Count to 10. Deep breath. Exhale. Slowly. Put the pitchforks down and ask yourself this question:

Who could the Avalanche get to coach their team — right now — who would be better — again, right this very second — than Jared Bednar?

David Carle? Best coach in the time zone. I was in that camp a year ago, my friend.  The driver of DU’s hockey dynasty is allegedly not ready to walk through that door.

Jay Woodcroft? Can he draw up a defense? No thanks.

Craig Berube? Too much Maple Leaf. Pass.

Kris Knoblauch? Nah.

Bruce Cassidy? Sure, but there’s a catch: He’s technically off the market. The Golden Knights, classy to the last, refuse to let their former coach out of a contract that runs through 2027 — even though they’d relieved him of his duties with eight games to go in the regular season.

After Carle or Cassidy, whom the Vegas brass have locked up in in dungeon near Circus Circus, the pickings look awfully slim.

Which, we’ll grant you, isn’t the sexiest reason to run it back with Bednar. But we’ll give you another rationale: Joe Sakic is inheriting something of a hot mess, at least as championship-level teams go.

Sakic built the best house on the NHL’s block four years ago. But when he handed the keys over to Chris MacFarland, the maintenance costs went through the roof. Which, by the way, now leaks when it rains.

When MacFarland left the Avs’ general manager post to run the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, he left a pile of bills on the kitchen table and the basement unfinished. Colorado has roughly $3 million of cap space available for ’26-27 and only 17 players under contract. The Avalanche don’t have a first-round pick until 2029.

MacFarland took a Kyle Schwarber approach to roster management — C-Mac swung hard and swung from his heels, but the misses could be heard for miles. Trading Mikko Rantanen was supposed to ease the cap strain for ’26-27 and ’27-28, but the Avs landed back on that track anyway thanks to the Martin Necas contract. Swapping out Rantanen and Bo Byram didn’t age well. Neither did hanging onto Samuel Girard for as long as they did.

Cale Makar is expected to undergo surgery that will almost surely delay the start of his ’26-27 season. Also, he’s eligible for a contract extension on July 1 that could almost double his current cap number of $9 million. Necas is making $11.5 million a year through 2034 to be a playoff ghost. Brock Nelson, your 2C, is making $7.5 million a year to play defense.

Captain Gabe Landeskog turns 34 in November; Scott Wedgewood turns 34 in August. Devon Toews turns 33 next February. Valeri Nichushkin will be 32 in March. Nazem Kadri will be 36 in the fall. Nelson and Josh Manson will turn 35 in October.

, the Avs are on a track to use 56.1% of their expected ’26-27 cap space on players 31 years of age or older. That’s a lot of old dogs to try and teach new tricks.

Bednar isn’t nearly as divisive a winner as Sean Payton, but he’s getting closer by the summer. Like Sunshine Sean, Bedsy offers a high floor, good-to-brilliant regular seasons, and inevitable playoff heartbreak brought on by a combination of stubbornness and the inability to adapt on the fly. Every time that second title looks close, something happens that snatches the dream away.

A decade of Bednar has produced one Stanley Cup title, two conference final appearances and four second-round exits. For a team whose core has at least two future Hall-of-Famers in Nathan MacKinnon and Makar, and featured a third in Rantanen for most of Bednar’s era, that feels like a slightly underwhelming return on the trophy front. Very good suddenly feels very stale.

Fun fact: Seven of the last nine Western Conference championship coaches got to the Stanley Cup Final within their first 12 months on the job — including John Tortorella in Vegas, who’d only landed the gig in April.

Counter: Six of the last nine Eastern Conference-winning coaches were on their jobs six years or longer when they reached the Cup Final.

The last eight Cup championship-winning coaches did so with about four seasons with their current team already under their belts, on average. A quick-strike hire might get you there, but they usually don’t get over the line — the Final coach with the most tenure with a franchise has won three of the last five Cups and five of the last eight.

