The Vegas Golden Knights face the Colorado Avalanche, in the opener of the NHL’s Western Conference finals. The Golden Knights advanced to the West finals by beating the Anaheim Ducks in six games. The Avalanche beat the Minnesota Wild in five games. The Avalanche are favored with a -193 moneyline compared to the Golden Knights' +160.
How to watch Vegas Golden Knights vs. Colorado Avalanche
BUFFALO, N.Y. — Having transformed the Buffalo Sabres into contenders again, Lindy Ruff will have the opportunity to build on the team’s breakthrough season by continuing his second stint as coach.
The Sabres announced signing Ruff to a two-year contract extension in a move coming two days after Buffalo’s 3-2 loss to Montreal in Game 7 of a second-round playoff series. Ruff was completing the second and final season of the contract he signed upon returning to Buffalo, where he spent 10 years as a player and has since become the franchise’s winningest coach.
The 66-year-old Ruff is a Jack Adams NHL coach of the year finalist following a season in which the Sabres ended a league-record 14-season playoff drought and won their first Atlantic Division title. In beating Boston in six games of a first-round series, Buffalo also advanced in the playoffs for the first time since the Ruff-coached team reached the Eastern Conference Final in 2007.
The re-signing was expected, with both sides reaching the parameters of an agreement over the past few weeks. The only delay was not to distract from the playoffs.
Ruff’s first coaching stint in Buffalo spanned 17 seasons, which included a six-game loss to Dallas in the 1999 Stanley Cup Final, and him winning coach of the year honors in 2006. His tenure ended when he was fired two months into 2013 campaign.
After head-coaching stops in Dallas and New Jersey, Ruff was brought back by the Sabres to replace Don Granato, who was fired following the 2023-24 season.
Ruff’s return bookended Buffalo’s playoff drought in a span that featured seven coaching changes.
With an overall career coaching record of 950-741-169 and 78 ties, Ruff ranks fourth on the NHL list in wins, second in losses and fourth in games coached. In Buffalo, he’s gone 657-494-100 with 78 ties, which ranks second on the list in wins and games coached with one franchise behind Al Arbour’s 1,500-game tenure with the New York Islanders.
This year was among Ruff’s finest seasons, and came a year after he vowed to improve upon last year’s finish of 36-39-7. Buffalo tumbled out of contention during an 0-10-3 skid spanning November and December.
This time, the Sabres caught fire in early December and went 39-9-5 over their final 53 games to vault from last in the Eastern Conference standings to finish second. Buffalo’s 50 wins and 109 points were the Sabres’ most since the Ruff-coached team in 2006-07 won a franchise-record 53 games and matched a team record with 113 points.
Ruff credited the keys to this year’s turnaround to the team getting healthier and captain Rasmus Dahlin’s presence — the defenseman spent the first two months of the season dealing with his fiancée recovering from heart transplant surgery in Europe.
Another factor in the surge was promoting Jarmo Kekalainen as GM to replace Kevyn Adams, who was fired in mid-December. Kekalainen’s presence restored a level of confidence in the players by instilling belief the franchise had a clearer vision to succeed.
Though Kekalainen initially backed Ruff upon taking over, he provided no assurances regarding the coach’s future beyond this season. The two, who had never previously worked together, eventually built a mutual bond of trust and respect.
The Buffalo Sabres held end-of-season media availabilities on Wednesday after their Game 7 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens, with a number of off-season questions like whether pending UFA winger Alex Tuch will re-sign, but another looming question was answered before GM Jarmo Kekalainen met with reporters, as the club announced that head coach Lindy Ruff has been signed to a two-year contract extension.
Ruff was the winningest head coach in Sabres history after a 16-year stint from 1997 to 2013 that saw the club reach the Stanley Cup Final in 1999 and three Eastern Conference Finals in 1998, 2006, and 2007. After being fired by the New Jersey Devils late in the 2023-24 season, the 66-year-old returned to Buffalo after an 11-year absence on a two-year deal; the same term that was remaining on his contract with the Devils.
The Sabres posted a 50-23-9 record (109 points) in 2025-26, the most points by Buffalo in one season since their President’s Trophy-winning season in 2006-07. The club won the Atlantic Division and Ruff earned a nomination as a finalist for the Jack Adams Award as NHL coach of the year.
