3 Avalanche most to blame for shocking 3-0 collapse in Game 3 vs. Golden Knights

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3 Avalanche most to blame for shocking 3-0 collapse in Game 3 vs. Golden Knights

Bryan Logan, ClutchPoints · ClutchPoints

Mon, May 25, 2026 ·

4 min read

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3 Avalanche most to blame for shocking 3-0 collapse in Game 3 vs. Golden Knights appeared first on ClutchPoints . Add ClutchPoints as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

The Colorado Avalanche are now on the brink of elimination from the Stanley Cup Playoffs. After taking a 3-0 lead in the first period against the Vegas Golden Knights , the Avalanche collapsed and lost the game 5-3 .

The Avs got off to a hot start. Gabriel Landeskog scored just 3:21 into the game to give the team the lead. Nazem Kadri scored less than four minutes later, making it 2-0. Then, Jack Drury found the back of the net shorthanded, giving Colorado the lead.

Still, Mark Stone scored just 19 seconds into the second period, before William Karlsson scored his first goal since October 26 . Then Keegan Kolsear scored to tie the game in the period. The Golden Knights would get a goal from Tomas Hertl in the third and then an empty-netter to seal the game and put the Avalanche on the brink of elimination.

Brock Nelson needs to step up

Brock Nelson was brought to the Colorado Avalanche to provide a secondary scoring option with Mikko Rantanen leaving the club. Nelson signed an extension this past summer to be that option for the future. He provided that all regular season long. This year, he found the back of the net 33 times while adding 32 helpers. That placed him fourth on the team in points this year.

He has not provided much in the playoffs, but has disappeared in this series. In three games, he has a minus-four plus/minus rating, with just five shots on goal, and has not registered a single point. In Game 3, he did not have a shot. Further, he was part of the reason for the collapse. With 41 seconds left in the first period, he was called for tipping on Tomas Hertl. On that power play, early in the second period, the Golden Knights scored their first goal of the game, and the comeback was on.

Considering Nelson is registering over 18 minutes of ice time per game in this series, he needs to turn that into production, or the series will be ending quickly.

Scott Wedgewood was shaky at best

Nelson is not the only player to blame for the loss. Scott Wedgewood split time with Mackenzie Blackwood during the regular season. Still, he was the better netminder. He went 31-6-6 with a 2.02 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage. He continued his dominance in the first round, giving up just five goals in four games to the Los Angeles Kings .

Wedgewood struggled more in the series with the Minnesota Wild , but was the hero in Game 5 against the Wild, securing the win in overtime. He has not been great in the series so far. In the first two games, he allowed five goals on 51 shots, good for a .902 save percentage. In Game 3, he faced the fewest shots of the series, but he was not good. Wedgewood allowed four goals on 22 shots, and some of those should have been saved. Considering these games have all been one-goal games late, Wedgewood needs to step up and steal a game for the Avalanche.

Sam Malinski made too many mistakes

Sam Malinski has been averaging over 19 minutes of ice time in the playoffs. In the first two games of the series, he had over 20 minutes of ice time in each game. Still, he had a minus-three plus/minus rating in those two games. In Game 3, he got just 12:57 of ice time, with Cale Makar returning to the lineup. Regardless, in that time, the mistakes piled up. The first mistake happened early in the first period. He was hit by Brett Howden and gave away the puck. The Golden Knights did not capitalize as Mitch Marner tipped the puck wide.

He would give away the puck again in the second period, but once again, the shot missed. The third time it happened, the Avalanche did not get as lucky. After a Noah Hanifin shot in the, Wedgewood held onto the puck for a faceoff. Jack Drury won the face-off against William Karlsson, but Malinski immediately turned it over. Marner got a shot on goal that was saved, but Karlsson put in the rebound to make it a one-goal game in the second period.

That would not be the last mistake of the game either. Midway through the third period, Mark Stone began a break, passing the puck to Tomas Hertl. Hertl then turned Malinkis inside out before firing a shot right past Wedgewood. That would end up being the game-winning goal, and the goal that put the Avalanche down 3-0 in the series. If Malinski had changed just two of those circumstances or provided something on offense, this would be a different series, but instead, the Avalanche are on the verge of going home.

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