Bedsy also hasn’t lost the locker room, for whatever that’s worth. MacKinnon trusts him, which is no mean feat. Logan O’Connor has told me in multiple chats over multiple seasons that players appreciate Jared’s steady, calm voice during a nine-month grind.

“His work ethic and his preparation is something that there is zero complacency in what he does day-to-day,” O’Connor, the former Pios star, said last spring. “How (Bednar) operates, the meetings he runs, the message he delivers, what he expects from players, having good relationships with players — I think he creates a clear picture of how he wants us to play.

“And that goes from first line to fourth line, individuals to power play to penalty kill. I think you know exactly the expectations that he has for you. And then it’s on us to go out there and execute those expectations. I think he just has the utmost respect from us players. And it’s no surprise that he’s had as great of a run as he has, given the volatility in the (coaching) market. And we all love playing for him.”

For Sakic and the Kroenkes, the question of Bednar, whose current contract extension expires at the end of next season, is largely this:

Do you prefer something safe and predictable — 50-plus wins in the regular season, followed by a second-round postseason exit — or the crap shoot of a new coaching hire?

Do you want to be hockey’s version of the ’90s Atlanta Braves? Or do you want to roll the dice? After being shamed on The Strip, we’re about to find out if Super Joe’s still in a gambling mood.

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.

Mikko Rantanen sent his friends and former teammates home in a blur — his third-period hat trick and assist to erase a 2-0 deficit happened in the final 13 minutes of a do-or-die Game 7. That painful night in Dallas now feels merciful, compared with what this Avs team just experienced. A four-game sweep by the Vegas Golden Knights was somehow worse. It was an internal injury diagnosed too late, triggering a week-long spiral of physical and mental anguish.

“I think it just feels like a waste, to be honest,” Avs forward Logan O’Connor said. “Eighty-two games, you get tons of great pieces and feel as though you have a team that can do something special. We said it in training camp — it’s Cup or bust for us. Regardless of where you fall short, we fell super short of that goal.”

For nine months, that loss in Dallas looked like a prologue, the catalyst for a historic start to this season and eventual legacy-cementing championship for Jared Bednar, Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and the rest of the Avs who reached the mountaintop five years ago but have languished through a variety of playoff disappointments since.

The Avs won the most games, scored the most goals and allowed the fewest during a dominant regular season. They steamrolled through the first half of the tournament, losing just once while scoring more than four goals per game.

Then the Golden Knights broke them. It took a week — a blink of an eye in the context of a long season, but the adjectives to describe how players felt in the Avalanche locker room Tuesday night were strikingly similar to that night in Dallas.

“Frustration. Sadness, I guess,” Avs defenseman Josh Manson said. “Really felt like we had a good team. We didn’t do the job. We lost. The expectations for this organization are high. And, just … didn’t go the way we wanted.”

By Game 4 of this series, the only way to tell it was the Avs on the ice at T-Mobile Arena was the uniforms. Colorado looked nothing like the team that demoralized opponents all year with its offensive and defensive prowess.

Every aspect of the Avs’ invincibility was punctured by a team that fired its head coach 51 days before this Western Conference final began and lost more games than it won during the regular season.

Colorado scored just seven goals in four games for the first time since early in the 2023-24 season. Scott Wedgewood, the NHL’s leader in goals against average and save percentage, was outplayed by a goaltender who, this time a year ago, was one of five defendants in a messy sexual assault trial and who wasn’t signed to an NHL contract until late October.

This Avs team was 45-0 when leading after two periods, until Vegas made it 45-1 in Game 2. Colorado was 52-0 when building a multi-goal lead at any point in a game, until Vegas made it 52-1 in Game 3.

This was the deepest team in the NHL, built to survive the war of attrition in the Stanley Cup playoffs. It was one of the healthiest teams in the league as well, but by the end of this run, the Avs’ injury luck was nearly as bad as their shooting woes.