In their first playoff appearance since 2011, Buffalo eliminated the Boston Bruins in six games in the first round, winning three games on the road at TD Garden, and in the second round, pushed the Montreal Canadiens to Game 7, when Alex Newhook scored in overtime to end the Sabres season.
There had been some speculation before this season that Ruff would finish out his contract and would then be elevated to an advisory role, but the fourth all-time winningest head coach in NHL history seemed invigorated by leading the young Buffalo club to the post-season. After Monday’s loss, John Wawrow of Associated Press indicated that all signs were pointing to Ruff returning behind the bench and that the decision was up to him.
Many of the Sabres players on locker cleanout day pointed to Ruff keeping them accountable as one of the main reasons for the club’s improvement this season.
The Winnipeg Jets will host a 2026 NHL Draft Party at Canada Life Centre on Friday, June 26, giving fans the opportunity to watch the club make the eighth overall selection in the first round of the 2026 NHL Draft.
Several notable Jets prospects are expected to attend the event, including Brayden Yager, Colby Barlow and Sascha Boumedienne. Alumni and other team personalities are also scheduled to appear for autograph sessions and panel discussions throughout the evening.
Photo by Joe Camporeale/USA Today
Tickets become available Friday morning through Ticketmaster. Admission includes a beverage, a meal and a commemorative 2026 NHL Draft souvenir item. The organization is also offering an early-access pre-sale for season ticket holders.
The event will feature live entertainment, giveaways, merchandise opportunities and food and beverage options on the arena floor. Doors are set to open at 5 p.m., with the NHL Draft beginning one hour later.
This year’s draft will take place in Buffalo, with Round 1 scheduled for June 26 and Rounds 2-7 following on June 27. NHL clubs will once again operate remotely from their home markets under the league’s decentralized draft format.
The Jets currently hold seven selections in the 2026 draft, including one pick in each of the first, third, fourth, fifth and sixth rounds, along with two seventh-round picks.
Should Winnipeg's management staff consider holding onto its first round pick, the Jets will be selecting at No. 8 overall. There is speculation, however, that the team is considering trading up for an NHL-ready player or trading down for a roster player who could immediately impact the team as early as the 2026-27 season.
Trevor Linden had a very eventful NHL career both on and off the ice. This included being elected NHLPA President in 1998, which was a title he held until 2006. During his time as President, Linden was at the forefront during the 2004-05 lockout, and helped negotiate a new CBA that saw the league return to action after.
After the Vancouver Canucks fired Head Coach Adam Foote on Tuesday, Linden appeared on Sportsnet 650to speak about Vancouver's new management group. The 56-year-old spoke about the Sedins and Ryan Johnson being a united front, and how he did not have the same support during his tenure as President of Hockey Operations from 2014 to 2018. To this day, Linden is well respected by Canucks fans and is someone people in the market enjoy listening to when he does radio hits.
A day after the clip was posted, NHL Agent and Co-Managing Director of Octagon-Hockey Allan Walsh took to social media to share his thoughts on Linden. In a post on "X", Walsh wrote, "Trevor Linden and “presenting a united front” should never be uttered in the same sentence. One of the persons most responsible for going behind the back of NHLPA leadership to strike a deal with Gary on a triple hard salary cap with escrow. Cost players billions of dollars."
Walsh currently represents over 25 players in the NHL. Among them is Canucks defenceman Filip Hronek, who signed an eight-year extension worth $58 million in 2024. Other notable players that Walsh represents include Jonathan Huberdeau, Jonathan Drouin and JJ Peterka.
Feb 10, 2020; Vancouver, British Columbia, CAN; Former Vancouver captain Trevor Linden walks out for a pre-game ceremony as part of Henrik Sedin and Daniel Sedin jersey and number retirement ceremony week in Vancouver. Prior to a game between the Vancouver Canucks and the Nashville Predators at Rogers Arena. Mandatory Credit: Bob Frid-USA TODAY Sports
Make sure you bookmark THN's Vancouver Canucks site and add us to your favourites on Google News for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns, and so much more. Also, don't forget to leave a comment at the bottom of the page and engage with other passionate fans through our forum. This article originally appeared on The Hockey News.
