LAS VEGAS — For a fleeting 20 minutes, it looked like the return of Cale Makar might actually be the answer.
The spark. The jolt. The lifeline the Colorado Avalanche desperately needed to salvage a series that has spiralled into something bordering on surreal.
Instead, it became the cruelest tease of all.
Because after a 3–0 first‑period burst that had the Presidents’ Trophy winners looking every bit like the powerhouse they were supposed to be, a nine‑minute collapse to open the second period somehow has them staring down a 3–0 series deficit they have absolutely no answers for.
And the knockout blow didn’t come from the returning superstar in burgundy.
It came from the one in gold.
Makar’s return was supposed to be the story. And early on, it was. He played more minutes than anyone on the ice in the opening frame, looking like the same dynamic, downhill‑attacking force who tilts the ice in every rink he steps onto.
“It felt like it took me a little bit to get back in the rhythm, but overall the body felt great,” said Makar, who missed the first two games of the Western Conference Final with an upper-body injury.
“I wish I could have done a little bit more. Definitely was a passenger for a bit tonight,”
No matter.
Because 19 seconds into the second period, the building shook.
Mark Stone, playing his first game since May 8, parked himself at the side of the net and redirected a gorgeous Mitch Marner feed past Scott Wedgewood with a power-play kick starter.
T‑Mobile Arena roared back to life, and the Golden Knights, who have looked downright unstoppable since John Tortorella took over, fed off it instantly.
They’re now 18‑4‑1 under him. And if you think that’s a coincidence, coach Tortorella would like a word.
“This is a game where we showed some (guts),” said Tortorella, basking in the glow of a 5-3 comeback win that will ultimately be remembered for burying the Avalanche.
“This team, in the short time that I’ve been with them, has shown me nothing but (fearlessness). They’re not afraid. It’s something we’ve tried to stress, don’t be afraid to make a mistake. I think they just have an uncanny ability to stay together.”
Stone’s goal was the spark. William Karlsson’s first of the playoffs was the accelerant. And then came the moment that sucked the oxygen out of the Avalanche bench.
With eight minutes left in the period, Nathan MacKinnon stepped in front of a Shea Theodore blast and took it flush off the right kneecap. He crumpled instantly, stayed down for half a minute, then hobbled off in visible agony.
As he hung his head on the bench, trying to process the pain, the crowd erupted less than a minute later — this time for Keegan Kolesar’s tying goal. Tie game.
MacKinnon spent the rest of the night unsure if he should be out there, playing sparingly in a desperate attempt to stop the momentum before Tomas Hertl undressed Sam Malinski and lifted a backhand in to score the eventual game winner eight minutes into the third.
“It’s tough,” said Makar of MacKinnon’s injury.
“He sells out for a shot block. Unfortunately it’s because of a bad turnover from us. Shouldn’t happen.”
As far as Makar goes, he did everything he could. His skating, his poise, his blue‑line manipulation — all of it was there, as he recorded three shots on goal in a game-high 27 minutes of ice time.
But, as the coach reiterated, “You get a nine‑minute stretch that costs you the hockey game.”
And that’s the story of this series. Colorado hasn’t been outclassed for 60 minutes. They’ve been undone in pockets — five minutes here, nine minutes there — and against a team this opportunistic, that’s fatal.
Bednar wasn’t ready to sugarcoat anything when asked about resiliency as they look to save their season Tuesday.
“We’re not there yet, I don’t know,” he said of the mood following the team's first first loss of the season after holding a multi-goal lead.
“Everyone’s down in the dumps right now and that’s what the next 36 hours are for, to get our team back and make sure our focus is in the right place. It seems like a tough hill to climb too, obviously especially against a tough team like Vegas.”
He’s right. With MacKinnon banged up, with Valeri Nichushkin injured, with a goalie change inevitable, and with their confidence shaken, the Avalanche look like a team searching for something that isn’t there.
When push comes to shove, the Avalanche don’t have any answers.
The Golden Knights do. They have Stone. They have swagger. They have Tortorella. And they have a 3–0 stranglehold on a series that feels, for all intents and purposes, over.
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