The goaltending position is a near-perfect reflection of where the Colorado Avalanche stand heading into the summer of 2026.

Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood combined for one of the best regular-season performances in franchise history, winning the William Jennings Trophy for yielding the fewest goals in the NHL. “The Lumberyard” combined for a solid showing in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, but by the end of the Western Conference Final, there were questions about whether the duo can get the Avs where they ultimately want to go.

“They’re in a good spot,” Cory Schneider, a former NHL goaltender, teammate of both Avs netminders and analyst for NHL Network and MSG Networks, told The Denver Post. “You can sit there and blame the goaltending. It was one of a few reasons (they lost), but I don’t think it was the reason. They’re a team built to survive with good enough goaltending, kind of like in ’22 when they won with (Darcy) Kuemper and (Pavel) Francouz.

“I think most teams would be pretty envious of those two. If you went around the league and asked you trade your two for our two, I think most teams would take those guys.”

What just happened

Wedgewood led the league in save percentage, goals against average and finished fifth in Vezina Trophy voting. The 32-year-old career backup was one of the great stories in the NHL this season, smashing career bests in every statistical category.

Since arriving first, 10 days ahead of Blackwood during the 2024-25 season, Wedgewood quickly integrated with the Avs’ leadership core and became a fan favorite. Whether it was his style of play, underdog story or immersion into some of the club’s key theme nights, “Wedge-ie” chants became synonymous with his rise to opening the playoffs as the starter.

His play in the first round was near flawless, but he was replaced by Blackwood in each of the next two rounds.

“Scott had an amazing season and did everything you could ask of him,” Schneider said. “It����ap not a knock to say he just bumped into his ceiling a little bit. You need a good 1B and a guy like Scott. But I think when the chips are on the table, Mackenzie has got to become the guy who is going to carry you there.”

Blackwood had an up-and-down year. It started late because of an offseason surgery, and that in part allowed Wedgewood to kick off his career-best season. When Blackwood’s season did begin, he roared to a 13-1-1 start and ultimately was the first alternate for Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano, Italy.

The middle of his campaign was undone by another injury. His play slipped after his return: 5-7 with an .880 save percentage across 14 games between Jan. 16 and March 16.

He watched while Wedgewood started the first seven postseason games. He had two great starts, including Game 4 against Vegas, but also one that he didn’t finish.

“It����ap freaking hard not to play for so long and come into a big game,” Blackwood said after the Game 4 loss. “But you know, I just said, ‘(expletive) it and go play the best I can and give them the best chance to win and just battle.’ ”

Down a level, Trent Miner had a similar end to Wedgewood — great start to a postseason run, but the guy at the other end of the ice outplayed him in Games 6 and 7 of the AHL conference finals. Miner, 25, collected his first NHL win and a really nice year as the club’s No. 3 goalie, but will also face stiff competition to keep that place next season.

What’s next

The Avs haven’t been this stable, up and down the depth chart, in net in a long time.

Blackwood has four years remaining on his contract and currently has the 22nd-highest cap hit for the 2026-27 season at $5.25 million. Wedgewood is signed for another year at $2.5 million. There are eight goalies slated to make more than the Jennings Trophy-winning duo combined.

Still, Blackwood turns 30 in December. It’s going to be a massive year for him.

“I think Mackenzie really has to establish himself as the guy,” Schneider said. “He’s got so much talent, so much upside. But he’s starting to get older, and then it����ap not upside anymore, it����ap unrealized potential. When he’s healthy and confident, he can be an elite goaltender.

“He’s got to prove that he can be healthy and have his head on straight for an entire year. That is going to be his challenge. I think he can rise to it, but you kind of don’t know until he does it.”

Colorado has four more goaltenders under contract for next season. The headliner is Ilya Nabokov, the club’s top pick in the 2024 NHL draft and top prospect, regardless of position. The 23-year-old joined the Colorado Eagles at the end of his KHL season, but has yet to play in a North American game.

Nabokov is a wild card. He was great in the KHL for two years, though his numbers dipped this past season. Can he unseat Miner as the Eagles’ No. 1, or even challenge Wedgewood? The latter might be a stretch, but what impact he makes next year could alter the course of the depth chart behind Blackwood in 2027 and beyond.

“Goaltending was not an issue all year,” Avs president and general manager Joe Sakic said. “I like the way that it was operated. They both played well, and we expect, to be honest, I expect them to get a little bit even better next year and a little stronger. You go to Blackwood, and he had a tough start last year (with) injuries. It’s hard for goaltenders to miss all the training camp, basically, and get back and try and get in a rhythm.

“He’s 100%. He was 100% down the stretch. He’s got a whole summer to get ready and focus.”

Future depth chart

* Unrestricted free agent in 2027; + Restricted free agent in 2027

The Avs have failed four consecutive seasons to reach the finish line. But did you see the speed, the passing, the scoring before the final lap? Amazing, right?

Sports make hypocrites of all of us.

And the Avs’ long-awaited, season-ending press conference Thursday nestled their leadership firmly into this category.

For a franchise that adopted a Stanley Cup-or-bust mentality in October, vice chairman Josh Kroenke and president/general manager Joe Sakic sure seemed satisfied with a seven-month process that came up embarrassingly short in an early Las Vegas summer.

“Our style worked all year,” Sakic said. “It just didn’t work for one week.”

“The continuity is what has established this core group,” Kroenke added, “as elite.”

In the wake of another playoff disappointment, I naively thought management would shed their long-held beliefs and focus on sobering truths.

The truth is coach Jared Bednar’s system no longer works in the playoffs. Colorado can outscore anyone, anywhere in the regular season. However, force the Avs to face a possession-oriented, defensive-minded team that protects the middle of the ice in the postseason and watch them melt. Sakic, in one of his few moments of critique, allowed that the Golden Knights “frustrated” the Avs. More like took their soul and made the hockey world question their strategy and pride. But sure, let’s go with frustration (insert eye roll).

The truth is the Avs need a new voice. Keeping Bednar — and there was no discussion of moving on from him or any member of his staff — feels like staying in the marriage for the kids. Not sure if you heard, but the guys in the room have his back. “He has the total confidence of the players,” Kroenke said when I asked why the organization was sticking with Bednar. Chipped in Sakic, “He’s the best coach for the group. They love playing for him. They believe in him. And I am going with the players.” Letting the players make this decision is like allowing children to choose breakfast and wondering why they have a stomachache from ice cream and Flaming Hot Cheetos.