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In a positive development, just hours before the Golden Knights will open their Western Conference Final against Presidents' Trophy winner Colorado Avalanche, captain Mark Stone took the ice Wednesday morning in Denver, with what appeared to be the Golden Knights' scratches.
Stone suffered a lower-body injury on May 8 during Game 3 in the second round against the Anaheim Ducks, and then missed the last three games of the conference semifinal.
The 34-year-old veteran hadn't practiced with the Knights since.
"There's no update on injuries right now," Vegas coach John Tortorella said.
The Knights, who are playing in their fifth conference finals in nine seasons, open their series with the Avalanche at 5 pm pacific.
While Vegas was able to get past the pesky Ducks in six games without Stone for the last week of the series, the challenge is greater against an Avalanche team that is 8-1 in the postseason, including a perfect 6-0 in Denver.
Through nine playoff games, Stone had seven points (3 goals, 4 assists). Vegas is 6-3 with Stone on the ice.
And while Stone's return to the lineup seemingly on the horizon, Avalanche coach Jared Bednar announced the team will be without all-star defenseman Cale Makar for Game 1 of the Western Conference final.
Makar is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, though Bednar said his superstar blue liner is expected to play at some point in the series.
PHOTO CAPTION
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mark Stone (61) controls the puck in front of Anaheim Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal (1) during the third period of game one of the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena.
The Montreal Canadiens kick off their Eastern Conference Final series against the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. The Habs will be looking to start their series against the Hurricanes on the right foot by winning Game 1 and handing Carolina their first loss of the playoffs.
With the Canadiens preparing for Game 1, they had practice on Wednesday. However, while the Habs practiced on Wednesday, head coach Martin St. Louis was not there.
St. Louis has done an excellent job with the Canadiens during his fifth year with the organization. He led the Habs to a 48-24-10 record and 106 points. He also has helped lead the Canadiens past the Tampa Bay Lightning and Buffalo Sabres this post-season, so it has been a special year for the 50-year-old behind the bench.
In 365 games as the Canadiens' head coach over five seasons, St. Louis has a 163-155-47 record.
The Vegas Golden Knights are in Denver to take on the No. 1-seeded Colorado Avalanche in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals.
Highlighted by star winger Martin Necas, let's take a look at my three Golden Knights vs. Avalanche goal scorer predictions and NHL picks for May 20.
Golden Knights vs Avalanche goal scorer predictions for Game 1
Player to score a goal
Odds
Martin Necas
+155
Brock Nelson
+285
Jack Eichel
+220
💲Goal scorer parlay
+1500
Goal scorer pick: Martin Necas (+155)
Martin Necas was an elite finisher in the regular season, scoring 38 times on 27 expected goals. Outperforming his xG is nothing new – Necas scored 27 goals on 20.5 expected last year, and 24 on 19.8 the season prior.
He is an exceptional shooter who consistently scores at rates higher than the norm, yet he has one playoff goal despite generating 26 chances and 2.8 expected goals.
Necas has generated plenty of looks. They just haven’t gone for him, and it’s only a matter of time before that changes.
It’s also worth noting that Necas scored three times over three regular-season meetings with the Vegas Golden Knights, with his multi-goal performance coming against Carter Hart.
Expect Necas’ success to continue in this series, starting tonight.
Goal scorer pick: Brock Nelson (+285)
Hart really struggled with high-danger shots during the regular season, posting a .761 save percentage on those looks, ranking 68th among 70 netminders to play at least 700 minutes at 5-on-5.
Brock Nelson is a prime candidate to take advantage. He ranked second on the Colorado Avalanche in high-danger opportunities this season, and the vast majority of his shot volume comes from directly around the net.
Nelson also has a great track record of shot-generation against the Golden Knights and other strong shot-suppression teams.
He generated multiple shots on net in all three regular-season meetings. More noteworthy, Nelson has averaged 2.6 shots on net and recorded multiple SOG in nine of his last 10 against Top-10 shot suppression sides.
Goal scorer pick: Jack Eichel (+220)
Jack Eichel has piled up the assists during the playoffs, but don’t let that fool you: he’s been a very active shooter.
