Despite getting Norris Trophy finalist Cale Makar back from injuries that kept him out of the first two games in the series, the Colorado Avalanche blew a 3-0 lead and dropped a critical Game 3 to the Vegas Golden Knights, falling 5-3 at T-Mobile Arena. In playoff hockey, momentum is often the only currency that matters—and right now, Colorado’s pockets appear to be completely empty. The defeat puts the Avalanche down 3-0 and on the brink of elimination in the Western Conference Finals.

Vegas mounted a relentless comeback, fueled by an offensive onslaught that resulted in a clean sweep of the post-game accolades. After scoring the game-winning goal, Tomas Hertl earned First Star honors, while Mark Stone – who also returned from injury – and Mitch Marner took home the Second and Third Stars, respectively.

Game Highlights

The Avalanche stormed out of the gate in the first period, executing a flawless road script to build a commanding 3-0 advantage. Gabriel Landeskog opened the scoring with 16:39 remaining in the opening frame, snapping a crisp wrist shot past Vegas goaltender Carter Hart off feeds from Devon Toews and Nathan MacKinnon. At the 12:57 mark, Nazem Kadri doubled the advantage to 2-0, capitalizing on precise setup work from Martin Necas and Josh Manson. Colorado capped their early explosion at 6:45 when Jack Drury buried a backhand shot for a shorthanded goal – assisted by Parker Kelly and Toews – silencing the home crowd.

However, the Golden Knights flipped the script in the middle frame, erasing the deficit with a relentless offensive surge against Colorado netminder Scott Wedgewood. The comeback began just 19 seconds into the second period on the power play, as Mark Stone finished a sequence orchestrated by Marner and Hertl. William Karlsson cut the Avalanche lead to a single goal at 15:55, picking the upper right corner with Marner collecting his second primary assist. Keegan Kolesar completed the second-period rally at 7:14, tying the game 3-3 with a backhand finish assisted by Dylan Coghlan and Kaedan Korczak.

In the third period, Vegas captured their first lead of the night and never looked back. At 11:39, Hertl found the back of the net on a 25-foot backhander, aided by Stone and Korczak. The Avalanche applied heavy pressure in the closing minutes, but the Vegas defense held firm. With 59 seconds remaining, Brett Howden sealed the 5-3 Golden Knights victory, launching a 111-foot wrist shot into the empty net with assists from Karlsson and Shea Theodore.

Key Takeaways

Despite Colorado dominating the pace early, a deeper look at the box score reveals exactly how Vegas dismantled the Avalanche’s structural advantages to secure the win.

Makar Was Good Defensively in Return

Cale Makar was back in the lineup for his first game of the series, and he played a pretty good defensive game but was not quite able to drive the offense the way fans may have hoped.

The star defenseman played 27 minutes and 14 seconds of ice time in Game 3, which is a big number in itself but especially for a player returning from an injury layoff. He also recorded six of the team’s 11 blocked shots. Jared Bednar clearly trusted him enough to ride him hard — and Makar handled the physical demands.

However, in spite of logging significant power play time and generating three shots on goal, Makar finished pointless with an even plus-minus rating. While Colorado did score a series-high three goals, matching their goals in the series through the first two games combined, Makar’s return was not enough for the Avs to get their first win of the series.

Colorado’s Power Play Was a Killer

The Avs had four power-play opportunities and went 0-for-4. Meanwhile, Vegas converted 1-of-3. In a game where your back is against the wall, you simply cannot squander four man advantages.

The biggest concern here is that it wasn’t a matter of Carter Hart standing on his head. Colorado struggled to generate offense with the man advantage. The most alarming power play was the fourth — late in the third period when Colorado desperately needed to claw one back to tie the game, they generated zero shots on goal. Cale Makar had two shots blocked (one by Eichel from 27 ft, one missed from 48 ft), and Landeskog’s wrist shot was swatted away by Karlsson. They couldn’t even get the puck on net when it mattered most.

Vegas’ Physical Dominance Took Over

Once the Golden Knights’ engine got going, the physical difference was stark. The Vegas registered 34 hits compared to Colorado’s 17 — literally doubling them up — and blocked 22 shots to Colorado’s 11. John Tortorella’s team imposed their will physically in the middle and final frames, and it clearly wore the Avs down, especially after Nathan MacKinnon was hobbled blocking a shot, and never looked right after that.

Looking Forward

Colorado’s backs will be against the wall when they take on the Golden Knights Tuesday, May 27 at 7:00 PM MT in T-Mobile Arena. It’s a literal must-win game with the series sitting at 3-0 Vegas.

As the 2025 postseason continues to unfold, stay connected with every critical update. Fans looking to follow the team’s playoff journey can find more in-depth coverage, game analysis, and the latest Colorado Avalanche news here.

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Sportradar Content Studio contributed to this story.