 The Avalanche played their first game in the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver (where the Denver Nuggets also played) on October 6, 1995, winning 3–2 against the Detroit Red Wings.It marked a return of the NHL to Denver after an absence of 13 years, when the Colorado Rockies (not to be confused with the Major League Baseball team of the same name) moved to New Jersey to become the New Jersey Devils.Valeri Kamensky scored the first goal as the Avalanche.