Eichel leads the Golden Knights in shot attempts and shots on goal but has scored just one time due to an unsustainably low 2.86% shooting percentage.
He scored on 10.38% of his shots in the regular season and has converted on at least 10% of his looks in all five seasons with the Golden Knights. He is an obvious regression candidate.
That could come sooner than later against an Avalanche team that is suddenly struggling to get saves.
They posted the worst save percentage of any team in the second round, and it wasn’t just one guy. Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood both struggled at points and were pulled from the net as a result.
Golden Knights vs Avalanche anytime goal parlay
Martin Necas
Brock Nelson
Jack Eichel
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The Chicago Blackhawks made 11 selections in the 2023 NHL Draft. 2 of them were in the first round, 4 were in the top 50, and 8 were in the top 100.
The Chicago Blackhawks also kicked off the draft by taking Connor Bedard of the Regina Pats with the first overall pick.
Three full seasons later, it is clear that this draft has the potential to be an incredible class for the organization. There are already a handful of players who have roles in the NHL ahead of schedule, with more on the way. The class is as follows:
1. - Connor Bedard
19. - Oliver Moore
35. - Adam Gajan
44. - Roman Kantserov
55. - Martin Misiak
67. - Nick Lardis
93. - Jiri Felcman
99. - Alex Pharand
131. - Marcel Marcel
167. - Milton Oscarson
195. - Janne Peltonen
Connor Bedard is the star that the Blackhawks selected him to be. He is also far from being a finished product in his development. He is trending towards being an elite number one center on a contending team. It’s only a matter of time, and maybe a linemate or two, before he becomes known amongst the league’s best.
Oliver Moore was the other first-round pick from 2023. He is arguably the fastest player that the Chicago Blackhawks have in the entire organization, and his skills match his speed. He is a diverse forward who gives an honest effort at even strength, on the power play, and on the penalty kill. Moore’s speed is always going to be the number one thing people bring up, but as soon as his production starts to climb, he has the potential to be a high-end middle-six winger.
At 35th overall, the Blackhawks made a goalie selection. Adam Gajan is a Slovakian net-minder who has really ascended as a young player within the pipeline. Playing for the University of Minnesota, he was one of the best goalies in college hockey during the 2025-26 season. He didn’t dress, but he was even named to be an Olympian with Team Slovakia in Milano Cortina.
Roman Kantserov, whom the Chicago Blackhawks selected 44th overall, may be the biggest steal of the Kyle Davidson era. There is a long way to go, but he put up some incredibly encouraging numbers in the KHL, including leading the league in goals. Kantserov has top-line winger potential, and he may get a crack at it as soon as opening night.
As far as other prospects from 2023 that Chicago is banking on, Nick Lardis is amongst the quickest risers. He went from being a 3rd round pick to scoring a legendary amount of goals in the OHL with 71 and scoring at a 20-goal pace during his rookie NHL season. Lardis could become one of the best pure snipers on the team with his ability to put the puck in the net from close or far.
Most of the rest are still trying to impress their way to NHL contracts, which may or may not come for them. Bedard, Moore, Lardis, and Kantserov are safe bets to play on the opening night roster.
Gajan will start as part of a tandem in the AHL, but it won’t be long before he gets his chance to make his NHL debut. For Misiak, Felcman, Pharand, Marcel, Oscarson, and Peltonen, more time is needed. Roster spots are not as available as they once were, so everything will have to be earned.
If the Blackhawks get four good forwards and a good depth goaltender out of one draft, it’s a big win. That’s especially true when one of them is a borderline generational talent. Early in the rebuild, these selections were consequential, as we are learning in 2026. By 2030, the draft may look even better.
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The Colorado Avalanche, owners of the best record in the NHL during the regular season, could be in trouble for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against the Vegas Golden Knights. Star defenseman Cale Makar will miss Game 1 with an upper body injury. His absence was confirmed by coach Jared Bednar Wednesday, May 20.
Despite Makar being listed as day-to-day, there was always concern that he could miss time during the Western Conferene finals. On Tuesday, Makar's teammate and fellow blueliner Sam Malinski said, "You can’t replace him, and we’re going to miss him out there. Yeah, hopefully we can still get it done without him."