Everything was leading to one outcome for the Avs — a second championship in five years, another parade and immortality for all the key figures. A week later, everything has changed, and there’s just as much uncertainty — maybe more — than the morning after Rantanen donned a green-and-black cape in Game 7.

“I mean, this one … I feel like it����ap going to take some time to kind of digest and process,” Avs forward Brock Nelson said. “I’m not worried about next year right now.”

A more complicated offseason

Colorado’s offseason looked pretty straightforward a week ago.

Brett Kulak and Brent Burns are unrestricted free agents. Jack Drury is a restricted free agent. The biggest potential storyline was Cale Makar’s massive new contract, but that one doesn’t start until the following season.

The Avs have very little cap space, so someone under contract will likely need to be traded to retain Drury and one of the defensemen, or to replace Kulak and Burns. Pretty simple stuff, relative to what other offseasons might look like.

Now? Everything has to be on the table.

The questions begin with the future of the coaching staff. Colorado fired one of Jared Bednar’s longtime lieutenants, Ray Bennett, last May after the power play failed in the Dallas series. The power play was still a problem for much of this season, the one source of consternation, even when all of the other parts of this club were at the peak of their powers.

If the Avalanche decide to let Bednar go, he would be fielding calls from other NHL teams before the end of the day. The one candidate who has a resume similar to Bednar’s who isn’t currently one of the 32 head coaches is the guy John Tortorella replaced in Sin City, Bruce Cassidy. But one of the biggest off-ice stories of this postseason has been the Golden Knights denying Edmonton and Los Angeles permission to speak with Cassidy because he’s still under contract with Vegas.

The next major question, with both short- and long-term ramifications, is the state of the roster. This team was built to win the Stanley Cup in 2026, and every core piece is under contract at least through next year.

That felt like a great thing 10 days ago. If this Avs team did go on to win the Stanley Cup, they’d be one of the top favorites for 2026-27 as well.

Now? The Avs looked old against the Golden Knights. Beyond Burns, who will be 41 when next season begins, Colorado has six key figures who will be 32 or older when the 2027 Stanley Cup Playoffs begin — Nazem Kadri, Brock Nelson and Manson will be 35 or older, while Gabe Landeskog, Wedgewood and Devon Toews will all be at least 32.

Then there are Valeri Nichushkin and Artturi Lehkonen. Having those two excellent two-way players on team-friendly contracts has been part of Colorado’s secret sauce since 2022. No other NHL team has two secondary stars like them when they are healthy and playing well.

Their style of play and injury history, not to mention Nichushkin’s off-ice troubles, have made them high-risk, high-reward players in recent seasons. Lehkonen was hurt in the second round and far off his typical impact against Vegas. Nichushkin couldn’t finish the conference final because of an injury, and this year was his worst per-game offensive output since the 2020-21 campaign.

Martin Necas is the youngest core player on the team, but his new contract at $11.5 million per season kicks in next year. He was great against Minnesota, but the external allegations that he isn’t a postseason player resurfaced after he was one of the least impactful players on the roster against Vegas.

The Avs chose not to move any core players after losing to Dallas last year. The rationale was that they shook up the roster so much in-season that some stability going into this year would help fuel another run.

For nine months, that plan looked perfect. Staying the course looks far more uncertain now.

“I certainly hope so,” Landeskog said when asked if this core has another run in it. “I believe in that.

“It’s hard, but I think at the end of the day, if there’s one thing I learned over the last handful of years, it’s get knocked down, you just get right back up. Yeah, that’s the only way to do it.”

The team that was leading the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs in goals per game after two rounds — a club that scored nine times in one game against a strong defensive team three weeks ago — managed just seven in the entire Western Conference Final.

Of all the reasons why the Colorado Avalanche are no longer participating in this tournament, that is the hardest one to fathom.

“I felt like we were generating enough to create chances, doing enough things to find the back of the net a couple times, and yeah, it just comes down to one chance,” Avs star defenseman Cale Makar said. “I felt like every game in this series was like that.”

