There's a specific kind of dread that sets in for a fanbase when their team loses both home games of a playoff series. The math doesn't say you're dead, but the vibes absolutely do. That's where Colorado is right now after Vegas came into their building and walked out with a stranglehold, and the league's loudest hockey guy isn't waiting for the autopsy.
Ryan Whitney calls the series, blames the missing Makar, and tags Vegas as the villains running the show.
Colorado is done. Vegas wins both on the road. No Makar is too much to overcome. The villains of the league are a wagon
Whitney isn't wrong to point at the Makar-sized hole. Cale Makar is the closest thing the NHL has to a one-man power play, and asking the Avs to slug it out with Vegas without him is like asking a band to tour without the lead guitar. Vegas, meanwhile, is doing what Vegas does in May — rolling 4 lines, getting timely goals from everywhere, and letting Jack Eichel cook.
Eichel doing Eichel things on the road, with the gambling account hyping every shift.
It wasn't just the captain. Ross Colton chipped in, the Knights kept stacking, and by the time the dust settled Vegas had the building on its hands. The grinding, depth-scoring identity that won them a Cup is back in full force, and they're doing it to a banged-up Avs team that has no real answer.
A snapshot of Vegas in the lead with the road crowd melting.
Naturally, Dave is up to his eyeballs in this thing. He's been on the Vegas wagon for a while and is now openly recruiting reply guys into his Knights of the Round Table bit. It's a long way from over — Colorado has too much pride to roll over without a fight — but if Whitney's read holds, the villains of the league are about to put another body in the ground.
Portnoy planting the Knights of the Round Table flag mid-celebration.