Not saying that Bednar is a Disneyland dad. But he is not a disciplinarian. Of course, the players adore him because his style is frenetic and fun. But how do they reward him when it matters most? After losing consecutive home games to the Golden Knights, the Avs took a 3-0 lead in Game 3 and collapsed. A suspect penalty on Josh Manson hurt, and Nathan MacKinnon blocking a puck with his knee really hurt, but those are excuses.

The shift after MacKinnon exited, the Golden Knights scored. Want to show you love your coach? Rise up in the biggest moments, not on a lazy Tuesday night in Columbus. Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour is considered Bednar’s coaching twin. How did the Hurricanes respond to heart-in-a-blender losses in Games 1 and 3 to Las Vegas? With character-defining victories. The Avs countered by getting swept.

The truth is Sakic’s motivation for next season’s team is flawed. “They will be hungrier,” he insisted. Older? Definitely. Hungrier? Nope. Seriously, how much bigger an appetite for redemption can they muster? They entered last year with an unhealthy obsession to avenge their playoff elimination by Dallas. So, climbing one rung higher and losing to a different team will lead to raising the Cup? Sorry. Not buying it. Nobody can question the Avs’ drive. They want another championship, but are they willing to adapt in the postseason to get it?

The truth is the Avs are not winning another title without the schedule breaking their way. We all loathe the NHL’s postseason format that pits good teams in early rounds and dilutes the value of a top seed. Only one of the last 15 Stanley Cup winners also won the President’s Trophy, a statistical oddity that does not exist in the NFL, MLB or NBA. But nothing sounds more limp than a great team asking for help. If the Avs faced Utah and Anaheim in the first two rounds, do they beat Las Vegas? Maybe. But the Avs put together one of the best seasons of all time, so the idea that they must have the perfect path to reach their goal is unbecoming.

The truth is the Avs must confront uncomfortable questions with their roster. They looked tired in the playoffs because they are getting old. The reality is that it is more likely that Brock Nelson, Valeri Nichushkin and Nazem Kadri regress than have greater success. Same goes for Parker Kelly.  The Avs must look to trade one of their big contracts to slow the aging process and leave them fresher in the postseason.

The truth is that one championship is not enough for the core of Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Gabe Landekskog. Yet, where the masses saw disappointment, Sakic saw accomplishment. “We could panic and blow it up and start it over. But what this team did was pretty remarkable. The last two trade deadlines were meant not just for that year but to bring another Stanley Cup (eventually).”

The Avs have a handful of needs this offseason — Mackenzie Blackwood must establish himself as the No. 1 goalie after Scott Wedgewood showed his ceiling and Colorado requires a new power play plan.

The Avs’ biggest need is not a change in their roster, but a change in their belief system. They must be willing to get more physical and tougher.

Otherwise, Makar will be wincing through pain trying to explain the unfathomable, Blackwood will be dropping F-bombs in disbelief and MacKinnon will be ducking reporters despite being the team’s best player.

Sakic said that the Kroenkes have given him everything he needs. There might be, Sakic hinted, a trade. But it is hard to see a seismic event matching what has occurred over the last two seasons. The roster, for the most part, is set.

The truth is the Avs cannot change the ending until they change their thinking. Their loyalty is going to prevent them from posting the necessary eight more postseason victories.

The Avs are going to be good next season.

But the truth is, they are not going to win another Cup without changing how they view their team. And those are just the cold hard facts.

General manager Chris MacFarland is leaving the organization to become president of hockey operations and GM with the Nashville Predators, the Avs’ Central Division rivals announced Tuesday.

Colorado’s president of hockey operations, Joe Sakic, will be the club’s interim GM.

“We would like to thank Chris for all he did for the Avalanche organization,” KSE vice chairman Josh Kroenke said in a statement. “Chris was instrumental in our success over the last decade and a key part of our 2022 Stanley Cup championship. This was an opportunity for him to take on a bigger role with the Predators while being closer to his family. We wish him and his family all the best in Nashville.

“Joe Sakic will resume the general manager duties for the foreseeable future, including through this month’s draft and the start of the league year. In Joe’s previous stint as GM, he helped build the current roster and led us to the 2022 Stanley Cup. We are confident in Joe’s leadership and that we will continue to build upon our recent success as we seek to bring another Cup back to Colorado.”

, and the Predators moved quickly to complete a deal. The Predators have been searching for a new lead executive since GM Barry Trotz announced Feb. 2 that he was retiring from the role.

MacFarland was promoted to GM for the Avs in July 2022, shortly after the club won its third Stanley Cup. He has been with the organization since May 21, 2015, when he was hired as an assistant general manager to Sakic, who was then the club’s GM.

One of three finalists for the Jim Gregory General Manager of the Year Award, MacFarland has overhauled the Colorado roster around the club’s title-winning core over the past two seasons. The Avs were atop the NHL standings this season every day from Nov. 1, winning the Presidents’ Trophy with a club-record 121 points.

They were the Stanley Cup favorite until the Vegas Golden Knights swept them out of the playoffs in the Western Conference Final.

“Very well deserved,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said of MacFarland’s nomination before the conference final. “I think it’s probably a couple years coming. But oftentimes with the work you put in and the blood, sweat, and tears, there’s a delayed reaction, a delayed recognition of that. This team for me wasn’t just built in this year, it was built over the last couple years.

“To me, the decisions … I look at a lot of the tough ones that we’ve made over the years, especially in the last couple of years, they all seem to be turning out and working out pretty well for us again this year. It doesn’t always guarantee success, but I mean, I think he’s putting us in a position to have success year over year.”

MacFarland and the Avs made a historic number of in-season trades for a contending team a year ago. It started with swapping out both of the team’s opening-night goaltenders 10 days apart, becoming the first NHL team to do so before Christmas. The Avs were last in the NHL in save percentage the day of the Scott Wedgewood trade. He and Mackenzie Blackwood won the William Jennings Trophy this season for allowing the fewest goals in the NHL.

MacFarland’s biggest move came in January 2025, when he sent Mikko Rantanen to the Carolina Hurricanes for Martin Necas, Jack Drury and two draft picks. Necas set career highs with 38 goals and 100 points this season, and will begin an eight-year contract next season with an $11.5 million cap hit.

