It just keeps on getting worse for Nathan MacKinnon and the Colorado Avalanche.
The Avs find themselves in a deeper hole after three games in their West Finals series against the Vegas Golden Knights. They are down 3-0 after melting down in a 5-3 loss in Game 3 on Sunday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Worse, they may have to play the next game without their best player after MacKinnon got hurt in the second period of Game 3. MacKinnon went down in pain after he took a puck to the knee from Golden Knights star Shea Theodore.
He was taken off the ice but returned later in the frame to play a couple more shifts. Even while in seemingly excruciating pain, the former Hart Memorial Trophy winner saw action in the third period.
The pain alone was not enough for MacKinnon to call it a night. In the eyes of Colorado goalie Scott Wedgewood, it would take more than that to make him leave a game.
“You might have to kill [MacKinnon] to get him off the ice,” Wedgewood said of MacKinnon during a postgame interview with reporters, via DNVR Avalanche.
“Just kind of the person he is and the competitor he is. Obviously proves that every time he’s on the ice, he wants to win more than anybody.”
It remains uncertain whether MacKinnon will be able to give it a go for Game 4 on Tuesday. But given what’s at stake, the 2025-26 Rocket Richard Trophy winner can be expected to push to be available as much as possible.
MacKinnon is leading the Avs in the 2026 playoffs with 15 points on 7 goals and 8 assists through 12 games.
