Three players who need to step up if Avs are to beat Vegas

Here we go tonight, Game 1, Avs-Vegas, best-of-seven second-round series. I’m anticipating Marc-Andre Fleury in goal for the Golden Knights, though coach Pete DeBoer doesn’t make his goaltending plans public. Brayden McNabb, big Vegas defenseman, tested positive for Covid-19 and may not be able to play in the series.

But enough about Vegas.

I want to focus in on three players who I believe need to step up their games even more in this round. Not that any of them were bad in the first round against St. Louis – far from it. But, to me, these are X-factor kinds of guys who can really put the Avs over the top with strong series: