LAS VEGAS — Just when the Colorado Avalanche got back reigning Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar, they might be without Hart Trophy finalist Nathan MacKinnon.
MacKinnon will, at least, be highly limited, which was what he was after taking a puck to his right knee in Sunday night’s 5-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.
It’s been that kind of series for the Avalanche, the Presidents’ Trophy winners going down 3-0 in the Western Conference final. With the possibility of being swept Tuesday night, Coach Jared Bednar will take MacKinnon in any form he can get him.
“For him to be able to come back out, get some work done late in the second period and intermission and be able to come out and even help us on the power play and empty-net situations, if that’s all he can do, we’ll take it,” Bednar said. “It’s better than anything else, in my opinion, we can put on the ice.”
That comment could get plenty of attention in the Avalanche locker room, but as it is, the Golden Knights have their full focus.
The odds might have been in the Avalanche’s favor before the series began — the team with the league’s best record going against one so desperate to make the playoffs that it fired its coach with eight games remaining in the regular season — but not now.
The numbers, in fact, are daunting.
This is the 50th time in the conference finals or league semifinals that a series has gone to 3-0. All previous 49 teams with that advantage went on to make the Stanley Cup Final, with 47 ending the series in six games or fewer.
Only four teams have erased 3-0 deficits in any round. Los Angeles in 2014 was the most recent team to accomplish that in eliminating San Jose in their first-round series.
Then there’s the so-called Presidents’ Trophy curse. Chicago in 2013 was the last team to claim that and the Stanley Cup in the same season. Colorado already had firsthand knowledge of the difficulty of pulling off the double, winning the Presidents’ Trophy in the COVID-shortened season of 2021 before going out in six games in the second round — to the Golden Knights.
“There’s going to be a sense of urgency, but it’s got to be smart urgency,” defenseman Josh Manson said. “It’s got to be desperation. It’s got to be our best style of play the whole night. You’ve got to maintain that sense of do or die, while playing up to the edge. That’s what makes it so difficult.
“The margin of error is so thin now, and you’ve got to be able to balance that for at least 12 periods.”
It will take at least that many periods for the Avalanche to accomplish what no other team has done this deep into the playoffs. They will have to play like the team that looked like the NHL’s best for six months and then the first two rounds of the playoffs when they went 8-1.
“We know where we’re at,” wing Martin Necas said. “We know it doesn’t happen very often, but we still feel confident in this group. It’s not like we’ve been outplayed every game and their team is better than ours. We had a lot of stretches this season where we won four in a row. So we just focus on the next game and take it home and anything can happen.”
Getting it back to Denver for Game 5 would be a start.
“Our team’s played with more intensity and more desperation as the series (has) gone on,” Bednar said. “Hasn’t worked out for us yet. I think with the hill to climb, it’s definitely a tough one. It just doesn’t happen very often, and we’re certainly understanding of that, but I think we have a lot of pride and a lot of character in our room that displayed that time over time throughout the course of the year,
“This will be our most difficult challenge, but I believe that we will show up and we will be ready to play.”
STONE’S RETURN
Vegas captain Mark Stone, who had missed the past five games because of a lower-body injury, not only played in Sunday’s 5-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche, but his goal sparked the comeback.
Stone scored a power-play goal 19 seconds into the second period to start a rally from a 3-0 deficit and ultimately give the Golden Knights a 3-0 series lead.
“I don’t like watching, ever. I want to play every game,” Stone said. “It’s been an unfortunate part of my career, sitting out. This time of year it’s definitely harder. But when the guys are playing the way they’re playing it makes it a little bit easier. Come to the rink with a smile on my face every day. Helps when you’re winning. It’s great to be around the guys and now it’s great to be back on the bench.”
Golden Knights Coach John Tortorella announced before the game Stone would be back in the lineup.
“His talent speaks for itself, but his character and leadership, just to have him back in the room, get his voice back, is going to be huge for our team,” Golden Knights defenseman Noah Hanifin said. “Any time he comes back, it’s like he didn’t miss a beat.”
Stone, hurt in Game 3 of the second-round series at Anaheim, showed few, if any, limitations while taking part in an optional skate Saturday. He also skated when the team was in Denver for the first two games of the series.
His 28 goals and 73 points in the regular season were Stone’s highest in seven years, and he has produced four goals and five assists in 10 playoff games this year.
“No one wants to be out there more than Mark,” Hanifin said. “He’s one of the most competitive guys I’ve played with in my career.”
Colorado Avalanche center Nazem Kadri, right, celebrates his goal with center Martin Necas during the first period in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)