The Colorado Avalanche are all but eliminated in the Western Conference Final after a 5–3 loss in Game Three to the Vegas Golden Knights. Colorado blew another lead as they did in Game Two, but this time from a three-goal advantage.

There are just so many no-good, terrible things to say about this one. Now, the Avs have the near-impossible task of coming back from a 3–0 deficit. No team in NHL history has done so in the conference finals.

View From the Mountaintop

Colorado started off the game almost as perfectly as they could with three goals. They were flying and put the Vegas crowd to rest with their start. Gabriel Landeskog scored on a rebound from Devon Toews, and Nazem Kadri delivered on a nice assist from Martin Necas and Josh Manson. A disallowed Vegas goal led to a shorthanded Jack Drury goal just 40 seconds later. Just when it looked like they were going to stave off the possibility of being eliminated, the tide turned.


The Vegas Golden Knights responded in kind by blowing the Avs out of the water. A Mark Stone goal just 19 seconds in signaled the start of the downfall. It was the first of four unanswered which made the difference. It ended with Sam Malinski getting beaten badly by Tomas Hertl and Scott Wedgewood being left out to dry. At one point, Vegas had scored its three second-period goals on just six shots. It might’ve been the worst goaltending game for Wedgewood in these playoffs, and perhaps a good chunk of the blame could be placed on him. At some point, a save needs to be made. But he also didn’t get any help.

Even the return of Cale Makar didn’t help the Avalanche. He clearly was not playing fully healthy. Nathan MacKinnon also got injured in this game, blocking a shot off his knee in the second period. Unfortunately, he was never the same afterward. Add to that, Valeri Nichushkin was unavailable in the third period after leaving with an injury. Nicolas Roy took a puck to the face. He kept on going, but everyone is dealing with something at this point in the season. Even a win to get back on home ice for Colorado is just delaying the inevitable with these injuries.

Up Next

Game Four is on Tuesday night at a slightly later 7:00 p.m. MT. The Avalanche will be looking for a win to stave off being eliminated for at least two more days.