The Avs scored 298 goals in the regular season, seven more than the Carolina Hurricanes at the top of the league. They had scored 37 in nine games through the first two rounds of the postseason.

Other things went wrong while the Vegas Golden Knights completed one of the most shocking sweeps in recent NHL postseason history. Vegas won the goaltending battle in the first three games. The Avs made mistakes at critical times, which gave the Golden Knights great scoring chances.

But the offense going Arctic Circle levels of cold is the most shocking issue. Colorado hadn’t been held to fewer than eight goals in any four-game stretch since Oct. 26-Nov. 4, 2023.

“I think it����ap their checking game and I thought Carter Hart had an incredible series at times,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “Sometimes I think we did a good job. Like I said before, you’re looking at this series going into this final game, the analytics are tight, they’re close in all aspects.

“(Hart) played really well and I think their team made it super difficult to create quality looks and when we did he made the saves. That had all something to do with it.”

The Avs feeling like they were getting enough chances, but not converting them was a theme throughout the series. That was definitely true in Game 1.

Colorado finished that game with 38 shots on net. The Avs also generated 4.44 expected goals, the second-most during this postseason run, but lost 4-2.

The next three games, the Avs did not create enough chances, or generate enough expected goals. It may have felt like they did, and in relation to what Vegas was producing, it was as Bednar put it, very tight.

But, the Avs generated 6.69 expected goals in Games 2-4 combined. The individual totals were three of the four worst outputs in the 2026 playoffs for Colorado. That’s an average of 2.23 per contest.

The Avs had just six games in the regular season where they generated 2.23 expected goals or less.

Colorado shot the puck more than Vegas did in this series. The Avs even had more scoring chances, at least before Game 4. The Golden Knights had a 75-72 advantage in scoring chances over the final three games.

But getting into the dirty areas and creating the best scoring chances was a huge problem. The Avalanche generated six high-danger scoring chances in each of the final three games of this series. They had just two in the third periods of those games — both in Game 3.

“I think we were generating looks still, but we just couldn’t get them in the net,” Avs defenseman Devon Toews said. “That’s the way it goes at times. There are times in the regular season where you might go 10 games where’s it just really hard to score goals.

“We went four games here where we couldn’t quite get enough to push it over the line and push a couple of games into our column.”

The individual results from this series were as improbable as the result. Colorado had six players score 20 or more goals this season.

Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Cale Makar, Parker Kelly and Artturi Lehkonen combined for 186 goals this season. None of those six players scored a goal against the Golden Knights.

Nelson had two quality chances and set up a third during one shift in Game 4. He hit the crossbar with a chance that might have curtailed Vegas’ comeback plans in Game 3. He’s had great postseasons before with the New York Islanders.

He called this the most frustrating playoff experience of his career. He might not be alone in the Colorado locker room.

“I felt like in a couple of the games, we had our fair share of looks and they didn’t go in,” Nelson said. “Yeah, which obviously it����ap all the more frustrating right now.

“I mean, this one … I feel like it����ap going to take some time to kind of digest and process.”

That is all that stood between Gabe Landeskog and an ending that would make Disney executives blush.

He became the first professional hockey player to return to the NHL last May after knee cartilage transplant surgery, nothing short of a Hail Mary procedure that saved his career.

This was going to be the bookend chapter for one of the most respected athletes in Colorado sports history. Landeskog, 33, was not going to retire, but he was going to be remembered for this second act forever.

The Captain. And the Cup. Again.

Instead, the clock struck midnight and the valet brought the keys back to a pumpkin.

The Avs became a group of falling stars, going splat and getting swept by the Golden Knights in an unspeakably awful series.

A week ago, the Avs believed they could win another championship. Now, it is fair to wonder if they blew it with this group.

