Ahead of tonight’s pivotal Game 3 in Vegas, Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar told reporters, including Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette, that “you’ll have to wait and see” if star Cale Makar will be able to play. Bednar remained vague in not naming a starting goaltender either.
The Presidents’ Trophy winners, who lost just 16 regular season games all year and had plenty of breathing room atop the league, didn’t face much adversity all year. Now, somewhat quickly, they’re in a big hole staring at a potential 3-0 series deficit, at the hands of the Golden Knights. The sudden development is largely a result of Makar’s absence, dealing with an upper-body injury from the previous round.
A team built to handle just about any absence up front, obviously the loss of an all-world defenseman has huge implications. Yet Makar’s injury has left an especially evident shortcoming on their powerplay. Missing their quarterback without an adequate second option, they went one-for-five on the man advantage in the series’ first two games on home ice.
With their season on the line, there’s more than enough reason for Makar to suit up, but even if he does under 100%, there’s real questions on what type of workload the 27-year-old is able to bear, averaging one tick shy of 25 minutes a night in his nine playoff games so far.
Elsewhere:
- Penguins top prospect Owen Pickering is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, reported by Tony Androckitis in an article shared on Inside AHL Hockey. Missing a deciding Game 5 in the Atlantic Division Finals, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins came away with a resounding 8-1 win, vaulting them to the Conference Finals as they await their opponent, either the Cleveland Monsters or the Toronto Marlies. It was impressive work considering that the 2021 first rounder is the “Baby Penguins” top defenseman, skating in 68 games and leading all blueliners with 28 points. Pickering stepped right into the NHL in 2024-25 with 24 games, but since then Pittsburgh has been more focused on his long-term development, as he made just four NHL appearances in 2025-26. His WBS Penguins have the chance to return to the Calder Cup Finals for the first time since 2008, as a franchise who has never taken home the AHL title.
- Tyce Thompson, younger brother of Buffalo star Tage Thompson, has re-signed with Barys Astana of the KHL for another year, the team shared. A fourth round selection of the Devils in 2019, the 6’1” winger played in 11 games with the team, making his mark in the NHL stat book with an assist. Departing the Bridgeport Islanders to go abroad this year, he made a larger offensive impact in Russia with 25 points in 57 games, good for fourth on the club. Notable North American teammates of Thompson include the previous AHL standout Mike Vecchione and former Florida Panther Ian McCoshen.