His comments hinted that he knew the team would likely be without Makar.
Previously, Makar missed some time during Game 5 of the Avalanche's series against the Minnesota Wild, but ;later returned. That game happened a week ago. Though many fans believed that would be ample time for the Norris Trophy winner to recover, he clearly needs longer than what was originally anticipated. Here's what we know.
How long will Cale Makar be out?
Although there is no timeline for Makar's return right now, Avalanche fans can breathe a little easier knowing that he was seen skating on his own during practice Wednesday morning, which could mean he is due for a return earlier in this series rather than later.
Cale Makar skated alone, before practice, this morning here in Denver. No doubt the coach will deem him a game-time decision in about an hour pic.twitter.com/tNn0IkxVgV
The nature of Makar's injury has not been publicly disclosed. All that has been revealed is that it is an upper body injury.
There is belief that Makar's collision with Minnesota's Ryan Hartman may have caused the injury. Makar recovered from the hit but came up holding his shoulder and arm.
Cale Makar has headed to the locker room after an apparent upper-body injury 😳 pic.twitter.com/7vu1KzEj9w
The Colorado Avalanche and Vegas Golden Knights are ready to get the Western Conference Final started tonight at Ball Arena in Downtown Denver!
The Golden Knights represent the Pacific Division after series victories over the Utah Mammoth and Anaheim Ducks.
The Avalanche have lost just one game so far these playoffs after sweeping the LA Kings and besting the Minnesota Wild in five games, but will go without Norris candidate Cale Makar in game one.
This is a heavy blow to Colorado’s backend and likely means that recently recalled Alex Gagne, Jack Achan, or Nick Blankenburg will see playoff action in the bottom pairing. If any other defenders are still hurt, two of them would play.
With that in mind, a commitment to structure and support will be crucial this evening, as the Golden Knights will absolutely look to find favorable matchups.
I have three keys to a Colorado Avalanche victory:
Play team-first hockey.
Stay out of the penalty box.
Thrive in the environment.
Whenever you have guys that haven’t played much NHL hockey, much less playoff hockey, slotted into your backend, a commitment to the process is vital. The process is the fail-safe when a talent advantage may not exist, and the Avalanche take pride in it. That will need to be shown for the Avalanche to win game one.
The Avs have made going to the sin-bin a far too common occurrence in the playoffs so far. Combine that with a clear and concise advantage at five-on-five against the competition so far, and you have plenty of reason to play things straight up. Vegas’ special teams aren’t to be tempted.
Ball Arena should be a madhouse tonight, as many fans still don’t like the Vegas Golden Knights after the 2021 playoff series, and, of course, the Avalanche appear plenty capable of winning it all. The Avs-friendly and raucous environment has the potential to deal a heavy blow to Vegas’ confidence.
It will be Scott Wedgewood back between the pipes for the Avalanche, which makes sense, seeing as he’s lost just one game these playoffs and came in and shut things down in Colorado’s game five comeback victory against Minny.
Vegas Golden Knights
The Vegas Knights have depth, particularly up the middle, and with the Avalanche missing Makar, expect Vegas’ head coach to be pretty active in getting his best skaters favorable matchups against Colorado’s bottom pair.
Torts has brought a lot of security to a team that couldn’t get consistent enough goaltending or results to take a strong hold of their division in the regular season. His arrival has ushered in another era of defensive focus in Vegas, similar to what we saw under Pete DeBoer.
The Golden Knights present as a team capable of shutting things down like the LA Kings, but while having the talent to cash in on limited opportunities.
Mitch Marner leads all point scorers in these playoffs and has been a consistent performer for the Knights. His matchup and the challenges he will face against this Avalanche team are a much taller task than what he saw in the first two rounds, however.
Here are three keys to victory for the Golden Knights:
Weather the storm.
Establish an early lead.
Exploit matchups.
If the Avalanche have a key to victory that plays into the home crowd, the Golden Knights have to have the opposite as a key to their success. Quieting Avalanche fans and making things awkward in the building can frustrate a club.
Vegas has shown the ability to win both low-scoring games and high-scoring games, but they’d be smart to limit Colorado’s flow and chances. Tough to see a goal fest not shaking out in Colorado’s favor.