Rantanen ended up in Dallas six weeks later, where he knocked the Avs out of the 2025 playoffs with an epic Game 7 performance. He also just completed the first season of an eight-year pact with a $12 million cap hit. The Hurricanes, without Necas and Rantanen, reached the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 20 years and will play Vegas for the 2026 championship.

The Avs have been among the most aggressive teams in the NHL, trading prospects and future draft capital to strengthen their current roster for several years now. The new GM will inherit a roster that just set the standard in the league for six months but fell short yet again in the postseason, and now the prospect pool and war chest of draft picks are among the league’s shallowest.

Nashville has missed the playoffs the past two seasons, and has not won a round in the postseason since beating the Avalanche in the opening round of the 2018 tournament. The Predators reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2017 but have not won a championship since joining the league as an expansion franchise in 1998.

“We could not be more pleased that Chris has elected to join the Predators organization and lead our hockey operations group,” Haslam said in a team statement. “We conducted an exhaustive search and were able to meet with several very qualified and impressive candidates, but all along, we were hopeful to interview Chris. He turned out to be a perfect fit for us – just what we were looking for to lead our organization moving forward.”

FOOTNOTE: Avs star defenseman Cale Makar finished second in the Norris Trophy voting this season. Columbus’ Zach Werenski is a first-time winner of the award. Makar has been a finalist six times in first seven years. He won in 2022 and 2025, and was also the runner-up in 2021.

“As a player, you’re going to have stretches where you’re not on the scoresheet and where (Makar) could still be helping the team,” TNT analyst and former NHL center told me earlier this month. “And where Cale could still be having an impact.”

To put it another way: How much did you enjoy seeing Colorado, minus Makar, struggle to score three goals over Games 1 and 2 of the Western Conference Final?

Look, we get it. Yes, the Avs Yes, Makar is due for a contract extension as soon as July 1. Yes, that extension will probably be worth anywhere from $15-17 million per season — a healthy bump from the $9-million cap hit Makar commanded in ’25-26.

The Avs need cap space. They need draft picks. They need to get younger and fresher on the ice. They need more roster flexibility off it.

Let’s workshop this. No bad ideas.

Trade Makar!

OK, except for that one.

With an aging lineup and a shrinking Stanley Cup window, it’s definitely time to think outside the box.

Last week hurt. Vegas hurt. Be angry. Be vigilant. Just don’t be silly. Any executive shopping Makar should be exiled to

In NHL history, Makar had already done it twice by the age of 27. He won’t turn 30 until October 2028. Just get a load of the other names on the list to pull that off multiple times: Paul Coffey (seven times), Bobby Orr (six), Al MacInnis (three), Dennis Potvin (three) and Phil Housley (twice).

Trade Makar for draft picks!

Who let Jeff Bridich in here?

Depth matters in the postseason. A lot. The old adage that you go as far as your top two lines in the regular season and as far as your bottom two in the playoffs still holds up. Brock Nelson, Artturi Lehkonen, Nicolas Roy and Logan O’Connor, all of whom provided some juice against the Kings and Wild, combined for zero goals and one point against Vegas. One lousy point.

That said, anyone who tells you that a team can’t win a Stanley Cup with multiple players making $10 million or more isn’t your friend. For one, the salary cap is a moving target. For another, Florida won back-to-back titles with Aleksander Barkov and Sergei Bobrovsky on eight-figure cap hits.

Plus, two words: Mikko Rantanen.

But we won the trade!

Did you, though?

Martin Necas is one of the few forwards, granted, who can skate with Nathan MacKinnon at full tilt. No. 88 reads the game well. He also can spend so much time looking for the perfect pass that whole shifts pass him by.

The Marty Party produced one postseason goal in 2026. He’s put up two goals over 20 playoff games (with 16 helpers) for Colorado so far. He’s due to cost you $11.5 million in every cap year through 2033-34.

To general manager Chris MacFarland’s credit, he’s tried to avoid a roster that becomes too top-heavy, too Oilers South, with MacKinnon accounting for a $12.6-milion cap number and raises for Necas and Makar looming. But moving Cale just to stay in that neighborhood would be sheer Looney Tunes.

Even a shallow dive into the metrics makes Makar critics look all wet. No. 8 has strung together arguably his two least-impactful postseasons, back-to-back, in ’24-25 and ’25-26, largely due to injury. And yet, , he still logged 456 minutes and change in front of the Lumberyard tandem of Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood in goal. When No. 8 has been on the ice over the Avs’ last 20 playoff games, Colorado’s giving up 1.97 goals per 60 minutes in all strengths. With Makar on the bench, the Avs have allowed 2.92 goals per 60. That’s a difference of a goal per game in regulation — even before you factor in the offensive side of Makar’s arsenal.

Among NHL defensive tandems this postseason that have played at least 30 minutes together, the Makar-Devon Toews pairing still ranks fifth overall among playoff expected goals percentage (64%, with eight expected goals for and 4.5 goals expected against). That’s up from 13th a year ago (58.5%, 6.2 expected goals for and 4.4 against) and 14th in ’23-24 (58.3%, 6.3 expected goals for and 4.5 against).

“I guess the (heart) of the matter is, the numbers are what they are,” Olcyzk said of Makar. “His impact — they have such a deep team, they’re going to be able to get contributions in points from a lot of different guys. But he is always going to have an impact, and you always have to account for him, if you’re the other team. It’s just a matter of time before he gets on that heater and he has a four-or five-point game.”

There’s a fine blue line The Avalanche, however wounded, however shamed, however desperate, surely know better than to cross it.

Everyone thinks Jared Bednar is a great guy. But he is no longer a good fit for the Avalanche.

He is the best coach in franchise history. Yet, running it back would be the worst thing the organization could do.

Bednar’s resume saved him when the Avs fizzled for three consecutive years after winning the Stanley Cup.

What happened in this Western Conference Final hit different.

The best team in hockey was clobbered. The Avs were broomed away like so many cigarette butts and plastic daiquiri cups, the seventh No. 1 seed swept in NHL history.

BTS came back and performed at Allegiant Stadium across the interstate. BTA (belt to bleep) returned in Game 4 at T-Mobile Arena.

