{"id":1485,"date":"2026-05-25T06:03:49","date_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:03:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1485"},"modified":"2026-05-25T06:03:49","modified_gmt":"2026-05-25T06:03:49","slug":"avalanche-get-defenseman-cale-makar-back-survive-scare-with-nathan-mackinnon-and-still-lose-game-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1485","title":{"rendered":"Avalanche get defenseman Cale Makar back, survive scare with Nathan MacKinnon, and still lose Game 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAS VEGAS \u2014 In a roller coaster of a Sunday for the Colorado Avalanche, they welcomed their defensive star back in time for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights, survived a scare with their biggest offensive name before losing another, and squandered a first-period three-goal lead en route to a 5-3 loss<\/a> .<\/p>\n

Read more Kerley runs 9.97 at Enhanced Games, where Kristian Gkolomeev gets a $1M bonus for swimming mark<\/a><\/p>\n

Vegas scored five unanswered goals to push the Avalanche to the brink of elimination. One more win and Vegas returns to the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in four years, and third time in the franchise\u2019s nine-year existence.<\/p>\n

It would also mark the 13th straight season the Presidents\u2019 Trophy recipient \u2014 the team with the most regular-season points \u2014 failed to win the Stanley Cup.<\/p>\n

Colorado defenseman Cale Makar returned to the ice after missing the first two games<\/a> with an upper-body injury he suffered in Game 5 of the conference semifinals against the Minnesota Wild.<\/p>\n

Leading scorer Nathan MacKinnon fought through an injury sustained in the second period, and forward Valeri Nichushkin was lost with an injury and finished with just 8:34 of playing time.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou lose Nate and Val … so you\u2019re running a shorter bench, and you\u2019re just doing the best you can to try and create a chance to win the hockey game,\u201d said Avalanche coach Jared Bednar, who didn\u2019t have an update on either forward. \u201cI don\u2019t know, how do you navigate it? You just put your head down (and) keep working. You got three different lines or two different lines, and spot shift in your 10th guy to try and give some guys a break; not ideal circumstances for sure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vegas had taken advantage of Makar\u2019s absence, winning the first two games<\/a> of the series. But with the two-time Norris Trophy winner back in the lineup, all things were seemingly headed in Colorado\u2019s direction, as it was the Avalanche who came out swinging with three first-period goals to stun the announced crowd of 18,212.<\/p>\n

Read more Hertl\u2019s late winner caps Golden Knights\u2019 wild 5-3 rally, giving them a 3-0 series lead on Avalanche<\/a><\/p>\n

But, after Vegas tied the game with three straight goals of its own, MacKinnon left late in the second period after taking a blistering slapshot to the side of his left knee. MacKinnon took two shifts after blocking Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore\u2019s shot but, clearly in pain, went down to the locker room with 3:36 left in the period.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tough, he sells out for a shot block, and unfortunately, it\u2019s obviously because of a bad turnover from us,\u201d Makar said about MacKinnon. \u201cAnd then just giving them those opportunities in the first place, so (that) shouldn\u2019t happen. But obviously an amazing block there.\u201d<\/p>\n

MacKinnon, who had an assist in the first period and leads Colorado with 15 points this postseason, was back on the ice in the third period but finished with just 18:02 time on ice. The 2024 Hart Trophy winner was averaging more than 21 minutes of playing time through the team\u2019s first 11 games.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone\u2019s down in the dumps right now,\u201d Bednar said. \u201cThat\u2019s in the next 36 hours … to get our team back to where our focus is in the right place, and seems like a tough hill to climb \u2014 especially against a team like Vegas.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vegas welcomed back a key figure, as captain Mark Stone returned<\/a> to the lineup after missing the last five games. Stone exited Game 3 of Vegas\u2019 conference semifinal series with the Anaheim Ducks with a lower-body injury. Stone finished with a goal and an assist in Vegas\u2019 win on Sunday.<\/p>\n

\u2014<\/p>\n

This story has been corrected to show it would be the 13th straight season a Presidents\u2019 Trophy recipient failed to win the Stanley Cup instead of 15th.<\/p>\n

Read more Mark Stone returns and scores as Golden Knights rally past Avalanche for 3-0 series lead<\/a><\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NHL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/NHL<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a roller coaster of a Sunday for the Colorado Avalanche, the Presidents\u2019 Trophy winner welcomed its defensive star back in time for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights, survived a scare with its biggest offensive name, and squandered a first-period three-goal lead en route to a 5-3 loss<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":97,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1485","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-interesting"],"yoast_head":"\nAvalanche get defenseman Cale Makar back, survive scare with Nathan MacKinnon, and still lose Game 3 - Moving Insider USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movinginsiderusa.com\/?p=1485\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Avalanche get defenseman Cale Makar back, survive scare with Nathan MacKinnon, and still lose Game 3 - 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