Avalanche plan – Jared Bednar says Cale Makar is day to day after missing Game 1 of these playoffs, with Jack Ahcan set to replace him. The Avs are turning to a tightening defensive plan “by committee” as Artturi Lehkonen and Sam Malinski return to the lineup, while Mark Stone
The mood in Denver changed fast Wednesday morning.
Cale Makar skated alone before the team skate. and by the time the Avs wrapped up their session details. coach Jared Bednar had already delivered the hard part: due to “various ailments. ” Makar will miss his first game of these playoffs. Bednar’s message carried a sliver of hope. though—Makar is “on the ice again this morning. feeling pretty good. ” and Bednar said. “I got him as day to day.”.
That decision reshaped everything for Game 1, starting with who steps into the lineup. Makar will be replaced by Jack Ahcan, a 29-year-old who made his first two NHL playoff appearances earlier this spring and has averaged just over five minutes a night.
Makar’s absence isn’t just about a spot in the lineup. It’s about momentum and identity. In these playoffs. he had four goals and an assist in nine games before leaving Game 5 against Minnesota after a reverse hit by Mats Zuccarello appeared to injure or aggravate a shoulder injury. He also briefly left Game 1 earlier after taking a hit along the boards that sent his right leg flying into the air before he hit the ice.
Through it all, Makar has played through several ailments in this postseason and had not skated between games until Wednesday—when the 15-minute solo twirl offered the first real sign that this might not become a long-term rupture.
Logan O’Connor didn’t try to soften the reality of losing him, either. “He’s the best defenceman in the world. he’s not going to be easily replaced — there’s not one guy that’s going to be able to do it. ” O’Connor said. Then came the practical answer the Avs are leaning into: “I think the advantage we have with the group we have in the game tonight is a lot of guys being minute munchers for us — Kools (Brett Kulak). Sammy Malinski. Mans (Manson). Taser (Toews) — those guys play heavy. hard minutes for us. and I think just by committee we know we’re gonna have to maybe execute a bit of a different game plan. be that much tighter defensively. and just try not to get ahead of ourselves offensively. and just be patient.”.
Artturi Lehkonen and Sam Malinski are returning to the lineup after missing two games. Bednar said “everyone else,” including Brent Burns and Josh Manson, will also play.
On the other side, two Golden Knights remain stuck in the uncertain category. Mark Stone has yet to skate for Vegas since he suffered a lower-body injury on May 8, and he isn’t expected to play tonight. Jeremy Lauzon is also not expected to play tonight.
Coach John Tortorella will hold a noon press availability, but he made one point clear: he won’t speak of any player’s injury status. That means both Stone and Lauzon are treated as “game-time decisions.”
The season story adds another layer. The Avs led the closely contested season series with the Knights 2-0-1. The matchup also carries familiar faces—both teams have seven players on their roster who played in the last playoff series between the two teams. a second-round meeting in 2021 that the Golden Knights won.
Since then, Brandon Saad and Nicolas Roy have switched sides. Experience also tilts toward Vegas and doesn’t try to hide it: Veas appearing in their fifth Conference final in nine seasons means they own the edge, with 193 games played in conference finals versus Colorado’s 153.
Colorado, though, has built its own confidence at home. The Avs have yet to lose in five playoff home dates as part of an 8-0-1 run. and they are 31-9-6 at Ball Arena with a +61 goal differential. Even the numbers around how each team finishes possessions look almost mirror-like—both teams’ playoff goals differential. goals against per game and power play efficiency are almost identical.
What won’t be mirrored is the personnel gamble Colorado is forced to make tonight. Since 1987. all five teams to win eight of their first nine playoff games have gone on to win the Cup. and this postseason has already produced its own sharp edges. The Avs tied an NHL record with 16 different goal scorers in the second round alone.
Still. Game 1 now asks Colorado to survive a night without the player who’s been central to turning play into advantage. Makar has scored in six straight games?—no. that’s Nathan MacKinnon. who has scored in six straight games—while Makar’s playoff production has already been proven even through injuries: four goals and an assist in nine games.
Meanwhile, Vegas brings a different kind of offense to the table. The Golden Knights feature playoff leaders in goals (Pavel Dorofeyev with 9), assists (Jack Eichel with 14) and points (Mitch Marner with 18). Brett Howden’s three shorthanded goals so far this year has him tied with eight others for the most in a single playoff; he had three during the regular season.
Even the special-teams storyline has teeth: Mitch Marner’s four shorthanded assists have him just one shy of the post season record set by Wayne Gretzky in 1983. Both teams have recorded comebacks in four of their eight playoff wins, a reminder that the swings in this postseason haven’t softened.
In that setting, Colorado’s task is straightforward even if the execution won’t be: protect the game, stay patient, and accept that the defensive workload will be shared more heavily than usual.
Based on Wednesday’s skate schedule, the Avs lines are expected to be:
Landeskog – MacKinnon – Necas
Lehkonen – Nelson – Roy
Colton – Kadri – Nichuskin
Kelly – Drury – O’Connor
Toews – Malinski
Burns – Manson
Kulak – Ahcan
The Golden Knights did not skate Wednesday morning, but their lines are expected to be:
Barbashev – Eichel – Dorofeyev
Howden – Karlsson – Marner
Saad – Hertl – Sissons
Smith – Dowd – Kolesar
McNabb – Theodore
Hanifin – Andersson
Hutton – Coghlan
Game 1 now begins with a painful headline and a practical response: Makar’s status remains day to day, but for tonight the Avs are committed to handling it the hard way—tighter defensively, distributed minutes, and a “by committee” plan built for the moment their best defenseman won’t be on the ice.
Avalanche Golden Knights Cale Makar Jack Ahcan Jared Bednar John Tortorella Logan O'Connor Artturi Lehkonen Sam Malinski Mark Stone Jeremy Lauzon NHL playoffs Game 1