The Golden Knights, so underwhelming and uninspiring that they fired their coach with eight games remaining in the season, put the Avs out of their misery with a 2-1 victory.

Leave the miracles to Mike Eruzione, the 2004 Boston Red Sox and that perm-coiffed dude who married Selena Gomez.

This Avs’ exit needs to come with a major announcement, that president Joe Sakic and general manager Chris MacFarland have decided to dismiss Bednar with one year remaining on his contract.

There is no joy in writing this. It is not all Bednar’s fault that the Avs picked a bad week to play their worst hockey, failing to win a game in a playoff series for the first time since 2008. They almost got shut out in a closeout.

So, let’s meet in the middle and say half the onus is on Bednar because of a system that no longer works in the postseason against defensive-minded, possession-oriented pests like the Dallas Stars and Knights.

Just like their matchup against Las Vegas, the Avs are boxed in, frustrated, with no easy way out. Some version of this problem arose when Seattle and Dallas eliminated the Avs, but there was compelling evidence to stick with the coach, given Valeri Nichushkin’s absences and Gabe Landeskog’s injury.

There is no good reason for what just happened over the past six days. Only excuses.

Are the Avs, a team that won 16 more games than the Golden Knights during the regular season, so fragile that they stood no chance without Cale Makar for two games and Nathan MacKinnon compromised for a few periods?

All we talked about was their depth, starting in October and louder after the trade deadline in March when MacFarland cemented his executive-of-the-year status.

They were a Noah’s Ark team — two of everything. And no player could sway the outcome in one game? Embarrassing.

Captain Mark Stone missed the first two games of this series, and it did not undermine Las Vegas. He was a catalytic force on Tuesday, catching a long lob in stride behind the defense in the first period, most notably Nazem Kadri, and whipping it around Mackenzie Blackwood’s left leg for a 1-0 lead.

If not for Blackwood’s acrobatics, the Avs would have been routed.

Still, the Golden Knights were winning.

After the particularly disturbing Game 3 loss, when the Avs lost for only the second time in 76 playoff games when leading by three goals, Colorado resorted to whimpering.

Down 3-0, Bednar kept pointing to the metrics, insisting they were dead even. OK, Kenny Atkinson. How about we simmer down on the analytics and focus more on the manalytics.

When the Avs needed a big hit, big shot or big stop, they failed to deliver. That is what defines the postseason: shining in the clutch. Under Bednar’s watch, the Avs wilted under the LED lights washing over Bruno Mars Drive and The Strip.

The players are not blameless.

MacKinnon did not produce a goal in the series. Marty Necas, paid to provide the big performances previously delivered by Mikko Rantanen, had one in the postseason.

Brock Nelson aged like Keith Richards, and never looked the same after returning from the Olympics. Devon Toews made costly mistakes unbecoming of a player of his caliber. Kadri did not plug in the power play — 1-for-10 against Las Vegas. And even before he got hurt, Nichushkin did nothing of note.

So many breakdowns. So many errors in their own zone.

Does some of that fall on Bednar? Sure.

“At the end of the day, coaches are coaches,” Makar said in a somber postgame locker room. “He means so much to this team, and he’s allowed us to play our games and process that from years and years for this. He deserves a lot of credit for getting us to this point. Again, he’s not playing the game, he’s not out on the ice.

He’s giving us everything we possibly can, information-wise, to go out there and be the best we can be, and unfortunately … you feel like you let people down. He’s one of those guys that you feel like worked so hard, the whole coaching staff, everybody. You just feel like you let them down a little bit.”

Bednar could have changed line combinations sooner. Could have tweaked the power play lineup. Could have challenged bad calls with ferocious intensity. Could have pulled Scott Wedgewood in favor of Blackwood after the second goal on Sunday.

In reality, there is no single reason why Bednar should go. It is the aggregate.

For the past four years, the Avs have not only failed to raise another Cup — we can all agree one is not enough with this core — they have not reached the championship round.

Stand pat, always an option for Kroenke Sports, and the Avs might be a top seed again. But the regular season is not the problem. The Avs have aced those pop quizzes.

The playoffs are the final. Or the Final, if you will. That is a huge part of the grade when entering with title-or-bust expectations.

Since 2022, they are 0-for-4.

Truth is, if two-time champion Mike Shanahan can get fired by the Broncos, no professional Colorado sports coach should be safe forever. Shanahan, the GM, got Shanahan, the coach, canned. Bednar’s scheme is what could do him in.

For those defending Bednar, it is understandable. It is also misguided.

The Avs are stuck with multiple big contracts — MacKinnon, soon-to-be Makar, Landeskog, Necas, Kadri, Nelson, Toews, Blackwood, Sam Malinski — that will limit their movement unless they are willing to eat money.

It is much easier to switch out the person standing behind the bench than those sitting on it.

This could go one of two ways, like most things. The Avs thank Bednar for his services and hire a young genius like DU’s David Carle or a veteran like Bruce Cassidy. Then, they win a Cup.

Or Bednar succeeds elsewhere, and the Avs fade, making it clear the players, not the system, were the problem.

It is worth finding out.

The feeling is that Avs officials never want to pull the plug on Bednar because they like him and love how he works with everyone (which is why his situation is not comparable to Michael Malone with the Nuggets).

Whatever the case, ownership has given Sakic and MacFarland freedom to try everything the past two seasons with roster upgrades. After this playoff meltdown, they now have a responsibility they can no longer shirk.

As hard as it might be, it is time for Bednar to go because sticking with him, as the series with Las Vegas showed, is a losing bet.

A week later, the Avs are just going home.

The Vegas Golden Knights completed one of the more improbable sweeps in Stanley Cup Playoffs history Tuesday night, sending the Avalanche into the offseason with a 2-1 victory in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final at T-Mobile Arena. Colorado went from being the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup to falling eight wins short of that goal in a span of seven days.

“Disappointed, humiliated,” Avs forward Logan O’Connor said. “I think to a man just weren’t good enough, not a single guy was the whole entire series.

“I think we let down coaches, each other, fans, management. It����ap on us as players to be far better than we were. The results speak for itself. Just tons, lot of disappointment right now.”

This Avs team began this season with a historic 31-2-7 run. They had won 13 of their past 15 games entering this series, including an 8-1 romp through the first two rounds of this tournament.

And then, in a figurative blink of an eye, the months-long march to a second NHL championship in five years was over.

