The Colorado Avalanche traveled to T-Mobile Arena for Game 3 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday already down 2-0 in the series, having lost both games on home ice to start the series against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Game 1 ended 4-2. The Avalanche scored first and led early, but could not sustain their offense. Game 2 followed a similar pattern. Colorado scored first, played well defensively, but Vegas scored three times in the third period to win 3-1.
The offensive struggles have been especially surprising given the Avalanche's record at Ball Arena. They did not allow a single win at home to Los Angeles or Minnesota in the first two rounds of the playoffs. Vegas ended that.
Nathan MacKinnon, one of the best players in the league, has one assist in the series. He took three shots in Game 1 and one in Game 2. Brock Nelson and Martin Nečas have no points in the series. Meanwhile, Vegas has gotten contributions from multiple players. Pavel Dorofeyev and Jack Eichel each have a goal and two assists. Ivan Barbashev has two goals, including the game-winner in Game 2, and an assist. Brett Howden scored the game-winning goal in Game 1.
Defenseman Cale Makar missed both of the first two games with an injury, adding to Colorado's problems.
A loss in Game 3 would put the Avalanche in serious jeopardy. A win would set up a chance to even the series in Game 4 on Tuesday.
