The NHL’s best in the West are set for battle with a berth in the Stanley Cup Final on the line.
The Colorado Avalanche face the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the NHL’s Western Conference Final at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday night at 6 p.m. Follow along for live updates, analysis, the latest on injuries, game coverage and more.
Injuries
Avalanche star Cale Makar out for Game 1 of Western Conference Final
Cale Makar will not play in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.
Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said his Norris Trophy-winning defenseman will miss the first contest of this best-of-series on Wednesday night against the Vegas Golden Knights and considers him day-to-day.
Makar has played in every game this postseason, but was clearly laboring in Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild.
Predictions
Corey Masisak, beat writer: If we knew on Wednesday morning that Cale Makar is good to go and close to 100%, then it feels like there aren’t a lot of paths to victory here for Vegas. Carter Hart could play out of his mind. The Golden Knights could steal a game or two on special teams. Maybe this is finally the spot where the Avs beat themselves. This Colorado group has proven its mental toughness in the small spurts of adversity it has faced, though. Avs in 5.
Sean Keeler, sports columnist: Vegas can roll two lines that match Colorado’s, especially if Mark Stone returns to the fold. But not four lines. No way. Per MoneyPuck.com, 25 different forward combos this postseason with at least 11 minutes of ice time had posted an expected goals percentage better than 66%. The Avs accounted for five of those tail-kicking combos — the Kings had none; The Wild had two; Vegas has one. Cale or no Cale, Mitch Marner is on a serious heater right now. But if the Knights winger has to log more than 25 minutes per game, he’ll be running on fumes by next Tuesday. Which, if you’re Jared Bednar, is kind of the point. Avs in 6.
Avalanche vs. Golden Knights predictions: Can Colorado cool off red-hot Mitch Marner and Vegas?
Troy Renck, sports columnist: There are some talking themselves into this as an even matchup. It is not. The Avs are the better team. But there are a few wrinkles of concern. Cale Makar doesn’t look healthy, and how many more times is coach Jared Bednar going to pull the goalie before it affects Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood mentally? The Knights are equipped and designed to defend well in space. They have championship experience. But if Mark Stone, the Knights’ version of Gabe Landeskog, remains sidelined, there is no chance Las Vegas upsets the Avs. Avs in 6.
Lori Punko, deputy sports editor: Even with the addition of Mitch Marner (ironically, traded by Toronto to Vegas for now-Av Nicolas Roy), the Golden Knights don’t have the depth to keep up with the Avalanche. And Vegas could be without captain Mark Stone, who suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3 against the Anaheim Ducks, for at least several games. Colorado is averaging 3.31 goals per game to Vegas’ 2.54. And the Avs, behind the tandem of Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood, are giving up just 1.97 goals per game to Vegas’ 2.56. The Golden Knights will put up a fight, but they don’t have the firepower to outscore Colorado. Avs in 5.
Kyle Newman, sportswriter: The Golden Knights were fined $100,000 and stripped of their second-round pick in this year’s draft after the team didn’t open the locker room and coach John Tortorella refused to meet with reporters following Vegas’ series-clinching win over the Ducks last week. It seems like Tortorella is trying to cultivate an us-against-the-world attitude with his team, and that he believes blowing off the NHL’s playoff media guidelines will somehow hyper-focus the Knights into beating the Avalanche. That is an approach a team would take only when they know they are seriously outmatched. Avs fans, start making Stanley Cup Final plans. Avs in 5.
Avs-Knights NHL Western Conference Final Game 1: Must-reads
Renck: For Avalanche fans, itap easy to hate the Golden Knights. They deserve it.
The Golden Knights are easy not to like.
As the NHL’s Western Conference Final opens Wednesday night against the Colorado Avalanche at Ball Arena, two countries should be united in rooting against Las Vegas.
The queue of reasons is longer than a hockey stick. And not just because of the juxtaposition to the Avalanche, who, you know, follow media policies and don’t make lame excuses about catching flights.
As a society, we love winners. Teams that capture imaginations, create memories and hold trophies. But how teams achieve success still matters, writes.
Keeler: Avalanche betting on Cale Makar against Vegas. Will it pay off?
Makar is eligible for a contract extension on July 1.
He’s earned the right to be the highest-paid D-man in the world. The Avs have to hold up to him the same promises they did for Landy four years ago while he played through pain to get this franchise a parade. Especially if Makar’s ’26-27 season is delayed, as it very well might be, by surgery.
No Avalanche player knows the Golden Knights better than Nicolas Roy. Can he give Colorado an edge?
The competition is sleeping at Nicolas Roy’s house.
The Avalanche forward wouldn’t say which current Golden Knights player is renting his residence in Las Vegas, but good luck finding a juicier subplot in this Western Conference Final than Roy’s full-circle trajectory over the past 11 months.
He’s gone from being a disposable asset in Vegas, which shipped him to Toronto in a sign-and-trade for Mitch Marner on July 1, to being coveted in Colorado at the trade deadline when the Avs acquired him to be their third-line center.
No Avs player knows the Golden Knights better than Roy, who said after Sunday’s practice that he’s still close with every one of his former teammates in black and gold.
Read more
- Keeler: Avalanche say Nathan MacKinnon isn’t on Winter Olympics revenge tour. He’s sure playing like it.
- Avalanche Western Conference Finals schedule