“It’s empty, always is whether you lose 7,6,5, or 4,” Avs captain Gabe Landeskog said. “I mean, it’s an empty feeling. Yeah, sucks. There’s no other way to put it.”

This Vegas Golden Knights team fired its coach with eight games to play in the regular season because it was in a dogfight just to make the playoffs.

Now, John Tortorella and the Golden Knights will play for a second title in four years. The 2023 champs handled the 2022 champs with a level of ease no one could have seen coming.

“Right now, it����ap heartbreak, disappointment, frustration, a lot of different things,” Avs center Brock Nelson said. “I mean the group, I don’t think there was any quit in the group. We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. We ran into a good team, a good goalie. We weren’t able to get it done. It sucks.”

By Game 4, the Avs were clearly at a physical disadvantage. Star center Nathan MacKinnon was able to play in this game despite getting injured in Game 3. Valeri Nichushkin was not, after missing the final 22 minutes Saturday night.

A few other key players, including star defenseman Cale Makar, Artturi Lehkonen, and Sam Malinski, have all either missed games in this series or logged less ice time than usual, likely because they were playing through injuries that kept them out of games in the second round.

Last season ended in stunning fashion, with ex-Avalanche star Mikko Rantanen’s four-point third period in Game 7. Somehow, the Avs found a different, yet equally unfathomable way to lose.

The questions, both short- and long-term, about where the Avs go from here will be plentiful.

“I feel like this is probably the most frustrating one that I’ve been part of in the postseason,” Nelson said. “Just given, the year we had, the group, how much everyone put into it to give ourselves the best chance. To have it come to an end so abruptly, I don’t know … it doesn’t really feel real right now.”

Mark Stone gave Vegas an early lead in this one. The Golden Knights captain got behind the Colorado defense and Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb flipped the puck over everyone to him. Stone caught the puck just before the Avs’ blue line, went in alone and scored his second goal in as many games after missing the first two contests of this series with an injury at 4:42 of the opening period.

It was the second shot Mackenzie Blackwood faced in his first appearance of this series. He made his first start of the conference final and third of this postseason run after Scott Wedgewood got the nod in the first three games.

Blackwood was outstanding for the Avalanche after allowing the early goal. He was a one-man show at one point during the second period as Vegas dominated play and pushed to extend the lead. Blackwood made two highlight-reel saves during a Vegas power play and stopped multiple mini-breakaways in the middle period as well.

“It����ap freaking hard not to play for so long and come into a big game,” Blackwood said. “But you know I just said (expletive) it and go play the best I can and give them the best chance to win and just battle.”

Cole Smith made it a 2-0 advantage with 5:45 left in the game. The Avs struggled mightily to create chances for about 20 minutes before Smith directed a Dylan Coghlan shot past Blackwood.

Vegas built a 3-0 lead in Game 1 and held off a late Colorado rally. The Avs failed to hold a 1-0 third-period lead in Game 2 and then a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes in Game 3. Each loss was more shocking than the last.

Colorado was 45-0 this season when leading after two periods before Game 2. It was 52-0 when building a multi-goal lead before Game 3.

“Yeah, it happened fast,” O’Connor said. “I think we let Games 2 and 3 slip away from us. Super uncharacteristic from our group to give up the leads like that, especially in consecutive games. Drifted away from the game plan, they made us pay their opportunistic off our mistakes. Like I mentioned, I don’t think a single guy in this locker room played to the standards that we expect.

This Avs team once felt inevitable, but the past week shattered that.

MacKinnon sat in front of reporters after Game 7 a year ago and said, “I don’t know what we’re going to do.”

That was a familiar feeling Tuesday night in Sin City.

“Obviously, it (expletive) sucks no matter how you do it,” Blackwood said. “I think losing like that stings a little more. Yeah, that����ap going to be pretty frustrating. We are going to have a tough pill to swallow.”

MacKinnon will play despite getting injured in Game 3. Valeri Nichushkin, who was also injured in a 5-3 loss Saturday night that put the Avs at the brink of elimination, remains a game-time decision.

“I think we’ll be able to use him (normally),” Bednar said. “He’s feeling a lot better today. We’ll see when he gets on the ice tonight and what the game brings, but he’s feeling pretty good today and feels like he’ll be ready to go.”

Mackenzie Blackwood is going to replace Scott Wedgewood in the net for Game 4. It will be his first start since being replaced by Wedgewood in the series-clinching Game 5 against Minnesota.

MacKinnon was injured in the second period of Game 3 when he blocked a Shea Theodore shot with the outside of his right knee. He writhed on the ice in pain for 9 seconds before the officials stopped play, and then for a bit longer before he was able to gingerly skate off the ice on his own power.

He missed the end of the second period and the start of the third while getting treatment, and was only able to take one 5-on-5 shift after returning from the locker room. MacKinnon still played 4:05 in the third period, but most of it was on the power play or with the goaltender pulled at the end of the game.

Nichushkin did not play the final 22 minutes of Game 3 and took only one short shift in the final 27 minutes. The Avalanche did not have Cale Makar for the first two games of this series because of an upper-body injury. Sam Malinski and Artturi Lehkonen both missed the final two games of the Minnesota series, and while they have played against Vegas, neither has been as impactful as before their injuries.

Blackwood has only started two games during this 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs run. Wedgewood outplayed him near the end of the season, earned the Game 1 start against Los Angeles and then was fantastic against the Kings in a four-game sweep. Blackwood replaced Wedgewood during Game 3 of the second round and then started Games 4 and 5.

“I think Mackenzie’s the type of guy and goalie that plays better when he’s loose and confident and he’s been doing the work to make sure that he’s ready and prepared,” Bednar said. “It����ap not a desperation move. It����ap just … you’ve got to make a change and see if something else works for me. We felt confident in both these guys all year long. I felt like (Wedgewood) kind of earned the net in (Games) 1 and 2 and we gave him the shot in (Game) 3 and we didn’t get it done. It����ap not on him, either. It����ap on our team.

“We’re just looking for (Blackwood) to come in and play to the best of his ability and be loose and have fun. The whole team’s kind of in that mode right now, and I think if you can do that, you might see the best of him.”

The other half of the media corps that planned to go into the home dressing room was still waiting. Vegas’ postgame locker room access hadn’t even started yet.

