The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights are set to begin their Western Conference Final tilt on Wednesday night. The two clubs have emerged as the best of the West in this postseason, even if the two sides have been on divergent paths.
For the Avalanche, the story this season has been one of dominance. A couple of speed bumps here and there were insufficient to derail the machinery that produced a cover-to-cover Presidents’ Trophy-winning side.
Meanwhile, Vegas seemingly limped across the finish line in the regular season. The Pacific Division champs haven’t been overly impressive, managing to skate by the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks purely on moxie and experience.
That has been the case for Colorado. The Avs crushed the LA Kings in the first round, and barely broke a sweat against a legit Stanley Cup contender in the Minnesota Wild. The series ended in five games, with the Avalanche ending the series with a thrilling comeback.
So, will the 2026 Western Conference Final be a clash of titans? Or will the Avalanche bury (pun intended) the Golden Knights?
Here are three keys to consider ahead of the 2026 Western Conference Final.
Vegas will have to shut down Colorado’s top six
The Golden Knights will have to stop Colorado’s top six. That means keeping Nathan MacKinnon, Martin Necas, Brock Nelson, Gabe Landeskog, and even Cale Makar off the scoresheet.
Good luck with that.
Even if the Golden Knights were somehow able to do that, the Avalanche’s bottom six is enough to take Vegas to the cleaners.
Nazem Kadri, Ross Colton, and Nic Roy have all proven to be solid performers. Even the fourth line of Jack Drury, Parker Kelly, and Joel Kiviranta is one the Golden Knights will struggle to contain.
In contrast, it seems that Colorado can focus on keeping Jack Eichel and Mitch Marner off the scoresheet. If they can do that, other top six scorers like Pavel Dorofeyev and William Karlsson will have to step up.
That won’t be easy against an elite defense boasting the likes of Devon Toews, Brett Kulak, and Josh Manson.
If Vegas is to have any chance, Marner and his elite defensive skills will have to shut down MacKinnon. Even then, the rest of the Golden Knights lineup will have to keep Kadri and company in check.
If they fail to do so, the series could be over very quickly.
Golden Knights will be without Mark Stone
The biggest question mark for the Golden Knights will be captain Mark Stone. Stone left Game 3 against Anaheim and has not played since. And his absence looms large for Vegas.
While the Golden Knights managed to skate by the Ducks without him, the same can’t be said about facing the Avalanche. Stone is a crucial cog in Vegas’ offensive machinery. Without him, the club loses a playmaker and heart-and-soul guy.
Now, there’s a chance Stone could be back at some point in this series. But some estimates posit that Stone could be out for at least the first two games of the Western Conference. In that case, Stone’s absence would shift more of the offensive load on Eichel and Marner.
The defensive burden, one that Stone helps alleviate, will end up falling almost solely on Marner up front. That would make it even tougher on Noah Hanifin to play a formidable shutdown role.
With Stone back in the lineup, the Golden Knights have a lot more balance in their top six. And it also eases the pressure off Marner and Eichel. It remains to be seen if Stone can return, and if his impact will be enough to offset the Avalanche’s overall attack.
Avalanche will need to get to Carter Hart early
Carter Hart has essentially taken over the starting role for the Golden Knights this season. Despite having Adin Hill, who won a Cup in 2023, it’s been Hart who’s carried the load in the postseason.
Hart wasn’t necessarily brilliant in the series against the Mammoth and Ducks, but he played well enough to buy the Golden Knights enough time to win games.
With that in mind, the Avalanche need to get the Hart early. Colorado can’t afford to sit back and let Vegas control the play. While it’s true that the Golden Knights are a slow, deliberate team, they can control the pace of the game. And if they do, it might be challenging for Colorado to get grade-A chances on Hart.
That’s why the Avalanche need to roll out four lines consistently. Instead of overly relying on MacKinnon and Makar to pound Vegas, allowing the Kadri line to do its thing should bode well for the Avalanche. As such, it wouldn’t be surprising to see Colorado pepper Hart with plenty of shots early in Game 1.
Getting two or three goals on the board early in Game 1 would be a fantastic way to set the tone for the series.
As for Colorado’s goaltending, well, Jared Bednar can’t really go wrong with either Scott Wedgewood or MacKenzie Blackwood. Wedgewood will likely get the call in Game 1. But if the Golden Knights should get to Wedegwood early, Bednar won’t hesitate to go to Blackwood.
Either way, the Golden Knights will be facing a much tougher goaltender in Wedgewood or Blackwood than they did in Karel Vejmelka and Lukas Dostal.
If there’s going to be an X-factor in this series, it’s goaltending. Hart could stand on his head and keep the Golden Knights much longer in games. But the Avalanche’s relentless attack should prove to be too much for Vegas. The Golden Knights just can’t match the depth Colorado has.
PREDICTION: Considering the Avalanche rolled past the Minnesota Wild, a Cup contender, in five games, this series could be over early. Another five-game victory for Colorado could be on the horizon. Although it wouldn’t be ludicrous to see the Avs steamroll the Knights, sweeping them in four.
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