The Western Conference Final will get underway in Game One between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Colorado Avalanche on Wednesday night. This third best-of-seven series for both teams will give each team a chance to play for the Stanley Cup.

Each team had its unique path to this point, and this match-up was destined to be on a collision course. This is only the second time these two have played in a playoff series, with Vegas taking the second round back in 2021.

Colorado Avalanche (8–1)

The Avalanche have been off for nearly a week after beating the Minnesota Wild in round two. They played in Game Five last Wednesday, where a comeback effort gave them the win.


However, the win wasn’t the prettiest after falling behind by three goals. A Herculean effort got underway midway through the second period, where the Avs took over en route to the win.

But there are still health concerns. Cale Makar, Josh Manson, Brent Burns, Sam Malinski, and Artturi Lehkonen have all missed recent practices. However, Jared Bednar said he expects his guys to be ready as this series gets underway. But Bednar has confirmed that Makar will not play in the first game of the series and is listed as day-to-day.

Projected Lines

Gabriel Landeskog – Nathan MacKinnon – Martin Necas
Artturi Lehkonen – Brock Nelson – Nicolas Roy
Ross Colton – Nazem Kadri – Valeri Nichushkin
Parker Kelly – Jack Drury – Logan O’Connor

Sam Malinski – Devon Toews
Brett Kulak – Josh Manson
Jack Ahcan – Brent Burns

Scott Wedgewood
Mackenzie Blackwood

Vegas Golden Knights (8–4)

Vegas heads into this series with a clean slate, coming off a Game Six win against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday night. A dominant effort and a great stretch by the Golden Knights got them to their fifth conference final in just their ninth season.

 

However, it didn’t come without some hurt. Mark Stone sustained injuries in the series and might miss the first couple of games. Plus, that’s all without the off-ice drama with former coach Bruce Cassidy, fines, and losing a draft pick for missed media requirements.

On the ice, they’ve been on fire, led by leading playoff scorer Mitch Marner. Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden, and Jack Eichel. Will those forwards combine with good defense and goaltending from Carter Hart to steal the opening game of the series?

Projected Lines

Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Pavel Dorofeyev
Brett Howden – William Karlsson – Mitch Marner
Brandon Saad – Tomas Hertl – Colton Sissons
Cole Smith – Nic Dowd – Keegan Kolesar

Noah Hanifin – Rasmus Andersson
Shea Theodore – Dylan Coghlan
Ben Hutton – Kaedan Korczak

Carter Hart
Adin Hill

Game Details

Time: 6:00 p.m. MT

Watch: ESPN

Listen: Altitude Sports Radio 92.5 FM/AM 950