It felt like a metaphor for everything that has happened in the past five days. Everything has gone wrong for the Avs so fast, and in such a stunning fashion. Everything about the situation, given what has transpired since mid-September, just felt so … surreal.

“You knew it was going to be a battle,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “To this point in the year at this start of the series, we’ve always been able to sort of make that next play, make one more play than the other team to try to carve out victories. To have it go the other way three games in a row … this is sports.

“It doesn’t shock me. It does surprise me a little bit that we haven’t been able to come up with it in the first three games. That����ap the way it goes. Who knows? Maybe we’ll come up with it in the next three games.”

So here are the 2025-26 Avalanche. For more than six months, the Avs set the pace in the NHL. Then it unraveled in fewer than six days.

Now they are down 3-0 in the Western Conference Final to the surging Golden Knights. Four teams in NHL history have erased a 3-0 series deficit to win a series, including two in the past 50 years.

What has gone wrong? A lot of things, all at once. Some large, some small, but it all adds up to this surreal, stunning situation.

1. Scott Wedgewood has been one of the NHL’s great stories this year. The rise of The Lumberyard has delighted Avs fans.

There’s no way to sugarcoat it. Carter Hart has outplayed Wedgewood through the first three games of this series. Hart’s goals saved above expected has been better in all three games. For the series, Hart is plus-3.0, while Wedgewood is minus-1.66.

There can be some variance in that, especially with such a small sample. Other Avs issues are contributing to Wedgewood’s plight. But with all the chatter from both sides about how tight the series has been, how even the chances have been, and how opportunistic Vegas has been while Colorado has not, the easiest solution to that is for Colorado’s goaltending to be better.

For the playoffs, here are the goals saved above expected for each team still participating in this tournament, per MoneyPuck:

Montreal is at 11.3, Carolina is at 8.7, Vegas is at 7.2 and Colorado is at 0.1. Wedgewood (0.4) and Mackenzie Blackwood (-0.3) have just been … fine. If everything else was clicking for the Avs, the narrative would be that the Lumberyard has made just enough timely saves to make it work.

Everything else is not fine. One of the members of The Lumberyard needs to get hot. That’s the simplest way back into this series.

2. This is the only issue on the list that is partly out of the Avs’ control. They are a banged-up club now. The injuries might be too much. The Minnesota Wild players are not playing hockey right now and still have a what-if nagging at them about injuries. The Avs might feel that way soon, too.

The obvious ones are Nathan MacKinnon and Valeri Nichushkin, who were injured in Game 3. No updates on them from Bednar the day before Game 4. But Colorado’s injury issues likely go far beyond those two.

We know Cale Makar is playing through injury after he couldn’t dress in Games 1 and 2. Injury information is akin to classified state secrets during the playoffs, but the minutes played in a critical Game 3 told part of the story.

Sam Malinski, who the club desperately needed more from with Makar out, has struggled at times against Vegas after missing the end of the Minnesota series. He played 12:57 in Game 3. It’s difficult to imagine that number would be so low if he were healthy.

Artturi Lehkonen, a longtime playoff killer, has no points and just five shots on goal in this series. He missed the same two games that Malinski did. When MacKinnon and Nichushkin were both in various states of availability Sunday night, Lehkonen played less than Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Gabe Landeskog, and Nazem Kadri. It’s hard to imagine that happening if he were healthy.

It’s possible that the Avs are just too hurt in this series. It’s not the only problem, but it’s a significant one.

3. Vegas is still doing what Dallas has done at times in the past couple of postseasons. A lot of the numbers under the hood are either fine or better for the Avalanche. A consistent theme is the Avs are not far off, just a play here, a goal or a save there. That’s true, which again points back to Hart making one more important save than Wedgewood, but also why the Avs might not be converting that one extra chance they need.

Colorado has produced 58.97% of the shot attempts in this series. The Avs have 59.54% of the scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick. But not all chances are created equal. Vegas has produced 53.06% of the expected goals and 12 of the 18 actual goals. It’s 9 out of 15 if we exclude the three empty netters.

Vegas has still been able to keep Colorado to the outside, particularly in key parts of these games. The Avs had one high-danger scoring chance at 5-on-5 in the third period Sunday night. That was one more than the third period in Game 2.

The volume would translate, with one more good bounce or one less-than-stellar night from Hart. It hasn’t. Better quality on the chances created is another path to breathing life into a potential comeback.

The power play isn’t going to get its own spot on this list, but it can obviously be better as well.

4A. A week ago, Necas was fresh off a couple of great games against Minnesota and had 11 points in nine games — second most on the Avs. Three games later, he’s still second on the team in points, but the number next to that is now a far easier target for people who are searching for what’s gone wrong.

Necas had 38 goals in the regular season. He has one in the playoffs. If he were still racking up assists and making great plays happen like at the end of the Minnesota series, one goal wouldn’t be an issue. Jack Eichel has two goals in this postseason.

But three quiet offensive games, with just four shots on goal at 5-on-5 when the team is struggling to create offense, make Necas’ lack of goals an easy target.

“Yeah, I don’t honestly look at media at all,” Necas said. “So I don’t know what����ap going on over there. Obviously, I want to be scoring more, more goals for sure for the team. It starts with tomorrow.”

4B. It’s a similar story for Nelson — 33 goals in the regular season, two in the playoffs. But he also has only one assist, not 11 like Necas. Nelson hit the crossbar on a great chance in Game 3, but that doesn’t count as a shot on goal and he’s only got one in the past two games combined.

Given the other guys who might not be available or are trying to play through injuries, the two guys who combined for 71 goals this year will need a big moment or three. That’s another way the Avs could find some footing in this series.

“I think even more frustrating, just given how the games kind of played out, too,” Nelson said of his lack of production. “Have to just continue to believe that you’re going to get more looks, capitalize on it, be a difference maker and turn it (around).

“I think it’s just having that belief individually for myself to step up, be more of an impact offensively. And I think as a group the belief that we were one of the best teams in league all year, we’re capable of coming back and obviously just starts with one game.”

The Vegas Golden Knights got goals from a journeyman defenseman and the top two shooters in this postseason en route to an 4-2 victory Wednesday night at Ball Arena in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Carter Hart made 36 saves against the Cale Makar-less Avalanche.

