Avalanche swept – Cale Makar called it “tough” as the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche were swept by the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final. The speed Colorado built its game on was neutralized, the power play was a non-factor, and the team’s core
The silence after the final horn felt like a mismatch to what the Avalanche had spent the season proving. Colorado finished a Presidents’ Trophy-winning year with swagger—then met Vegas in the Western Conference Final and ran into a wall as their trademark speed was neutralized and their power play never found traction.
Cale Makar didn’t dress it up. “Tough,” the defenseman said, capturing the bitter aftertaste of watching the season end early in a best-of-seven series.
Logan O’Connor went further, direct about the feeling inside the group after the Golden Knights swept the Avalanche. “Yeah… because they are freaking amazing players.” Then came the accountability. O’Connor described a season-ending loss that still stings: “We let down coaches, each other, fans, management. It’s on us as players to be far better than we were. The results speak for itself. Lot of disappointment right now.”.
The pattern is there, line by line. Colorado entered the postseason as a Cup favorite and never looked short of being built to win it all—No. 1 in the league from Nov. 1 until the end of the regular season. The Avalanche finished with a club-record 121 points. led by Nathan MacKinnon with a career-best 53 goals and Makar setting the tone from the back end. They ranked first in both goals per game (3.63) and goals-against (2.40).
But against Vegas, the postseason script flipped.
Colorado cruised through the first two rounds—an 8-1 record against Los Angeles and Minnesota—before meeting a Golden Knights team that was defined by a swarming defense. The Avalanche scored only seven goals all series against Vegas.
Their power play, shaky all season, became something else entirely in the series: a non-factor. Colorado went 1 for 10 on the power play in the Vegas series. It wasn’t out of character; the Avalanche had already struggled in the regular season as well. After assistant coach Dave Hakstol was brought in to fix it, Colorado was 45 of 263 (17.1 per cent). By 2024-25, the power play sat at 24.8 per cent.
On the ice, that meant fewer chances when the game required them most. In Game 4, the Avalanche fell 2-1 and the frustration—especially around how hard it was to get the puck into the Vegas zone at times—turned the spotlight toward coach Jared Bednar and his future.
Bednar has one year left on his contact. After the loss, he refused to force a timeline, saying, “It takes a little bit of time,” before adding, “I can’t really answer that right now. I think that takes a little bit of time with reflection.”
Colorado’s sweep ended an uncomfortable piece of NHL history too. NHL Stats notes the Avalanche became the seventh No. 1 seed in league history to be swept in a best-of-seven series.
Goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood saw the same gap between what the team wanted and what it could impose. “Yeah,” Blackwood said, “because they are freaking amazing players.” He also made it clear that he believes in the core returning for another run.
“Yeah,” Blackwood added, “because they are freaking amazing players.”
Not even the injury questions were fully explained as the season closed. Makar didn’t want to delve into the injuries that caused him to miss the opening two games of the Vegas series. The Norris Trophy finalist was held without a point against the Golden Knights. After Game 4, he said: “I’m not the type of guy to talk with that.”.
He then described his own path back: “Did everything I can to feel good and come back and feel confident in my play, and felt 100 per cent out there.”
MacKinnon, too, was dealing with something after blocking a shot with his right knee in Game 3, though he played in Game 4. Valeri Nichushkin was sidelined for Tuesday’s season-ending loss.
Bednar summed up the locker-room reality without turning it into an excuse. “There’s a lot of guys dealing with stuff,” he said. “I’m sure it’s the same on every team.”
Josh Landeskog, looking for a way forward, framed it like a lesson carried by repetition rather than a miracle. “If there’s one thing I’ve learned over the last handful of years, get knocked down, you just get right back up,” Landeskog said. “That’s the only way to do it.”
A roster that likely stays familiar is the clearest answer on the horizon, even as the bigger questions hover around coaching staff, the roster and playing style. For the most part, Colorado will return a similar roster.
One key decision involves Brent Burns. The 41-year-old defenseman—trying to win his first Stanley Cup—has appeared in 1,007 consecutive regular-season games, trailing only Phil Kessel (1,064).
Other pending free agents include defensemen Brett Kulak, Nick Blankenburg and Jack Ahcan, along with forward Joel Kiviranta. Jack Drury is a restricted free agent.
Defenceman Josh Manson sounded confident that the foundation remains. “We have a lot of good players that are staying around still,” he said. “As long as we keep building around those guys I think we can be competitive.”
The Avalanche now face a stark offseason contrast: a regular season that proved they could dominate. and a Western Conference Final where Vegas shut down the two pillars that carried them—pace and power. Colorado’s stars may be ready to run it back. but the questions in this building won’t be quiet: how quickly the power play can change. how the team’s identity holds up when the puck is contested. and what adjustments come next after a Presidents’ Trophy season ends with a sweep.
Colorado Avalanche Vegas Golden Knights Presidents' Trophy Cale Makar Logan O'Connor Nathan MacKinnon Jared Bednar Mackenzie Blackwood power play Western Conference Final Brent Burns Valeri Nichushkin Josh Manson Landeskog