The Presidents' Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche hoped to turn the tide in the 2026 Western Conference Final after losing the first two games at home with the return of two-time Norris Trophy winner Cale Makar and for 20 minutes in Game 3, it appeared they did. But the wheels came off after that, and now they must attempt to avoid being swept with the possibility of being without their Hart Trophy finalist.
With Nathan MacKinnon's status uncertain due to an apparent knee injury, the Avalanche look to extend the series when they visit the Vegas Golden Knights for Game 4 at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday. The 2026 Maurice Richard Trophy winner with a career-high 53 goals, MacKinnon was hit on the inside of his right knee while blocking a shot in the second period of Game 3 and played sparingly the rest of the way.
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Colorado was clinging to a 3-2 lead at the time of the injury after having scored three times in the opening period, obviously energized by the return of Makar after the defenseman missed the first two games of the series with an upper-body injury. MacKinnon notched an assist on captain Gabriel Landeskog's goal 3:21 into the contest and Nazem Kadri doubled the lead less than four minutes later before Jack Drury scored while short-handed with 6:45 remaining in the session.
But the Golden Knights stormed back to even the game in the second, beginning with captain Mark Stone's power-play goal 19 seconds in. Stone was back in the lineup after being sidelined for five contests with a lower-body injury.
William Karlsson and Keegan Kolesar also tallied in the middle period and Tomas Hertl snapped the 3-3 tie at 8:21 of the third before Brett Howden scored into an empty net in the final minute to seal the comeback victory and pull even with teammate Pavel Dorofeyev for the postseason lead with 10 goals.
Stone, Karlsson and Hertl each added an assist while Mitch Marner and defenseman Kaedan Korczak notched two apiece for Vegas, which is one win away from the third Stanley Cup Final appearance in the franchise's nine-season history. The odds certainly are in the Golden Knights' favor as teams facing a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series the round before the Stanley Cup Final are 0-49 all-time.
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Ivan Barbashev has scored two goals and set up another in the series for Vegas, Howden has tallied twice and Marner collected three assists. Marner leads all players this postseason with 21 points while Jack Eichel, who along with Hertl has a goal and two assists against the Avalanche, is second with 18.
Landeskog has produced two of Colorado's six goals in the conference final while Kadri and Ross Colton both have recorded a tally and an assist. Blue-liner Devon Toews leads the team with three points - all assists - in the series.
Despite MacKinnon's questionable status, the NHL betting odds at the major sportsbooks see the Avalanche as favorites in Game 4, as they are listed at -115 on the money line. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are priced at about -105. Learn how to read betting odds here.
WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL GAME 4 | ||||
TEAM | DRAFTKINGS | FANDUEL | CAESARS | BETMGM |
Colorado Avalanche | -115 | -115 | -115 | -115 |
Vegas Golden Knights | -105 | -104 | -105 | -105 |
Game 4 Best Bets
Golden Knights money line (-104, FanDuel)
Whether it be because of the absence of Makar or the caliber of their opponent or both, the Avalanche did not resemble the team that went 8-1 over the first two rounds of the postseason. They appeared to be back on track after one period of Game 3, but things went sideways. Even if MacKinnon is in the lineup on Tuesday, he likely won't be at full strength and Colorado's morale has to be at an all-time low following the team's collapse on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Golden Knights are 18-4-1 overall since John Tortorella replaced Bruce Cassidy as head coach in late March and 2-0 this postseason when they've had the opportunity to close out a series. I like their record in that situation to remain unblemished.
Pavel Dorofeyev Over 0.5 points (-135, BetMGM)
Dorofeyev had his six-game point streak halted in Game 3, thanks in part to a somewhat controversial call. The 25-year-old Russian right wing had an apparent first-period goal waved off as the officials ruled he batted the puck into the net with his hand and the decision was upheld after video review, although the puck appeared to hit the shaft of his stick in one camera angle. Nevertheless, Dorofeyev has landed on the scoresheet in nine of his last 12 postseason contests and I believe he'll do so again in Game 4.
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