Makar out again, Avalanche lose Game 2 of Western Final

DENVER -- Cale Makar remained out of the lineup for the Colorado Avalanche in a 3-1 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final at Ball Arena on Friday.

The defenseman, who has an upper-body injury, was on the ice for an optional skate and took reps with the first power-play unit but missed his second straight game after not playing in a 4-2 loss in Game 1 on Wednesday.

Game 3 of the best-of-7 series is at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday (8 p.m. ET; ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“He's dealing with an injury, obviously, and he's been in the gym strengthening and testing it on the ice,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said Saturday. “Cale is the only person that knows when he's good enough to play, that's why it's his decision. We know what the injury is, we know what he's dealing with, we know that we're going to expect him back at some point, but you’ve got to get to a level of being comfortable with what you're dealing with and the pain tolerance and depending on what he's dealing with, he will tell us when he's ready to play, so it's just really as simple as that. 

“No one can go into Cale's body and feel what he's feeling, so when he feels like he can do all the things he needs to be able to do on the ice to play, then he's going to make the decision to play.”

Defenseman Jack Ahcan replaced Makar in Game 1 and was minus-1 in 7:34 of ice time, and defenseman Nick Blankenburg was a healthy scratch. Blankenburg played 9:21 in Game 2.

"I actually liked ‘Blankey’ last night, sometimes a lot,” Bednar said. “I thought he did a nice job of taking the ice in front of him multiple times out of the (defensive) zone and advancing the puck, making plays, whether he was skating it or moving it. He had a few nice plays and keeps in the offensive zone as well. He was responsible in his checking game. We need our guys to be able to check, because all four of their lines can create offense, and we want our (defensemen) to be able to help us out on the offensive side of things. So, if it's just moving the puck efficiently to our forwards, or skating it up and putting it in, so we can get on the forecheck. And I thought he was skating real well last night, and then he helped us out in those areas.”

Makar has five points (four goals, one assist), 22 shots on goal and 18 blocked shots in nine games this postseason while averaging 24:59 of ice time, second on the team behind defenseman Devon Toews (25:59).

During the regular season, Makar was third among NHL defensemen with 79 points (20 goals, 59 assists) in 75 games, averaged 24:51 of ice time per game and was plus-32. He was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy, awarded to the best defenseman in the NHL.

"Listen, Cale is a world-class player, right?" Vegas forward Jack Eichel said. "But I don't think our approach changes at all. We know the type of impact he has on the game when he is in there."

The Avalanche were a touch off in Game 1, struggling to execute at times and to generate offense from the blue line, which has been a hallmark of the team. They fell behind 3-0, and the game-winning goal was scored when Colorado defenseman Sam Malinski couldn't get a point shot through a lane, with the blocked shot keying a 2-on-1 transition the other way.

In Game 2, the Avalanche allowed three goals in the third period after leading 1-0.

"It hurts when you don't have Makar, but every team is going through that," Bednar said. "(The Golden Knights) don't have (forward Mark) Stone. Stone's an impact player for them. Minnesota didn't have (forward Joel) Eriksson Ek or (defenseman Jonas) Brodin. We didn't have players. Our goal is to be the best version of ourselves that we can be."

In seven full NHL seasons, Makar has 507 points (136 goals, 371 assists) in 470 regular-season games and 90 points (26 goals, 64 assists) in 88 Stanley Cup Playoff games. The 27-year-old also has an impressive trophy case, having won the Norris twice (2021-22, 2024-25), the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year (2019-20) and the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in 2022.

"I don't think when you're playing you can think about it," Avalanche defenseman Josh Manson said. "I think that's just a hindrance. Going into it, obviously you hope he's playing. I don't think anybody could ever stand up here and say, 'Oh, I hope he's not playing.' I mean, he's a generational player. So when you're out there, I don't think you want to think about it. I think you just got to keep playing and doing your best to win the game."

The Golden Knights know how good Makar is but won't change their game plan in the absence of the six-time Norris finalist.

"Obviously a great player," Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb said. "Probably the best defenseman in the League. But it doesn't change anything as of now, right? And even if he is in, it's still going to be the same protocol for us."

NHL.com independent correspondent Ryan Boulding contributed to this report