MacKinnon, Makar take control for Colorado until full cast returns, possibly even Landeskog

Last season: 50-25-7, lost to Dallas in the second round of playoffs.

COACH: Jared Bednar (341-217-60 over 8 seasons, 1 Stanley Cup title).

SEASON OPENER: Oct. 9 at Vegas.

DEPARTURES: F Andrew Cogliano, F Brandon Duhaime, G Pavel Francouz, D Caleb Jones, F Zach Parise, F Yakov Trenin, D Sean Walker.

ADDITIONS: D Erik Brannstrom, D Calvin de Haan, F Parker Kelly, D Oliver Kylington, D Calle Rosén.

GOALIES: Alexandar Georgiev (38-18-5, 3.02 goals-against average, 0.897 save percentage), Justus Annunen (8-4-1, 2.25, 0.928).

BETMGM STANLEY CUP ODDS: 11-1.

The Colorado Avalanche figure to look a whole lot different later in the season. They are without captain Gabriel Landeskog (knee) and Artturi Lehkonen (shoulder) for an undetermined amount of time. But they could have back Valeri Nichushkin from suspension in mid-November. League MVP Nathan MacKinnon, defenseman Cale Makar and forward Mikko Rantanen will be counted on to keep the team afloat until the cast reunites. There are no guarantees with Landeskog, who's missed the last two seasons. Nichushkin went missing in the middle of a playoff series for a second straight postseason due to circumstances away from the ice. MacKinnon is coming off career highs in goals (51), assists (89) and shots (405). Georgiev led the NHL with 38 wins. Makar finished with 90 points, the most by an Avalanche defenseman in a season single in franchise history. Rantanen set a career high with 62 assists while averaging nearly 23 minutes of ice time.

The good: Colorado’s big-name players — MacKinnon, Makar and Rantanen — are all coming off banner seasons. Nichushkin will be a big lift whenever he returns after a career year that included 28 goals, 53 points and six game-winning scores. MacKinnon was nearly unstoppable at home, recording at least a point in each of Colorado’s first 35 home games. Only Wayne Gretzky had a longer run at home in a single season (40 in 1988-89).

The not-so-good: The concerns over Nichushkin. The NHL and NHL Players’ Association announced his suspension about an hour before the start of the Avalanche’s 5-1 loss to the Dallas Stars on May 13 that left them trailing 3-1 in the second-round series. “Time heals all wounds,” Bednar said. Some feelings may need to be soothed once Nichushkin rejoins the team.

Jonathan Drouin returned for another season after turning in a year that saw him finish with a career-best 56 points (19 goals, 37 assists). He's reunited with MacKinnon, his good friend, to rekindle the scoring chemistry from their days with the Halifax Mooseheads, where they captured a Memorial Cup in 2012-13. Logan O’Connor had a career-best 13 goals despite being limited to 57 games and undergoing hip surgery in March. He recently signed a six-year contract extension.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL

Colorado Avalanche right wing Logan O'Connor responds to questions during a news conference to announce that he signed a six-year contract extension with the hockey club Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Justus Annunen makes a save against the Dallas Stars in the first period of an NHL preseason hockey game Monday, Sept. 23, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

FILE - Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon waits for play to resume in the second period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, March 26, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar warms up for the second period of Game 4 of an NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Monday, May 13, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

FILE - Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar, left, collects the puck with Winnipeg Jets center Adam Lowry, right, in pursuit in the second period of Game 4 of an NHL Stanley Cup first-round playoff series Sunday, April 28, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

FILE - Colorado Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon collects the puck in the third period of Game 6 of an NHL hockey playoff series Friday, May 17, 2024, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

PARIS (AP) — There will be a first-time women’s champion at the French Open this year, and two Ukrainian players are among the strongest contenders.

Undefeated this season on clay, 15th-seeded Marta Kostyuk showed her strong credentials as she reached the quarterfinals in Paris for the first time on Sunday by taking out four-time champion Iga Swiatek 7-5, 6-1 and ruining her birthday.

She will be up against her compatriot Elina Svitolina next, ensuring there will be an Ukrainian woman semifinalist at Roland Garros for the first time in the professional era (1968). The seventh-seeded Svitolina rallied past Belinda Bencic 4-6, 6-4, 6-0.

