Avalanche to play Golden Knights in Western Conference Final

The Colorado Avalanche will play the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.

The Avalanche advanced to the Western Final for the first time since 2022 with a 4-3 overtime win against the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at Ball Arena in Denver on Wednesday. The Golden Knights advanced with a 5-1 win against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 at Honda Center in Anaheim on Thursday.

"I’ve been trying to keep tabs, obviously a little later with the West Coast games," Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood said about the Golden Knights-Ducks series. "I’ve been putting it on, watching highlights, keeping tabs. ... Whoever you get you know it’s going to be a battle, but excited to be there and have a chance to play and move along."

The Avalanche, the No. 1 seed in the Central Division and Western Conference, will have home-ice advantage in the best-of-7 series against the Golden Knights, the No. 1 seed in the Pacific Division.

Game 1 will be on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, CBC, TVAS)

"The playoffs is a long grind and you want to keep your focus narrow," Avalanche defenseman Brett Kulak said. "So I think for us, it's just been Minnesota the last number of days, but now we can get some rest and turn our attention."

Center Nathan MacKinnon leads the Avalanche with 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in the playoffs, and forward Martin Necas has 11 points (one goal, 10 assists). Captain Gabriel Landeskog (three goals, five assists) and defenseman Devon Toews (two goals, six assists) each has eight points, and defenseman Cale Makar has four goals.

Wedgewood is 7-1 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .914 save percentage in eight games. Mackenzie Blackwood is 1-0 with a 3.20 GAA and .872 save percentage in three games (two starts).

Mitch Marner leads Vegas and the NHL this postseason with 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in 12 games, and Jack Eichel is tied for second with 15 points (one goal, 14 assists). Pavel Dorofeyev leads the NHL with nine goals, and Brett Howden is second with eight.

Carter Hart is 8-4 with a 2.38 GAA and .915 save percentage.

The Avalanche went 2-0-1 against the Golden Knights in the regular season.

Necas had six points (three goals, three assists) in those three games, and MacKinnon had four points (one goal, three assists).

Wedgewood was 2-0-0 with a 3.38 GAA and .854 save percentage. Blackwood allowed three goals on 29 shots in his only start, a 3-2 overtime loss on April 11.

Marner and forward Tomas Hertl each had four points (one goal, three assists) against the Avalanche in the regular season, and 10 players had one goal each.

Hart was 1-0-1 with a 3.32 GAA and .901 save percentage in two regular-season games against the Avalanche. Backup goalies Adin Hill and Akira Schmid, who have not played in the playoffs, did not face the Avalanche in the regular season. Carl Lindbom, who is now with Henderson of the American Hockey League, lost his only start, allowing three goals on 25 shots in a 4-2 loss on Oct. 31.

The Avalanche and Golden Knights have played once in the playoffs, with Vegas winning in six games in the second round in 2021.