A 45-0-0 streak ends, and the Avalanche’s scoring touch vanishes in Game 2

DENVER (AP) — The Presidents’ Trophy winner and Stanley Cup favorite suddenly can't find the net.

Missing star Cale Makar for the second straight game, the Colorado Avalanche blew a late lead in a stunning 3-1 Game 2 loss Friday night to the Vegas Golden Knights, who are halfway to winning the Western Conference as the series shifts to Las Vegas.

It was their first loss in 46 games this season that they took a lead into the third period.

“It stings for sure right now, but tomorrow we’ll wake up, have a meeting, fly to Vegas and regroup,” Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog said. “That's all you can do.”

For much of the night it looked like the Avs would even up the series after dropping the opener 4-2. Goalie Scott Wedgewood was pitching his first career playoff shutout until surrendering goals to Jack Eichel and Ivan Barbashev a little more than two minutes apart. Barbashev added an empty-netter with just over a minute remaining.

“I thought just about every area of our game was better besides maybe the power play,” Landeskog said. “And then they scored two perfect shots, so yeah, I liked our game a lot. There’s not a lot of comfort in saying that, I guess, after a loss. But at the end of the day we’ll regroup.”

The Avs know that playing better in Game 2 was of little solace to a fanbase that watched them roll through the first two rounds with just one loss while showing off a deep roster that featured a whopping 17 goal scorers.

Makar, however, got banged up in the last series against Minnesota and hasn't played in this round. His absence has been felt across the board, on an ineffective power play, through a disjointed offense and discombobulated defensive rotations without their star defenseman who's officially out with an upper body injury.

“At the end of the day,” Landeskog said, “we've got to find a way to score some goals.”

Colorado's sudden lack of scoring punch has saddled the Avalanche with its first loss of the season when leading heading into the third period. Before Friday night, they were 45-0-0 in such situations.

And it's threatening to short-circuit their Stanley Cup dreams.

Landeskog agreed that the Avs might have been deflated by back-to-back penalty kills by the Golden Knights when Colorado was clinging to a 1-0 lead in the first half the third period.

“Yeah, maybe,” Landeskog said. “The power play needs to be better.”

The best way to get better? Get Makar back — providing he can take both hits and shots alike.

Colorado coach Jared Bednar bristled when asked if there's greater urgency now to get Makar back in the lineup with the Avs down 2-0.

“There's urgency to get him back like since he got hurt,” Bednar said. “But it's going to be Cale's decision on when he's coming back, you know? He's doing all the work he can possibly do to try to get back as fast as he possibly can. ... I don't make that decision for him.”

With or without Makar, the Avs have their work cut out for them as they try to get back into the series on the road.

“It's on us now,” forward Logan O'Connor said. “We made it difficult. ... We can’t think about winning two in Vegas. We’ve got to start with one."

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore, left, collects the puck as Colorado Avalanche defenseman Devon Toews, right, covers during the third period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog reacts after scoring a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood prepares for the second period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights, Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Scott Wedgewood, left, looks back in the net to see the puck as Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev celebrates after a goal by left wing Ivan Barbashev during the third period in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Friday, May 22, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

Ordinarily, this would have been a disaster. Oklahoma City had three starters combine to score seven points in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals on Friday night.

Few people probably noticed.

That's how good the Thunder bench was — again.

They'll give out an MVP award when these West finals are over, and if things keep going like this, it might be a good idea to cut it up into parts and just hand it out to those on Oklahoma City's bench. OKC's reserves outscored San Antonio's bench 76-23 on Friday night, a huge reason why the Thunder beat the Spurs 123-108 for a 2-1 series lead.

Jared McCain scored 24 points for the Thunder; that’s a playoff career best. Jaylin Williams — the forward, with Thunder guard Jalen Williams out with hamstring issues again — hit five 3-pointers and scored 18; that was also a playoff career high. And Alex Caruso had 15 points, giving him 63 in this series; that’s the best three-game scoring span of his career.

“I like proving my support system right,” said McCain, a midseason pickup in a trade with Philadelphia. “The people who really believe in me, I like proving them right.”

Oh, they were right. And they had a lot to talk about Friday night.

“We talk about it a lot, in practice and throughout the whole playoffs: Be ready and stay ready,” McCain said. “Coaches have done a great job of that. ... We all are hoopers and we all know what to do out there, especially this team. It's a very mature team. Coming in, I just want to be as ready as I can, no matter what it is.”

He's not alone. The entire OKC bench has been ready, throughout the whole series.

The Thunder got 50 points from their reserves in Game 1, then 57 in Game 2 — and on Friday, the bench mob struck again.

The 76 bench points were the most by a team in a conference finals game since the NBA went to the 16-team playoff format in 1984. The previous mark was 69 by the Los Angeles Lakers in 1985. Only two Thunder starters scored in double figures — MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 26 points and Chet Holmgren had 14.

Didn't matter.

Down 15-0 not even three minutes into the game, coach Mark Daigneault went to his bench for the first time.

And everything changed in an instant, a harbinger of what was to come. Caruso, McCain, Williams and Cason Wallace combined to score 21 points in the remainder of that first quarter. The Spurs' lead was down to five going into the second, and it didn't take long for Oklahoma City to grab control.

“We assume the opponent’s always at their best and we need to be at ours and depth is a part of that. ... It just needs to be one of our strengths that we rely on, regardless of circumstance,” Daigneault said.

Oklahoma City's bench contributed 62% of the scoring for the Thunder in Game 3 — something no team had done in a winning effort during a conference finals game in the last four decades. And after being down 15 at the start, the Thunder won by 15 at the end.

For the series, the Thunder reserves have outscored the Spurs' bench 183-64.

“We were ready,” McCain said.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/nba

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) celebrates after making a 3-point shot during the first half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the San Antonio Spurs Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Jaylin Williams (6) and head coach Mark Daigneault react during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the San Antonio Spurs Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Oklahoma City Thunder guards Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (2) and Alex Caruso (9) high-five during the first half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series against the San Antonio Spurs Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

Oklahoma City Thunder guard Jared McCain (3) works toward the basket as San Antonio Spurs forward Victor Wembanyama (1) defends during the second half of Game 3 in the Western Conference finals NBA basketball playoffs series Friday, May 22, 2026, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)