teams this season, so there is a place for him on the Jets’ roster in 2026. As a TE2, though, the viability of Ruckert’s performance this year should not be exaggerated just because his previous standards were so low. The Jets can do better, and they should try to do better unless Ruckert turns a corner over the final stretch of 2025.

Right now, Ruckert is on track to return to New York as a player expected to compete for TE3 duties and a special teams role. That’s an upgrade compared to a year ago, when he didn’t even seem rosterable. But if he wants to keep his role as the TE2 on a team that will have ample assets to find someone more impressive, he needs to take another step forward from “respectable” to “good”.

LG John Simpson

After the 2024 season, John Simpson seemed like he was on track to earn a lucrative long-term contract in New York. Inked to a two-year, $12 million deal, he vastly outperformed his pay grade in his debut season as a Jet, ranking as PFF’s fourth-best left guard with a 77.3 overall grade.

In 2025, though, Simpson’s production has dipped back down to the level that you would expect from a player on his type of contract. Simpson’s 54.4 overall grade ranks 24th out of 33 qualified left guards. The film backs up the grade, as Simpson has clearly been more mistake-prone than he was in 2024.

If Simpson replicated his 2024 season, he would currently be on track to earn a substantial pay raise on the 2026 free agent market. However, at 28 years old, NFL teams will not be eager to sign Simpson to a long-term deal into his thirties with the type of production he generated through the first 11 games of this season. To this point, he has lost tens of millions of dollars through his play in 2025.

There is still enough time for Simpson to get back on the trajectory he found himself on after the 2024 season. A dominant six-game stretch could raise his season-long numbers back up to their 2024 levels.

If it’s going to happen, he must start on Sunday by maximizing a favorable matchup against Atlanta.

The Falcons’ primary right-side defensive tackle is Ruke Orhorhoro. Simpson will see a bit of every Falcons defensive tackle, as Atlanta rotates its defensive linemen, but Orhorhoro leads the interior unit with 23.3 snaps per game on the right side (across from the left guard), so he will be Simpson’s primary matchup.

The 2024 second-round pick has not lived up to expectations so far. Orhorhoro is PFF’s lowest-ranked defensive tackle among 83 qualifiers with at least 300 defensive snaps (41.4 overall grade). He only has three quarterback hits in 11 games, while he has struggled immensely against the run.

At the moment, Simpson’s 2025 metrics are substantially below where they were in 2024. If he wants to make up that ground in just six games, he must be not only good, but outstanding. And he’s capable of it; after all, he was PFF’s fourth-ranked guard last year.

A matchup against one of the league’s least effective defensive tackles is just what the doctor ordered for Simpson. Let’s see if he can take advantage.

From the Jets’ perspective, Simpson is a fascinating evaluation. If he finishes the season strongly, they would probably love to keep him to retain the excellent continuity that the starting offensive line has built this year, even if his improved play raises his price on the open market.

If he doesn’t improve, the Jets will have an opportunity to use their assets to find an upgrade at left guard. Still, they could take advantage of Simpson’s struggles by retaining him on the cheap, allowing them to maintain offensive line continuity at a bargain and allocate their premium resources toward more valuable positions than guard.

Sunday’s matchup against Orhorhoro will tell us a lot about Simpson’s outlook going into 2026.

EDGE Will McDonald

We’ve written quite a bit about Will McDonald this week. First, we highlighted McDonald’s overall struggles throughout the season, and in response, we debunked one of the popular defenses of his underwhelming production.

People have all sorts of opinions on the Jets’ 2023 first-round pick. Here are the facts: His 2025 numbers are nowhere close to what they were in 2024, and they are not even at the level of a league-average starter. Put as much or as little blame on McDonald as you’d like, but that’s where we’re at.

Per PFF, McDonald finished the 2024 season with 61 total pressures, good for 13th among edge rushers. Through 11 games in 2025, he has just 28 pressures, ranking 40th.

McDonald’s pressure rate this season is 10.4%, placing 42nd among the 63 edge rushers with at least 200 pass-rush snaps. Essentially, his pass-rush efficiency has been that of a below-average starter. Couple that with his vulnerability against the run (even if he has been slightly better this year), and McDonald hasn’t been a plus starter by any measure.

Maybe you believe those numbers are an accurate representation of his talent and impact, maybe you do not. Given McDonald’s obvious talent via the eye test and his track record of high-level impact via the numbers, it is understandable to believe that extenuating factors could be to blame for his lack of impact in 2025. Nonetheless, the reality is that his production simply isn’t where it needs to be.

After the 2024 season, McDonald seemed like an obvious long-term cornerstone for the Jets’ defense. In just his second season, he rushed the passer at a top-15 level for his position. The expectation was that he’d take another jump in 2025, establishing himself as one of the best edge pass rushers in the NFL.

Instead, McDonald has not only failed to take a jump, but he’s taken a significant step backward.

McDonald finds himself in a similar spot to Simpson. With over one-third of the season still in the future, McDonald has enough time to push his 2025 season-long numbers back up to their 2024 level if he finishes the year with a scorching hot run over the final six games. If he can do that, he can reclaim his status as the no-brainer building block that he appeared to be after 2024.

The problem for McDonald is that he could not have asked for a tougher matchup to kickstart this critical stretch of games. As a defensive end who plays most of his snaps on the right side, his matchup on Sunday will be the Falcons’ star left tackle, Jake Matthews. His 88.3 pass-blocking grade at PFF ranks second among all offensive linemen this year.

This is a fantastic opportunity for McDonald, though. As much as he would love to see a weak left tackle to pump up his numbers, it will send a louder message if he can produce against one of the league’s best pass protectors.

After all, proving he can beat star linemen is a box that McDonald has yet to check. Most of his production this year has come against mediocre or worse tackles. He has recorded six of his seven sacks in two games against the Steelers and Browns, whose left tackles were Broderick Jones (59.0 pass-blocking grade in 2025) and Cam Robinson (44.0).

Against quality pass protectors, McDonald has gone silent. He’s played five games against left tackles who currently have a pass-blocking grade of 75.0 or better in 2025 (good enough for top-15 among qualifiers):

Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs (78.2)
Buffalo’s Dion Dawkins (79.3)
Miami’s Patrick Paul (75.0)
Denver’s Garett Bolles (88.3)
New England’s Will Campbell (76.1)

In those five games, McDonald had zero sacks, two quarterback hits, 11 total pressures (2.2 per game), and a paltry 10% pressure rate. He had twice as many missed tackles in those games (four) as quarterback hits.

McDonald has shrunk against quality competition this year. If he wants the Jets’ new regime to treat him like a long-term building block, he has to start proving he can rise to the occasion against great left tackles.

Building blocks are supposed to help you win playoff games, and you’re never going to win many playoff games if your top edge rusher can’t beat the league’s best pass protectors. The playoff field rarely features many sieves at the tackle positions; it’s hard to get that far with a liability protecting the blind side.

For that reason, Jake Matthews is precisely the matchup McDonald needs at this crucial juncture of his career. If McDonald beats up Matthews on Sunday, and it jump-starts an impressive run to close the season, the Jets can start to take him seriously again as a potential core piece of their future.

If not, the Jets will likely seek to replace him in the 2026 starting lineup. Perhaps that involves trading him, perhaps it involves reducing him to a situational role, but either way, McDonald cannot be viewed as a part of the Jets’ nucleus if he keeps disappearing against good left tackles.

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