Avalanche Wild Hockey

Minnesota Wild center Yakov Trenin (13) pushes Colorado Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar (8) during the first period of Game 4 in a second-round NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Monday, May 11, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn.

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Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar misses 4-2 loss to Vegas in opener of Western Conference Final

Avalanche defenseman Cale Makar misses 4-2 loss to Vegas in opener of Western Conference Final

At times, especially early, the Colorado Avalanche looked disjointed on defense. One player’s absence made that big of difference. With star defenseman Cale Makar sidelined by an upper-body injury, the Avalanche hardly resembled the top-seeded team that rolled through the first two rounds. They experimented with different line combinations in a 4-2 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Wednesday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Colorado relied heavily on Devon Toews, who logged 27 minutes, 32 seconds. The status of Makar remains unknown for Game 2 on Friday night in Denver.