Carter Hart has been better in the postseason than he was in the regular season, but the gap between his floor and his ceiling is large compared to most starters. He could be one of Vegas best or worst players on any given night. Do with that what you will.
RALEIGH, N.C. — Years of consistent regular-season success and postseason wins have again brought the Carolina Hurricanes to the Eastern Conference Final of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That same roadblock.
The Hurricanes host the Montreal Canadiens to open their best-of-seven series, the third time in four seasons they’ve reached the league semifinals. They’re armed yet again with home-ice advantage, this time as the East’s top seed. They’ve won all eight playoff games. And they’re as rested as it gets with long breaks between both rounds.
But this has been the ceiling in an eight-year postseason run. They were swept in this round in 2019, again in 2023, then lost in five games here last year.
“I know everybody’s going to say, whatever, we’ve won one game in the times we’ve been there,” veteran forward Jordan Martinook said. “It is what it is, it’s something we’re going to have to overcome. I think every year is such a different challenge, we’re going to have ups and downs in the next series. And it’s up to us to show we can win.”
This has hovered all season over the Hurricanes, the idea of playing their way back to this point for another shot. They were the league’s No. 2 team behind Presidents’ Trophy-winner Colorado, then took out Ottawa and Philadelphia to become the first team to sweep the first two rounds since the NHL went to best-of-seven series in all four rounds in 1987.
But they’re 1-12 in the East final during this eight-year run under Rod Brind’Amour. The 2019 sweep was a happy-to-be-here group emerging from a nine-year postseason drought. The past two trips came in jarring fashion for a playoff-tested core, first with four one-goal losses to Florida in 2023, including a four-overtime epic. They went down 0-3 in last year’s rematch before salvaging a win.
Next they face a Montreal team that battled through a seven-game series against Tampa Bay, then another one against Buffalo. Montreal won both Game 7s on the road on goals by Alex Newhook.
The Canadiens are back in a conference final for the first time since playing for the Cup in 2021, only to tumble to 29th out of 32 league teams in regular-season points (199) for the following three years. They retooled under general manager Kent Hughes and coach Martin St. Louis to return to the playoffs last year, and haven’t lost consecutive games since mid-March.
“Guys have really bought into how we play and everything that Marty preaches,” said captain Nick Suzuki, a member of the 2021 Cup finalist. “It’s really cool to be in this situation this fast and being such a young team. Now we just have a lot of fun and just want to keep the journey going.”
Lengthy breaks
The 11 days off for the Hurricanes between closing out Philadelphia on May 9 and Game 1 against Montreal is the longest break in the NHL playoffs since at least 1920, according to SportRadar. Carolina also had six days off between Rounds 1 and 2.
Neither team has reported any major injury concerns.
In net
Jakub Dobes has started all 14 games in his second postseason with the Canadiens, including a 37-save effort in Game 7 against the Sabres after a rough Game 6. The 24-year-old has a 2.52 goals-against average and .910 save percentage.
The Hurricanes have gotten elite play from veteran Frederik Andersen, who allowed 10 goals through the first eight games while leading the postseason in GAA (1.12) and save percentage (.950).
Special teams
The Hurricanes are second among all postseason teams by going 38 of 40 (.950) on kills with one shorthanded goal. That unit will face a Canadiens power play ranked sixth in the playoffs (13 of 52, .250).
Neither team has been as effective on the other side. Carolina is 12th among playoff teams on the power play (5 of 37, .135), while Montreal is 13th on the kill (14 of 54, .741).
Stat leaders
Newhook and Carolina’s Logan Stankoven each have seven goals, tied for third among all postseason skaters. Montreal’s Lane Hutson has 14 points in 14 games to rank, tied for sixth-best in the postseason, while Carolina’s Taylor Hall has 12 in eight games.
Edge Montreal?
The Canadiens took all three regular-season meetings and nearly doubled the Hurricanes (15-8) in scoring, including a 5-2 home win on March 24 followed by a 3-1 road win five days later. Montreal was the only Eastern Conference team the Hurricanes didn’t beat in the regular season.