“We just weren’t sharp,” Avs star Nathan MacKinnon said. “Execution was poor from everybody. Yeah, just gotta be sharper than that.”

Scott Wedgewood, who replaced Mackenzie Blackwood in an electric Game 5 comeback win to end the previous round, returned to the starting role for the Avs. He made 24 saves.

This is the first time in this postseason that Colorado is behind in a series. The Avalanche were atop the NHL standings every day from Nov. 1 until the end of the season, capturing the Central Division, Western Conference and Presidents’ Trophy as the top team in the league.

The Avs generated plenty of shots on goal, but also missed the net on some of their best opportunities, and Hart made some key saves while the Golden Knights built their lead.

There was hope for a second straight miracle comeback after Colorado scored twice in the third period, but Nic Dowd beat two Avs players in a race for the puck with the home side’s net empty and scored to end any doubt.

“I thought it was good at times and not good enough at others,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “I didn’t love our puck play tonight, like our execution coming out of our zone, through the neutral zone a little bit, even o-zone play. We gave them a handful of odd-man rushes that came off our turnovers and missed execution even if we were doing the right thing.

“I thought we had a lot of juice and energy in the third period to try and fight our way back into it, but we’re going to have to play a full 60 better than we did tonight, especially with the puck.”

Vegas defenseman Dylan Coghlan opened the scoring at 12:29 of the second period. Colorado’s second line had a couple of great looks, but the visitors counter-attacked at the end of a long shift. Valeri Nichushkin went to the bench and Brock Nelson fell down below the goal line, which allowed Vegas a 4-on-3 and the fourth guy in the zone — Coghlan — collected a pass from ex-Avs forward Brandon Saad and had all kinds of space to pick his spot on Scott Wedgewood.

The shot, which went through Wedgewood, fooled the Avalanche goaltender.

“I just read high glove,” Wedgewood said. “He got a lot of pace on it … just hard to close it once you’re spread. I don’t know if it was spinning on his stick, but he got a lot of pace on it. His release just wasn’t going there, so if it was (intended), it was a hell of a fake. Just read one thing and unfortunately wasn’t able to close up in time.”

It was Coghlan’s first career Stanley Cup Playoffs goal, and his first in the NHL since the 2021-22. Coghlan left Vegas after that season, played for Carolina and Winnipeg and came back to the Golden Knights as a free agent in the offseason.

With Ross Colton in the penalty box after Rasmus Andersson sold a roughing penalty in front of his own net, Vegas doubled its lead. Pavel Dorofeyev, one of the league’s best on the power play this season, snapped a shot past Wedgewood at 15:02 of the second. Mitch Marner — the leading point producer in this postseason — made a great play to fend off Logan O’Connor as he skated towards the right corner, and was able to get the puck back to the right circle for Dorofeyev, who scored his playoffs-leading 10th goal.

Dorofeyev now has 47 goals this year between the regular season and playoffs in 95 games, and 24 of them have come with Vegas on the power play.

When Colorado’s second opportunity with the extra man expired early in the third period, Vegas took advantage of a fortuitous bounce to extend its lead. It probably wasn’t a great decision for Sam Malinski to shoot from the top of the zone just as the penalty expired, but his shot was blocked into the neutral zone … and right to Ben Hutton as he came out of the box.

That led to a 2-on-1 for Vegas, and Brett Howden knocked the puck out of the air with his glove but also got his stick on it in the blue paint just before it cross the goal line to make it 3-0 for the visitors.

It was Howden’s ninth goal of this postseason, one behind Dorofeyev for the league lead. No one else has more seven in this tournament.

Nichushkin got the Avs on the board with 14:06 remaining in the third period. Two Vegas defenders collided with each other, leaving Nichushkin open near the front of the net. Nazem Kadri sent the puck to him, and Nichushkin was able to redirect the pass with his stick between his legs for his second goal of this postseason.

Avs captain Gabe Landeskog added Colorado’s second goal with 2:20 left in the third period. With the Avs on the power play and Wedgewood at the bench, MacKinnon undressed Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb in the right corner with a quick cut, then went to the net and fed Landeskog for his fourth goal of this postseason.

After spending all season working from ahead, the Avs will need to find some answers ahead of a critical Game 2 on Friday night back here at Ball Arena.

“Just our personnel and what we’ve done all year,” Wedgewood said of why his team will be confident. “We bounce right back, clean up a few things and we’ll find ways to score. Honestly, I had no real issues with our game. It was just that they capitalized early and we had to fight back.”

FOOTNOTES: Makar missed the second Stanley Cup Playoffs game of his career, his first since he was suspended for Game 5 against Seattle in 2023. Malinski and Artturi Lehkonen returned to the lineup for the Avs after missing the final two games of the second-round series against the Wild. Mark Stone did not play for Vegas, the fourth straight game he’s missed.

Golden Knights: 39-26-17, 92 points; 3.22 goals per game (14th); 2.95 goals against per game (12th)

Avalanche: 55-16-11, 121 points; 3.63 goals per game (1st), 2.40 goals against per game (1st)

Offense

Minnesota had star power on par with Colorado, but the Wild’s depth was wanting. Vegas is, on paper, the most complete team the Avs have faced. Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner are two of the best players on the planet, though they have been playing on different lines recently. Mark Stone is one of the best two-way forwards in the league, but he missed the end of the Anaheim series, and his availability remains in question.

Pavel Dorofeyev is a pure goal scorer and particularly lethal on the power play. William Karlsson missed most of the season with an injury, but returned against the Ducks and centers the second line between Marner and Brett Howden, though Stone’s return would shake up the forward lines. Ivan Barbashev is another under-the-radar strong offensive player.

Tomas Hertl and Nic Dowd are better than any depth center Minnesota or Los Angeles was able to throw at the Avalanche. Brandon Saad and Reilly Smith are no longer impact players, but when everyone is healthy, they are the 13th and 14th forwards for the Golden Knights — a testament to the club’s depth up front.

Sixteen players scored for Colorado in the five-game series against Minnesota, while Nathan MacKinnon scored in every game. Martin Necas had four multi-point games against the Wild, including two key primary assists in both Games 4 and 5.

The least productive line of the four against Minnesota was the second unit, but that trio also shoulders significant defensive responsibilities. The Avs could use a breakout game or two from Brock Nelson or Valeri Nichushkin on the offensive side of the puck in this series.