“I mean, you never know if you’re ever going to get the chance again. I think that’s what hurts, right?” Landeskog, always accountable, said in the visiting locker room after the 2-1 Game 4 loss. “Like, it’s hard making the playoffs, and it’s hard winning one round and two rounds, and let alone going all the way, so never know what the next opportunity is going to kind of look like and present itself looking like, but I think for us, believing in this group, believing in the guys that we have in this organization and that will give ourselves the best chance possible year after year.”

In a series that somehow featured no goals from Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Martin Necas and Brock Nelson, Landeskog carried his weight. He scored three times, including the lone goal on Tuesday night with 2:03 remaining in the game.

Predictably, Landeskog, a captain for 14 years, took zero solace in his performance.

The Avs began the season on a Stanley Cup-or-bust wagon. Becoming only the seventh No. 1 seed to be swept is not how anyone in the organization expected this season to end.

“Yeah, it’s empty, there’s no other way to describe it, really. Yeah, felt good about our team, still do, but you got to give these guys credit on the other side,” Landeskog said. “They’re good, played hard, Carter Hart, heck of a goalie, heck of a series, so, but yeah, you go from being in the battle and all of a sudden the buzzer goes and season’s over. It’s a weird feeling to try to describe to people, but empty is probably the way to do it.”

The Avs scored seven times in four games. Coach Jared Bednar, who is facing external criticism and questions about his future, praised the Golden Knights’ checking and goaltending.

The Western Conference Final is the farthest the Avs have reached since raising the Stanley Cup after the 2022 season. While this might have been the best chance to win it again, Landeskog wants this group to take another run at it next season.

“I certainly hope so. I believe in that,” Landeskog said.

On a somber night in Las Vegas, a feeling far too common for far too many in this city, Landeskog talked through the pain. This hurt. But he has come back from worse.

“I mean, it’s 32 teams that are trying to win it. It’s hard, but I think at the end of the day, if there’s one thing I learned over the last handful of years, it’s get knocked down, you just get right back up,” Landeskog said. “Yeah, that’s the only way to do it.”

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.”

Then a three-goal lead disappeared as quickly as it was created, another superstar was injured, and this once-dream season is officially on the brink.

The Vegas Golden Knights rallied after yielding the first three goals of this game, with Tomas Hertl providing the game-winner in a 5-3 victory in Game 3 of this best-of-seven series at T-Mobile Arena.

“It’s frustrating,” said Avs star Cale Makar, who returned after missing the first two games of this series. “I mean, we’ve been on the other side of that, obviously coming back from that, and it’s going to happen. But it can’t happen at this time of the year. I felt like they got some lucky bounces, but we’ve got to find a little bit better way to kind of challenge ourselves in those moments and come out of that.

“Just unfortunate. We still had a chance, obviously, in the third there.”

Vegas leads the series 3-0. The Golden Knights can complete an absolutely stunning sweep of the Presidents’ Trophy winners on their home ice on Tuesday night.

To make matters worse, Avs superstar Nathan MacKinnon was injured blocking a shot during the second period. He tried to play through it after taking a hard shot from Shea Theodore off the outside of his right knee, but his mobility was clearly limited.

MacKinnon took one normal shift in the third period, then went on the ice for Colorado’s power play. His three even-strength shifts after the injury totaled a combined 88 seconds, and the Avs were without the NHL’s leading goal scorer this season while trying to come back until MacKinnon went out again for a 6-on-5 shift.

That shift ended with Brett Howden’s empty-net goal to seal the Vegas victory. MacKinnon still managed to play 4:05 in the third period, but that’s maybe 40 percent of what he’d play when healthy in this situation.

Avs coach Jared Bednar also noted that Valeri Nichushkin was injured in the third period. Nichuhskin did not play in the final 22 minutes of this contest.

“Well, it����ap low,” Bednar said when asked about the emotions of his team after a loss like that. “As low as it can get, because it����ap a big hill to climb. The next 24-to-36 hours is for … you’ve got to find a way to get over it, regroup and go again.”

