Stanley Cup Playoffs: Golden Knights vs. Avalanche Western Final preview

The conference finals of the Stanley Cup Playoffs feature four teams in two best-of-7 series. Today, NHL.com previews the Western Conference Final between the Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights.

(1P) Vegas Golden Knights vs. (1C) Colorado Avalanche

Golden Knights: Defeated Utah Mammoth 4-2 in first round; defeated Anaheim Ducks 4-2 in second round

Avalanche: Defeated Los Angeles Kings 4-0 in first round; defeated Minnesota Wild 4-1 in second round

Season series: VGK: 1-1-1; COL: 2-0-1

Game 1: Wednesday at Colorado (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC)

Forget the different paths to this point. Forget the numbers, forget the accolades. 

This is the Western Conference Final, and Colorado Avalanche coach Jared Bednar believes the Vegas Golden Knights are poised to give the Presidents’ Trophy winners all they can handle. 

“I think the analytics have them as a top five or six team all year, so that is what it is,” Bednar said. “They’re a top team, we’re a top team. We are in the conference final and both teams are experienced and both teams are a little bit older.”

The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in 2022, knocking off the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final. This is their first trip to the conference final since; Colorado has been eliminated in the first round two of the past three seasons.

The Golden Knights followed the Avalanche as Cup champions in 2023, defeating the Florida Panthers in the Final. The next season, Vegas was bounced in the first round. Last season, it was a five-game ouster against the Edmonton Oilers in the second round.

“We have the exact same expectations as Vegas does and we have very similar experience too,” Bednar said. “Over half the roster winning the Stanley Cup a few years ago, haven’t had much success since and here we are facing each other now.”

The Golden Knights are bracing for a formidable opponent, too.

“They won the Presidents’ Trophy (with the best regular-season record in the NHL) and have been a very consistent team all year,” Vegas defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “Great team, facing a lot of challenges.”

Those challenges have yet to come in the postseason for the Avalanche, who swept the Los Aneles Kings in the first round, allowing five goals in the four games. In the second round, they dispatched the Minnesota Wild in five, erasing a three-goal deficit in the clincher.

Vegas has had it a bit harder, being pushed to six games in each round but getting past the Utah Mammoth and the Anaheim Ducks.

“We’ve done a good job playing for each other,” Vegas forward Jack Eichel said. “There’s been a lot of positives and things to take away. We know that if we want to achieve what we want to achieve at the end of the season, we’re going to have to continue to elevate our game and get better every game and every series. That’s our goal.

“There are things that we still find we can improve on, so try and improve on those. We’re going to need our best against Colorado.”

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.

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

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

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

Carter Hart is 8-4 with a 2.37 GAA and .917 save percentage. He emerged as the No. 1 goalie when John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy as coach with eight games left in the regular season. 

The Avalanche and Golden Knights have met once in the playoffs, with Vegas winning in six games in the second round in 2021, erasing a 2-0 series deficit.

“I think it’ll be a good matchup,” said Landeskog, the Colorado captain. “They are a good team. They’ve played really well since ‘Torts’ came in. They have a lot of depth. 

“It’s the Western Conference Final and you know there is one opponent left on this side. That’s plenty of motivation.”

Game breakers

Golden Knights: Dorofeyev has scored the most goals in the playoffs, but Marner is the player driving things for Vegas. Marner, acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs in the offseason, scored five goals in six games against the Ducks and scored two in a Game 6 victory against the Mammoth. His goal 1:02 into Game 6 against Anaheim set the tone for a dominant first period that helped Vegas cruise to a 5-1 win. Marner's 18 points and plus-11 rating are career highs in his 10th playoff appearance. 

Avalanche: Is there anyone more dangerous right now than Mackinnon? He has scored at least one goal in each of past six games, totaling seven goals on 29 shots in that stretch, during which he also is plus-5. MacKinnon’s seven goals are tied for third in the playoffs, and he is tied for fifth with 13 points in nine games, though his average of 1.44 points per game is good for third among players who have advanced past the first round. He remains the emotional focal point of this team.

