Avalanche on the brink as Makar sits out another crucial playoff game
DENVER — Cale Makar remained out of the lineup for the Colorado Avalanche on Friday, watching from the bench as his team fell 3-1 to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final at Ball Arena. The defenseman, sidelined with an upper-body injury, missed his second straight game after also sitting out Colorado’s 4-2 loss in Game 1. The Avalanche now find themselves in a 2-0 series hole — a deficit only one team in NHL history has overcome in a conference finals series, dating back to the 1945 Detroit Red Wings.
Makar participated in an optional skate and took repetitions with the first power-play unit but was ultimately not cleared to play. Head coach Jared Bednar emphasized that the decision rests entirely with the player. “Cale is the only person that knows when he's good enough to play, that's why it's his decision,” Bednar said on Saturday. “No one can go into Cale's body and feel what he's feeling, so when he feels like he can do all the things he needs to be able to do on the ice to play, then he's going to make the decision to play.”
Defenseman Nick Blankenburg stepped into Makar’s role for Game 2, logging 9:21 of ice time. He replaced Jack Ahcan, who played just 7:34 in Game 1 and finished minus-1. Bednar praised Blankenburg’s composure and puck movement, but the absences of the reigning Norris Trophy finalist were felt in nearly every zone.
Makar’s absence exposes deeper cracks
The statistical disparity with and without Makar is stark. During the regular season, Makar ranked third among NHL defensemen with 79 points (20 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games, averaging 24:51 of ice time while posting a plus-32 rating. In the playoffs, he had five points (four goals, one assist), 22 shots on goal and 18 blocked shots in nine games, averaging nearly 25 minutes per night. His absence has left the Avalanche without their most dynamic transition weapon and power-play quarterback.
But as The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus noted, the team’s problems run deeper than one injured superstar. In Game 2, the Avalanche squandered a second-period lead for the first time all season when leading after 40 minutes — they had been a perfect 45-0-0 in such situations entering the contest. The collapse came swiftly: Jack Eichel scored his first goal in 11 games with 10:45 remaining, and the Golden Knights added two more in a span of 2:07 to flip the game entirely.
“It stings right now,” captain Gabriel Landeskog said after Colorado lost back-to-back games in regulation for the first time since mid-March. The Avalanche also struggled to generate consistent offensive pressure. Marty Nečas, Brock Nelson, and even Nathan MacKinnon have been unable to find their rhythm, and the power play went more than four minutes without a shot on goal in Game 2 — a scenario that would be nearly unthinkable with Makar stationed at the point.
Series and stakes: History and desperation collide
The Colorado Avalanche entered the postseason as the NHL’s top regular-season team, leading the league wire to wire and losing only two of their first 40 games in regulation. They swept through the first two rounds in just nine games, earning a lengthy layoff before the Western Conference Final. That rest, however, may have contributed to rust in Game 1, and the absence of Makar has compounded the problem.
The Golden Knights, by contrast, looked inconsistent during the regular season and at times appeared destined to miss the playoffs. Now they are two wins from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. History is firmly on their side: only the 1945 Detroit Red Wings have lost the first two games at home in a conference finals series and come back to win.
“There’s urgency to get him back, like since he got hurt,” Bednar said with a wry chuckle. “But it’s going to be Cale’s decision when he’s coming back. He’s doing all the work he can possibly do to get back as fast as he can. If he can play, that’s great.”
Game 3 shifts to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday night, where the Avs will face a hostile crowd and a Golden Knights team that has shown it can win tight, defensive battles. The pressure on Makar to return is immense, yet Bednar has been clear that no amount of urgency will override medical prudence. “We know what the injury is, we know what he's dealing with, we know that we're going to expect him back at some point, but you’ve got to get to a level of being comfortable with what you're dealing with and the pain tolerance,” he said.
Perspective: The Makar Watch becomes the defining story of the series
Every morning skate has become a public stakeout. Every stride Makar takes is analyzed, every shot he flips on net treated as a clue in a medical mystery that only one man can solve. The question of when — or if — he returns now dominates the series narrative, eclipsing the X’s and O’s that normally define a conference final.
In some ways, this situation mirrors other recent high-profile injury sagas in the NHL playoffs. Teams that rely heavily on a single superstar often find themselves in an impossible bind: rush him back and risk long-term damage, or hold him out and watch the season slip away. For the Avalanche, the calculus is especially stark. This is a Stanley Cup-or-bust season, and the runway for patience has evaporated.
If Makar does return for Game 3 — and multiple sources suggest that is the most likely target — he will not be at 100 percent. Bednar acknowledged as much, saying the defenseman must reach a level of comfort with his pain tolerance. Even a limited role, such as manning the top power-play unit, could be enough to swing the series. But the broader question remains: can one player, no matter how talented, fix the systemic issues that have plagued the Avalanche through two games?
As the series shifts to Las Vegas, the hockey world will be watching closely — not just for the on-ice action, but for the sight of No. 8 stepping onto the ice for warmups. Until then, the Avalanche’s fate hangs in the balance, tied to the health of their most irreplaceable player.
For more on the high-stakes atmosphere surrounding NHL playoffs, see our coverage of Wrexham Caught in Spygate Storm as Hull Owner Demands Playoff Return and Dhruv Jurel Shines as Rajasthan Royals Face Playoff Elimination Threat.
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