A tale of two periods

The first period couldn’t have gone much better for the visitors. The second period couldn’t have gone much worse.

Colorado blew a three-goal lead in less than 13 minutes. Vegas scored three times in the period on just eight shots.

“Everything,” Bednar said when asked what fell apart after the first. “Yeah, the first 9 minutes (of the second) kind of looked like portions of Game 1 for me and parts of Game 2 where we mismanaged the puck on breakouts. Then they just got more competitive and we didn’t stay with that intensity for nine minutes. A little bit of communication, some talk and we just didn’t dig in and match their intensity at the start of the second quick enough.”

The Golden Knights began the middle period on the power play. It took them 19 seconds to convert. Vegas captain Mark Stone, who returned after missing the past five games with an injury, tapped home a pass from Mitch Marner near the right post after a perfectly executed dump-in and retrieval.

William Karlsson made it a 3-2 game at 4:05 of the period. Marner shot the puck from the right point. Scott Wedgewood made the first save, but the rebound bounced off Parker Kelly’s stick and right to Karlsson, who whipped a shot inside the near post before the Avs goaltender could get square to him.

It was the first goal of the postseason for Karlsson, who is one of the original Vegas ‘Misfits’ from the inaugural season, but missed a huge chunk of this year before returning during the last round.

MacKinnon took a hard shot off the outside of his right knee with 7:54 remaining in the period. He was writhing on the ice for 9 seconds before play was stopped.

Keegan Kolesar tied the game at 3-3 on the next shift. Kolesar deflected a shot from the top of the zone by Dylan Coghlan off the right post and then tapped the rebound into the net for his first goal of this postseason.

“To me it����ap the full 60(-minute) effort, competitiveness at times, puck moving and some turnovers that can get you,” Bednar said. “They’re going to make it difficult on you, but you have to try create enough chances and finish off enough to win a hockey game.”

Colorado’s offense roared to life at the start of this contest after two rough nights back home at Ball Arena.

Landeskog put the Avs in front just 3:21 into this contest. Devon Toews beat Noah Hanifin to a loose puck in the neutral zone, which created a 2-on-1. Hanifin took a penalty trying to defend Toews as he took the puck to the net, but Landeskog was there to put home the rebound.

That is five goals for Landeskog in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, just another chapter in his remarkable comeback story.

That was also Colorado’s first lead of the series. Nazem Kadri, moved up to the second line and to the wing for the first time in this postseason, doubled the advantage at 7:03 with one of the best team-effort goals of the season.

Josh Manson faked out Nic Dowd behind the Colorado net to free up space for the defenseman to hit Martin Necas with a tape-to-tape outlet pass beyond the red line. Necas split two defenders, then left the puck for Kadri, who buried a shot from the inside of the left circle for his third of the postseason.

Vegas thought it cut the lead in half during a Golden Knights power play. Pavel Dorofeyev batted the puck out of mid-air with a cross-checking motion near the edge of the Colorado crease. An official immediately waived off the goal, citing that Dorofeyev put the puck into the net with his hand.

After a lengthy review, the officials said the call on the ice was correct. Even if they had reversed it and awarded the goal, Colorado may have challenged for a high stick.

Either way, the Avs extended their lead to 3-0 just 43 seconds later. Parker Kelly backhanded the puck out of the Avs zone and two Vegas players missed it when trying to keep it in, leaving Jack Drury alone for a shorthanded breakaway. His deke fooled Vegas goaltender Carter Hart, and the Avs had a three-goal lead with 6:45 remaining in the opening period.

That lead was gone a little less than 20 minutes later. The season will end Tuesday night if the Avs can’t find a way to extend this series and get back to Ball Arena for a potential Game 5.

“You can go so many different ways, but we need to play better,” Landeskog said. “Simple as that. We need better, and we need to find a way to score more goals, and I thought we did a good job of that tonight. Obviously, build a lead, and then they claw their way into it. They’re a good team over there.”

