Aarif Deen
The Colorado Avalanche continue their Western Conference Final series against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 at T-Mobile Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:15 pm MT and will be broadcast nationally on ESPN.
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Key Stories to Watch
- It’s no secret that this is a must-win for the Avalanche. Falling behind by three games would all but end their season. The offense has completely run dry in this series, and guys like Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, and Nathan MacKinnon must step up their game. All three of them had well over 30 goals in the regular season and have zero thus far against the Knights.
- Head coach Jared Bednar is keeping superstar defenseman Cale Makar’s status for Game 3 under wraps. He would not say whether he’d play during the team’s morning media availability in Vegas. We’ll have to wait for pre-game warm-ups to get a better idea of Makar’s status. Even at less than 100% health, Makar could completely change the way the series is going if he’s able to manage the injury and be functional enough to play a limited role.
- Bednar also would not share whether Scott Wedgewood would get the nod again, or if he’d turn to Mackenzie Blackwood. Bednar openly spoke about goals he thought Wedgewood should’ve saved in each of the first two games. This is also something we won’t be able to better understand until the team takes the ice for warm-up.
Projected Avalanche Lines (subject to change)
Gabriel Landeskog — Nathan MacKinnon — Martin Necas
Artturi Lehkonen — Brock Nelson — Nic Roy
Ross Colton — Nazem Kadri — Valeri Nichushkin
Parker Kelly — Jack Drury — Logan O’Connor
Devon Toews — Sam Malinski
Brett Kulak — Brent Burns
Josh Manson — Nick Blankenburg
Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood
Projected Golden Knights Lines (subject to change)
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Pavel Dorofeyev
Brett Howden — William Karlsson — Mitch Marner
Brandon Saad —Tomas Hertl — Colton Sissons
Cole Smith — Nic Dowd — Keegan Kolesar
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin — Rasmus Andersson
Kaedan Korczak — Dylan Coghlan
Carter Hart
Adin Hill
Projected Starters (subject to change)
- Unconfirmed: Scott Wedgewood (COL)
- Expected: Carter Hart (VGK)
Avalanche Injuries
- Cale Makar (upper body, day to day)
Golden Knights Injuries
- Mark Stone (lower body, day to day)
- Jeremy Lauzon (undisclosed)
How to Watch
- TV: ESPN
- Radio: 92.5 FM
Playoff Series Head-to-Head
- Game 1 vs Vegas Golden Knights (L, 4-2 — VGK leads series 1-0)
- Game 2 vs Vegas Golden Knights (L, 3-1 — VGK leads series 2-0)
- Game 3 at Vegas Golden Knights (May 24 at 6 pm MT)
- Game 4 at Vegas Golden Knights (May 26 at 7 pm MT)
- Game 5 vs Vegas Golden Knights (May 28 at 6 pm MT if necessary)
- Game 6 at Vegas Golden Knights (May 30 at 6 pm MT if necessary)
- Game 7 vs Vegas Golden Knights(June 1 at 6 pm MT if necessary)
Regular Season Head-to-Head
- Oct. 31 at Vegas Golden Knights (W, 4-2)
- Dec. 27 at Vegas Golden Knights (W, 6-5 SO)
- April 11 vs Vegas Golden Knights (L 3-2, OT)
Overall Playoff Results
- R1, G1 vs Los Angeles Kings (W, 2-1)
- R1, G2 vs Los Angeles Kings (W, 2-1 OT)
- R1, G3 at Los Angeles Kings (W, 4-2)
- R1, G4 at Los Angeles Kings (W, 5-1)
- R2, G1 vs Minnesota Wild (W, 9-6)
- R2, G2 vs Minnesota Wild (W, 5-2)
- R2, G3 at Minnesota Wild (L, 5-1)
- R2, G4 at Minnesota Wild (W, 5-2)
- R2, G5 vs Minnesota Wild (W, 4-3 OT)
- R3, G1 vs Vegas Golden Knights (L, 4-2)
- R3, G2 vs Vegas Golden Knights (L, 3-1)