Avalanche Face Elimination Without Makar as Toews Gets Brutal Workload

Devon Toews is about to log 28 minutes a night, maybe more. That's what happens when your best defenseman goes down mid-series and the next man up - Jack Ahcan - managed just 7:34 in Game 1 before getting buried. Colorado plays Game 2 Friday night at Ball Arena down 0-1, and Cale Makar won't be on the ice. Read on.

The Avalanche controlled Game 1 in ways that won't show up in the final score.

They outshot Vegas 38-28. They generated 23 high-danger chances to the Golden Knights' 13. But Carter Hart stood on his head - 36 saves - and a team that couldn't break the puck out cleanly in its own end found ways to hand Vegas easy transitions. That's what missing a Norris Trophy finalist looks like. Makar averaged 24:51 of ice time per game this season. He quarterbacked the power play, killed penalties. And was the guy you trusted to eat those brutal late-game minutes when you're protecting a lead. Without him, Colorado's blue line has a hole you can't patch with call-ups.

So now it's Devon Toews' show.

He absorbed 27:32 in Game 1 - the highest single-game TOI of his playoff career - and he'll likely go higher Friday. The guy is elite, no question. Third among NHL defensemen in scoring this year with 79 points, a plus-32 rating. And the kind of mobility that makes him dangerous at both ends. But there's a reason coaches spread the load across four pairings in the playoffs. One guy playing 28 minutes a night for multiple games in a row catches up to you - especially when the opponent knows exactly who to target. John Tortorella doesn't need a playbook for this one. He's got the playoff leaders in goals (Pavel Dorofeyev, 9), assists (Jack Eichel, 14), and points (Mitch Marner, 18). Vegas has weapons. And they'll spend Game 2 making Toews and whoever flanks him work for every inch.

Here's the thing: Game 1 wasn't a fluke outcome. Colorado played well enough to win and didn't. That happens. But the underlying issue - the breakout struggles, the disorganization in the defensive zone - that's structural. Makar's injury isn't a sprained ankle you tape and play through. Sources described it as a shoulder issue that originated in the second-round clincher against Minnesota on May 13, when he left the ice holding his right arm before returning in overtime. He skated in an optional practice Friday morning and wasn't cleared. This is the first playoff game Makar has ever missed due to injury in his seven-year NHL career. His only prior playoff absence was a one-game suspension in 2023. The guy simply doesn't sit.

Colorado's record at Ball Arena this season was 31-9-6 with a plus-61 goal differential. And they carried an 8-0-1 home playoff run into this series. That streak ended in Game 1.

Now they need to avoid going down 0-2 before heading to Vegas - a deficit that's killed more playoff runs than anyone can count.

The historical parallel isn't encouraging. In 2019, San Jose had Erik Karlsson - a Norris winner and the best offensive defenseman in hockey - and held a 3-2 lead on St. Louis in the Western Conference Final. Karlsson gutted through a groin injury and was a shadow of himself in Games 6 and 7. The Sharks lost in six. You can find a dozen versions of that story if you dig.

Depth gets tested in the playoffs. And when the margin for error disappears, one missing piece compounds across four lines.

The good news?

Toews isn't alone. Samuel Girard can move the puck. Byram and Manson can hold the line. And Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, and the rest of Colorado's forward group still have to win their minutes. This isn't a roster that folds. But it's a roster playing without its most important player against a team that has everything clicking at once.

The Avalanche need to win Game 2. Not to even the series - that's obvious - but to prove they can survive a game without Makar before they head into Vegas with a chance to steal one. If Colorado comes out flat, or if the breakout problems from Game 1 resurface, this series flips fast.

What to watch Friday: whether Toews can hold up under the workload, whether Carter Hart stays sharp. And whether Colorado's forecheck can force Vegas into mistakes it's not used to making.

Game 2 drops at 8 p.m.

ET on ESPN. Colorado's backs are against the wall. Let's see what they're made of.