“There’s going to be Ukraine in the semifinals, so it’s already amazing,” said Svitolina, whose country is in a 4-year-old war with Russia.

“I think it couldn’t be a better, amazing achievement for Ukrainian tennis. I think in such a difficult situation right now in the war, with the invasion, it’s really, really difficult, and I think it’s really inspiring for the next generation to really believe that it is possible one day to play on this court and win.”

None of the players still in the draw have yet lifted the trophy in Paris, following Coco Gauff’s elimination on Saturday and Swiatek's exit. It's the same in the men’s draw, after the defeats of Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic and with Carlos Alcaraz absent because of an injury.

In men's play, Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar moved into his first Grand Slam quarterfinal after coming back from two sets down to beat Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 4-6, 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. Jodar, who also played five sets in the previous round, will play second-seeded and former runner-up Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals. Zverev defeated Jesper de Jong 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-1.

Also, 19-year-old Joao Fonseca followed up his five-set victory over Novak Djokovic by beating two-time runner-up Casper Ruud 7-5, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-2.

Fonseca will next face 20-year-old Jakub Mensik, who held off a comeback from Andrey Rublev in a 6-3, 7-6 (6), 4-6, 2-6, 6-3 win.

Kostyuk had lost her three previous matches against Swiatek and never taken a set against the former top-ranked player, who turned 25 on Sunday.

“I’m still in shock. To beat such an unbelievable player, who won four times here," she said.

Kostyuk has been the best player of the clay-court season. She defended extremely well, chasing Swiatek’s shots all over the court, and also produced some stunning groundstroke winners while her rival was also undone by her own mistakes.

An intense baseline battle unfolded from the outset. Swiatek showed signs of nerves as she double-faulted, shanked a forehand wide and then missed a volley at the net, allowing Kostyuk to level at 5-5 in the opener. Swiatek hit two more double faults in the 12th game and the 15th-seeded Ukrainian player sealed the set with a backhand passing shot.

Swiatek then briefly left the court. Meanwhile, Kostyuk kept herself warm by stretching and hopping beside her chair, then received some applause as she did a few dance moves to the music playing in the stadium.

Following a first week marked by a suffocating heatwave, relief finally arrived in Paris on Sunday, with temperatures dropping to 21 degrees C (70 F) around midday. When play resumed, Swiatek broke but another double fault coupled with more unforced errors brought her opponent back at 1-1. Kostyuk then won the last five games.

Kostyuk, who had reached the fourth round at Roland Garros in 2021 when she lost to Swiatek, extended her winning streak on clay to 16 matches. Ahead of the French Open, she won in Madrid, the biggest title of her career, after she claimed another clay-court title in Rouen, France.

“The most important thing that I’ve been doing this whole time is really just trying to enjoy,” she said. “It’s helping. I want to keep enjoying. I try not to focus at all on winning or losing because I’m not playing tennis to win, I’m playing tennis because I love it."

Romanian veteran Sorana Cirstea, who is planning to retire at the end of the season, beat Chinese qualifier Wang Xiyu 6-3, 7-6 (4) to reach her second Roland Garros quarterfinal, 17 years after first making it to the last eight.

The gap between Cirstea’s first and second Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances in Paris is the longest at a single major by any woman in the Open Era.

“There is no expiration date for ambition and for dreams,” Cirstea said. “I think back then I was a kid, just started on tour. Now I have so many years behind me. I have so much experience, maturity. I feel I’m a completely different player.”

Also advancing was Mirra Andreeva of Russia, who beat Jil Teichmann 6-3, 6-2.

AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf contributed to this report.

AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis

Ukraine's Elina Svitolina reacts afte the fourth-round tennis match against Switzerland's Belinda Bencic at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Spain's Rafael Jodar reacts after winning the fourth-round tennis match against Spain's Pablo Carreno Busta at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk returns to Poland's Iga Swiatek during the fourth-round tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Poland's Iga Swiatek returns to Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk during the fourth-round tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk returns to Poland's Iga Swiatek during the fourth-round tennis match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk reacts after the fourth-round tennis against Poland's Iga Swiatek match at the French Open in Paris, Sunday, May 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)