Gabe Landeskog continues to be Jared Bednar’s fixer, moving from line to line and immediately helping that unit play better. Parker Kelly and Jack Drury had two goals each from the fourth line against Minnesota. If Artturi Lehkonen is able to play, the Avs are fully healthy up front and still the deepest group in the NHL.

Advantage: Avalanche

Defense

Both of these teams are excellent defensively, and that includes the forward groups helping out the defense corps. This series features a handful of the best defensive forwards in the league.

Cale Makar’s health is the dominant storyline at the start of this series. Makar missed games near the end of the regular season with an injury, but was excellent against the Kings in the opening round. Then he took an awkward hit in Game 1 against Minnesota and was clearly favoring his shoulder in Game 5. Bednar has said he’s “dealing with some stuff,” so it’s probably multiple ailments. Will he be able to play in this series, and how effective will he be?

The Avs are better on the blue line … if Makar is close to his normal self. Vegas lost Alex Pietrangelo for the year, but was able to add Rasmus Andersson ahead of the trade deadline. Andersson, Shea Theodore and Noah Hanifin are the strong top-half of the defense corps — not as good Minnesota’s top three, but a strong trio. Brayden McNabb is a solid No. 4 guy, though he was ejected and suspended for a game in the last round for a dumb, late hit. Jeremy Lauzon hasn’t played since the Utah series, but could be another depth option if he gets healthy.

Avalanche star Cale Makar out for Game 1 of Western Conference Final

Colorado beat Minnesota in part because it was able to mitigate injuries to Sam Malinski and Josh Manson better than the Wild could handle not having Jonas Brodin. How will the bottom half of Vegas' defense corps perform in this series?

Advantage: Avalanche, assuming Makar can play

Special teams

Vegas was, on paper, a great team at the start of the year. The Golden Knights did not win like a great team for most of the year, in part because of poor goaltending. This was an excellent club on special teams, though. The Golden Knights finished the regular season sixth in the NHL on the power play and seventh on the penalty kill. Vegas and Pittsburgh were the only teams to finish in the top 10 in both.

It's been more of the same in the playoffs -- 25.7% on the power play (fourth) and 86.8% on the penalty kill (fifth). Vegas has also scored four times while shorthanded. No other club has more than one shorthanded tally in this tournament.

Colorado's power play started this postseason 0-for-9, but then scored six times in the next five games. It's been more effective, even in opportunities where the Avs don't convert. That said, the Avalanche allowed the most shorthanded goals during the regular season and one against Minnesota, so that will be something to watch out for.

The Avs' penalty kill was No. 1 in the NHL during the regular season. It has allowed six goals in this postseason, but two were 4-on-6 with the other goalie pulled, one was 3-on-4, and one was during the second half of a double minor. The traditional 4-on-5 PK has still been quite strong.

Advantage: Golden Knights

Goaltending

On form, Vegas goalie Carter Hart has been better of late. On track record, both Avalanche goalies were better this season.

Hart is a controversial figure. He was acquitted of sexual assault in July, reinstated by the NHL in September, signed by Vegas to a two-year contract in late October and made his return to NHL action in December. After a rocky start, Hart won his final seven decisions of the regular season, including six in April to help Vegas win the Pacific Division. He's 8-4 with a .915 save percentage in this tournament.

Scott Wedgewood was one of the best stories in the NHL this season, combining with Mackenzie Blackwood to win the William Jennings Trophy while making a career-high 43 starts. Wedgewood led the NHL in both save percentage (.921) and goals against average (2.02). He also had a sterling opening round against Los Angeles with five goals allowed in a four-game sweep.

That said, both Colorado goalies were pulled from games against Minnesota. Blackwood had a chance to take control of the net, but gave it back after just two starts. The guy with the best NHL postseason experience in this series is Vegas' Adin Hill, who led his club to the Cup in 2023 but has become an afterthought since Hart's play improved.

Advantage: Avalanche

Avalanche vs. Wild: 5 storylines to watch

1. How effective will Cale Makar be?

The Avs were able to get by against Minnesota at the end of the series, but Makar was clearly compromised in Game 5. He's had a week to heal up. He hasn't practiced, but Bednar said Tuesday he's not worried yet. His offensive impact waned in the Minnesota series, but the Avs were still getting it done defensively when he was on the ice. They're obviously going to need the best version of Makar that he can offer against Vegas.

2. Can Colorado keep up on special teams?

Colorado's dominance this season has been rooted in even-strength play, with a side of elite penalty killing. Now that the power play is improved, will the Avs be able to keep the Golden Knights from stealing games on special teams? This Vegas club is dangerous, both on the power play and the kill. If Colorado's PK has a good series and the Avs don't allowed shorthanded goals, the Avs should advance.

3. Who gets the inside track?

The DNA from Vegas' 2023 Cup run is still in there. The Golden Knights were shaky at times against Utah and Anaheim -- inferior opponents compared to Colorado — but when it was winning time, they locked it down defensively. They are adept at suppressing the best scoring chances. If there is an exposed thermal exhaust port in the Avs' 5-on-5 Death Star, it's that sometimes they will settle for Grade B-level chances and lean on their shooting talent instead of working to get into the Grade-A areas. If Vegas can lull them into that, and Hart can make the good-to-really good saves, this series will get tricky.

4. Will the Avs' goalie(s) rebound?

Wedgewood had an .872 save percentage against the Wild. Blackwood ... also had an .872 save percentage against Minnesota. It didn't hurt Colorado, because the Avs blitzed Minnesota with 24 goals, including 23 in the four wins. MacKinnon said Tuesday that he doesn't see how this won't be a long series. If it is, the Avs will likely need one of their two goalies to take control of the net and rattle off some better performances.

5. Are the Avs just better?

This could be the first storyline, but to put it bluntly ... is this Colorado team just better than Vegas? The Golden Knights, on paper, have an excellent roster. They have not played like an excellent team all year. Even this 15-4-1 run with John Tortorella as coach includes a bunch of wins over non-playoff teams and two series victories over young, untested opponents. There were times against Anaheim when it looked like Vegas had found its mojo. Is that the version the Avs will see in this series, or will Colorado have its way in a similar fashion as the last round? Minnesota was, on paper, an excellent team, too.

Avalanche vs. Wild series 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.

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.