I'm less afraid of Colorado's offense than I was last year. They lost a lot of depth up front, as the salary cap stopped them from finding meaningful replacements for guys like Saad or Donskoi. And their center depth was never a huge strength, even last year. That being said, any team with Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen up front is going to produce chances, and their blueline is one of the best at handling the puck in the entire NHL (and will only be getting better with Bowen Byram's growth). I question Colorado's status as THE pre-season favorites this year, but they're still going to be favorites heading into the game tonight. Should be a fun one to watch.
I've also always had a soft spot for the Avs. Loved the Forsberg and Sakic days, and their penchant for being semi-frequent trade partners has led to them collecting some ex-Caps over the years (Konowalchuk, Fleischmann, Grubauer, Burakovsky, etc). If the Caps lose out in the playoffs, I'm rooting for the Avs.