3 matchups to look for in Avalanche-Golden Knights series

The Colorado Avalanche are set to take on the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Finals with Game 1 set for this Wednesday. This is a much tougher test for the Avs than they've seen in these playoffs so far. These are two of the deepest teams in the league, so how do they really matchup? The Avs have been able to flex their depth this postseason. These are the three key matchups I'm focused on in this series.

Second-line supremacy

The Avs' second line has struggled a bit offensively this postseason, but the defensive display has been absolutely elite. They were magnificent against the Wild, shutting down the Matt Boldy line and helping contain Quinn Hughes. This line needs to find a way to provide offensively without sacrificing the elite defense they've been contributing. That's a tall order against a very strong Vegas second line.

The Golden Knights’ second line boasts the current points leader for the playoffs in Mitch Marner. That alone makes this matchup worth watching, but then you throw in Brett Howden, who's having an excellent postseason, and William Karlsson, one of those heart and soul guys built for the playoffs. I wouldn't be surprised to see Valeri Nichushkin slide back up to the second line to put even more defensive strength on that line. If they can limit Marner like they limited Boldy and Hughes, that's a win for the Avs.

Center depth battle

Center depth is one of those strengths that make a Stanley Cup champion. The Avs are generally regarded as having the deepest center group in the league. I'd argue that Vegas is second. I think that the Avalanche have a slight edge on the top lines with Nathan MacKinnon and Brock Nelson, but Jack Eichel and Karlsson are no slouches. Nazem Kadri and Tomas Hertl are an even match, but that's based on the banged up Kadri we've seen so far.

The thing that really sets the Avs above the Knights is Jack Drury. His face-off prowess is invaluable and his chemistry with Parker Kelly is undeniable. Nic Dowd is an excellent fourth-line center, but I don't think he's able to affect the game like Drury can. Drury's skills in the faceoff circle are going to be huge when the Avs need to win critical face-offs late in the game.

Avs’ speed vs Golden Knights’ size

This is the biggest matchup in this series—The speedy Avalanche against the big, physical Golden Knights. Specifically, I'm looking at each team's defense group and how they matchup with the opposing offense.

The Knights’ defense is a big, big group. Strong defensively, menacing physically, with some offensive touch from the likes of Noah Hanifin, Rasmus Andersson and Shea Theodore. Can they keep up with the speed of Nathan MacKinnon and Martin Necas? Even other guys down the lineup, like Ross Colton and Logan O'Connor, have high-end speed. I'm looking for the Avs to exploit Vegas’ lack of speed on the back end and get in behind them.

On the other side, the Avs need to watch out for one of Vegas' biggest strengths. They are excellent at creating and executing on backdoor plays down low. The Avalanche’s defense is susceptible to giving up that play. The Avalanche system is a high-risk, high-reward system, even on defense. The defense plays aggressively, which can and will lead to mistakes. The Avalanche will have to be strong in the net-front against the backdoor plays.

These teams are very evenly-matched and whoever wins out in these key matchups stands a better shot at advancing to the Stanley Cup Final.

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