Goaltending

Golden Knights: Hart has rewarded Tortorella’s faith in him. After allowing two or fewer goals in each of his final five games of the regular season to help the Golden Knights win the Pacific, he has allowed two or fewer goals in six of his past seven playoff games. Adin Hill, who has played once since March 30, is the backup. 

Avalanche: Colorado will likely start the conference final with Wedgewood, who earned the win in Game 6 against Minnesota when he relieved Blackwood with his team down 3-0 after the first period. Wedgewood was in net to start the playoffs and won his first six starts. He allowed five goals on 101 shots (.950 save percentage) against the Kings in the first round but showed some cracks in the second round, allowing 11 goals on 86 shots (.872). Bednar has shown little hesitation in rotating his goalies, just as he did in the regular season, when Wedgewood started 43 games and Blackwood 36.

Numbers to know

Golden Knights: Vegas clinched its fifth conference final/Stanley Cup Semifinals appearance since joining the NHL in 2017-18. The Golden Knights became the fourth team in the League’s modern era (since 1944) with five final-four berths within its first 10 seasons, after the New York Islanders (seven), Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers (five each). 

Avalanche: The Avalanche are the seventh team in playoff history to have 17 players score a goal through the team’s first nine games.

They said it

“Because a lot of the 5-on-5 is just instinctive play. You have a good idea of your foundation. But the special teams you really zero in on. Sure, they’ll be ready. Sure, both of their special teams will be ready. We’re going to try to take care of ours and be the best we can.” -- Golden Knights coach John Tortorella on the importance of special-teams play

“If everyone does their job and we do our details, we have a chance to win every night and it eases your pressure. It’s a confidence boost with personnel, but also just the way we play.  All year you’ve been top of the League and finding different ways to win. We have won high-scoring games, games that went 1-0. Just the way we have been able to overcome certain situations, late third-period comebacks, I think all of that builds throughout the year and it just sits in the back of your head.” -- Avalanche goalie Scott Wedgewood

Will win if …

Golden Knights: They get the better goaltending. Hart has been really good for Vegas and won the goalie showdown in each of the first two rounds. Colorado is a step up, and Hart will have to answer. If he does, the depth and experience his team possesses may come to the fore.  

Avalanche: They get healthier. Colorado was hurting after two rounds. Forward Artturi Lehkonen and defenseman Sam Malinski each missed the final two games in the second round with an upper-body injury. Defenseman Josh Manson missed four games with an upper-body injury before returning in Game 4 against Minnesota. Makar has played every game of the postseason but has absorbed several big hits. He did not practice on Saturday. The Avalanche will need all hands on deck to subdue the Golden Knights.

How they look

Golden Knights projected lineup

Ivan Barbashev -- Jack Eichel -- Pavel Dorofeyev

Brett Howden -- William Karlsson -- Mitch Marner

Brandon Saad -- Tomas Hertl -- Colton Sissons

Cole Smith -- Nic Dowd -- Keegan Kolesar

Shea Theodore -- Dylan Coghlan

Noah Hanifin -- Rasmus Andersson

Ben Hutton -- Brayden McNabb 

Carter Hart

Adin Hill

Scratched: Akira Schmid, Reilly Smith, Jaycob Megna

Injured: Jonas Rondbjerg (lower body), Jeremy Lauzon (upper body), Mark Stone (lower body)

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Martin Necas

Ross Colton -- Brock Nelson -- Nicolas Roy

Logan O'Connor -- Nazem Kadri -- Valeri Nichushkin

Parker Kelly -- Jack Drury -- Joel Kiviranta

Devon Toews -- Cale Makar

Brett Kulak -- Brent Burns

Jack Ahcan -- Josh Manson

Mackenzie Blackwood

Scott Wedgewood

Scratched: Zakhar Bardakov, Isak Posch, Nick Blankenburg

Injured: Artturi Lehkonen (upper body), Sam Malinski (upper body)