Both Evan Rawal of the Denver Gazette and Emily Kaplan of ESPN reported it this morning as the Avalanche morning skate was underway. Both also stated that Makar was skating this morning, but he missed the last couple of skates leading up to today's.
Everyone is being reported to be fine, including Artturi Lehkonen, who missed some time after Game 3 against the Minnesota Wild due to an upper-body injury that caused him to miss the rest of the series. Along with Sam Malinski returning to the lineup, Jack Ahcan will be filling in for Makar.
Rawal did report that Head Coach Jared Bednar expects Makar to be back in the series against the Knights and is considered "day-to-day". This follows up on why he was missing from some of the skates and practices leading up to today.
This will be Makar's second time missing a playoff game in his career. The only other time he missed was during the 2023 playoffs against the Seattle Kraken, when he served a one-game suspension for an illegal high hit on forward Jared McCann, which caused McCann to miss the rest of the series.
Game 1 Prop #1: Sam Malinski Over 2.5 shots on goal
+130 at BET99
Sam Malinski is one of the most efficient shot-generating defensemen in the NHL, and he’s getting plenty of ice.
Malinski has logged at least 19 minutes of ice in every playoff game he has suited up for this year, and will be heading for more with Cale Makar sidelined.
Malinski averaged 2.8 shots on goal on 6.6 attempts in games he played at least 19 minutes, going Over 2.5 shots in 50% of them. Taking things a step further, he generated 7.3 attempts per game without Makar.
A +130 price point is generous for those outputs.
Game 1 Prop #2: Mitch Marner Over 0.5 assists
-145 at BET99
Mitch Marner has scored seven goals through two rounds, but he is averaging only one more shot attempt per 60 minutes than he did in the regular season. The scoring surge stems from red-hot shooting (he owns a 24% SH%) rather than an uptick in volume.
He is still a playmaker first, producing 11 assists through 12 games while taking ~23% of the on-ice attempts. There are a lot of shots he has a hand in facilitating.
Game 1 Prop #3: Brock Nelson Over 1.5 shots on goal
-160 at BET99
Brock Nelson is not expected to center Valeri Nichushkin, who was his most common linemate through the first two rounds. That’s a big plus for his shot volume.
Nelson averaged just 9.17 shot attempts, and 3.53 shots on goal, per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play with Nichushkin by his side.
For comparison, he's averaged 12.37 attempts with Nic Roy and 13.90 attempts with Artturi Lehkonen — his new projected linemates.
Nelson recorded multiple shots on goal in all three regular season meetings with Vegas, and is now well-positioned to do so again in Game 1.
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Buffalo Sabres goalie Devon Levi will be a trade candidate to watch this off-season. The young goalie was in the rumor mill leading up to the 2026 NHL trade deadline, and with the Sabres having three other goalies ahead of him on their depth chart, he could use a fresh start.
One of their Sabres' top division rivals are believed to have Levi on their radar.
During a recent appearance on the Coming In Hot podcast, Daily Faceoff's Jeff Marek shared that he believes that the Ottawa Senators have kicked tires on Levi.
"I'm pretty sure that Ottawa has checked in with Buffalo on Devon Levi," Marek said. "It's over with Levi and the Buffalo Sabres."
When noting that the Senators desperately need to improve their backup goalie position, it is understandable that they would have a goalie like Levi on their radar. He would have the potential to be a nice upgrade over goalies like Leevi Merilainen and James Reimer for Ottawa's backup role.
However, the Sabres dealing a young goalie like Levi to a division rival like the Senators would come with some real risk. It would sting if Levi got his development back on track and become a high-impact goalie for the Senators. As a result, it might be smarter for the Sabres to deal Levi out of the division if possible.
Levi appeared in 52 games this season with the Rochester Americans, where he posted a 23-20-9 record, a 2.83 goals-against average, and a .904 save percentage. This is after he had a 25-13-4 record, a 2.20 goals-against average, and a .919 save percentage in 42 games with Rochester in 2024-25.
Levi did not make an appearance at the NHL level this season with the Sabres. In 39 career NHL games over three seasons, he has a 17-17-2 record, a 3.29 goals-against average, and an .894 save percentage.
Martin Necas 
Jack Eichel