Colorado has scored three goals in two games against the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. The Avs have been one short, before empty-net goals allowed, in both contests.

They felt like they played better for parts of Game 2, but they actually created less offense — and missed the net entirely on some of their best chances. Yes, Cale Makar’s absence is huge, and there was no update Saturday on his status for Game 3 on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena.

But this team scored the most goals in the NHL this season, and was pouring in the most per contest in this tournament until these past two games against Vegas.

“If I felt like we played our best game in Game 1 and our best game in Game 2, and we lost, I’d be a little bit more like, ‘Oh, I’m really worried about this,’ ” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “They’re really good team, especially their strengths are very strong.  I look at our game and I break it down in different areas. … show them clear examples of it, show them some things tactically that we did well that we can repeat, show them areas of the game, say offensively, where this guy’s open, why did we just use them and we’re not recognizing it or choosing to do something different, so it����ap some decision making.

“There’s enough of it there that I say we can be much better in Game 3, that’s what gives me the confidence. It doesn’t guarantee you a win, but they still haven’t seen our best, and maybe we haven’t seen their best either. We have a number of areas in our game that we can improve for Game 3 to get us a better chance of winning.”

The surface numbers are pretty obvious, even if the sample size in this series is obviously quite small. Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas and Brock Nelson combined for 124 goals and 292 points in the regular season. Along with Makar’s 20 goals and 79 points, those are the top four scorers on this team.

They’ve combined for one assist in this series — when MacKinnon set up Gabe Landeskog for a power-play goal late in Game 1. They have no points at 5-on-5.

During the regular season, the Avs created 3.69 expected goals per 60 minutes when Nelson was on the ice, 3.67 when MacKinnon was out there and 3.38 with Necas. Those numbers are all down in this series.

MacKinnon is at 2.88, while Necas (2.0) and Nelson (1.84) are the lowest among the Avalanche forwards. The MacKinnon line had an excellent defensive showing in Game 2, but created just 0.75 expected goals in nearly 16 minutes at 5-on-5. In Game 1, the Avs also created 0.75 expected goals when MacKinnon was on the ice at 5-on-5.

Five days ago, MacKinnon and Necas were two of the hottest players in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The power play was also clicking. Two tough losses later, and the narrative has swung in the other direction in a hurry.

“We’ve got to find a way to produce, right?” Bednar said. “But part of the reason why their top guys are producing is we’re giving them those easy opportunities. They’re not giving those to us, right? So, according to my numbers, we’ve spent a significant more amount of time in o-zone play than them. Home-plate chances, low slot chances are pretty even. I think they’re leaning in our favor, and rush chances is an advantage to them.

“We’ve got to find a way to make it a little more difficult on (Carter) Hart and breaking his eyesight, and keep going to war in the low-slot area, try to pick up some chances. But right now when you’re looking at the chances, it’s very even. I think, again we’re handing him some easy chances and some goals against right now that we can’t afford to.”

As Bednar alluded to there, Vegas has effectively done what Colorado did to Los Angeles in the first round. The Golden Knights allowed zero odd-man rushes in Game 2, while three of their five goals against Scott Wedgewood in this series have come at the end of one.

Vegas has slowed Colorado down in the neutral zone, but also been able to defend with a compact shell once the Avs do create offensive possessions. Ross Colton’s Game 2 goal was the best example of how the Avs can navigate the problem.

Brent Burns sent the puck to the net, and Colton was in a great spot when the shot was blocked. He found the loose puck and put it past Hart because the goaltender could reset.

This isn’t some new tactical idea the Avs haven’t seen before. The Dallas Stars did something similar with Peter DeBoer as coach. Ditto the Winnipeg Jets in the first round in 2024.

The Jets had the best goalie on the planet, but the Avs broke them with a flurry of tips, deflections and screened shots that Connor Hellebuyck did not handle.

Colorado needs more goals, plain and simple. The top players on the team need to be better. The power play needs to contribute.

Even if the Avs feel the process has been good, it needs to be great if they’re going to have a chance to get back in this series.

“There’s obviously a lot of different things we can do,” Avs forward Nicolas Roy said. “I think going hard on the forecheck has been working for us. In the defensive zone, they’re trying to keep us on the outside, so kind of try to go there to the netfront and win those battles and get those rebounds as well. There’s definitely things we can do. Just look at the video and we’ll be ready.”

Instead of the horn, that familiar ping of the left post rang through Ball Arena.

Avalanche teammate Nazem Kadri nearly cracked open the book too, in the waning seconds of the first.

Nathan MacKinnon whistled a great look just over Vegas goalie Carter Hart����ap glove and the crossbar in the second.

Outside of those handful of premium scoring chances, though, Colorado’s offensive execution too often waned without star defenseman Cale Makar in a 4-2 Game 1 home loss to the Golden Knights.

Now the Presidents’ Trophy winners are, for the first time this postseason, on their back foot.

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

MacKinnon’s summation: The Avalanche skaters “did a lot of damage to ourselves. Just kind of (had) guys everywhere.”

The Avs launched 38 shots at Hart, but many of them came from the perimeter as the visiting Knights packed the middle of their defensive zone and dared their talented rivals to fire from long range.

Colorado mostly obliged, leading coach Jared Bednar afterward to say he felt as though his group “faded away for 20 minutes” in the middle of the game and had much to clean up, particularly on the offensive end.

“We’ve got to make sure we’re working for outlets for our ‘D’ to make their job a little bit easier,” Bednar said. “I thought some guys struggled with the puck back there a little bit tonight in all three zones. … I’d like to see the urgency and the relentlessness that we had in the third period earlier in the game, for longer stretches.”

One obvious issue for the Avs: Star defenseman Cale Makar, who did not play after, provides top-level performance in all of those departments and more.

“Some of the areas that we struggled with tonight, those are his strengths, right? Yeah it affects,” Bednar said of Makar. “He’s out there a lot with the MacKinnon line. There’s definitely a trickle-down effect to that. But he’s not playing, so we have to find a way. I think the guys that we had playing tonight, not just the D, but we’re capable of more and capable of better.

“It just wasn’t there for us tonight. Got to make sure it is for Game 2.”

Bednar shook up his offensive lines when he shortened his bench in the third period as his team chased a multi-goal deficit. He split MacKinnon and Martin Necas and liked what he saw from there, saying each guy “drove” his line down the stretch.

Colorado scored twice, including a 6-on-4 goal from Gabe Landeskog to get within one, briefly, in the final 2:21.

Still, Bednar was perfectly willing to use his dynamic top line as an example for how Colorado will have to adjust in Game 2 in an attempt to salvage a home split before this series heads to the desert.

“I felt like that group was a little spread out tonight and not as connected as they needed to be against their d-zone schemes in order to create some time,” he said. “When they found time, and did the right things, they came up with some decent looks and did some good things. But we need to do it more often. …

“We should be able to continue that whether we keep the lines the same or mix them up.”

The Avs, then, at first blush believe their problem Wednesday night was not about their plan to counter Las Vegas, but the failure to deploy their plan at a high level.

“I felt like there were opportunitIes to make earlier, quicker decisions and zip the puck hard,” Bednar said. “I mean, they are all pros out there, so you can give your guy a little extra time.

“I think showing them some of the plays, some of the guys that are open, even if it is a D-to-D, to be able to sustain time and find a lane. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be a shot on net. Just get a playable puck around the net, past that first layer, and come up with some dangerous chances if we’re in the right spots. And again, that kind of goes, to me, to execution and our guys just not seeing it quick enough tonight.

“I have confidence that we can do a better job in that area.”

MacKinnon, for his part, took three questions from reporters in the locker room in a session that lasted 63 seconds. By the end, he’d already repeated himself.

“I just said execution like five times,” he said. “Like, I think that’s what hurts.”

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.