Avalanche Announce Cale Makar Status for Game 2 vs. Golden Knights

The Colorado Avalanche came into the Western Conference Finals as the hottest team in the National Hockey League, going 8-1 through their first two rounds against the Los Angeles Kings and Minnesota Wild.

That led to them being considered overwhelming favorites against the Vegas Golden Knights, but in Game 1, it was the road team that took the fight to Colorado, coming away winners 4-2 to take the series lead. However, Colorado were without arguably their biggest star, as Cale Makar was ruled out ahead of the game as he continues to deal with the injury that has plagued him throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs thus far.

Then, fans got a glimmer of hope when Sportsnet's Eric Francis revealed that Makar was back on the ice at practice ahead of Game 2, with the team clearly needing his offensive firepower against a loaded Vegas team that has allowed two or less goals in six of their past eight games.

Makar skating with teammates this morning here in Denver pic.twitter.com/aBCCfFsgzn

— Eric Francis (@EricFrancis) May 22, 2026

Unfortunately, that hope was short lived, with head coach Jared Bednar officially ruling Makar out ahead of a critical Game 2, with the team looking to avoid an 0-2 hole in the series before they hit the road.

Cale Makar will not play tonight.

— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) May 22, 2026

Without Makar, the right-side of the Avalanche defense looks a little suspect, with the trio of Sam Malinski, Josh Manson and Jack Ahcan leading the way, and given that Makar is a +5 in these playoffs thus far, they'll sorely miss him at both ends of the ice.

As of right now, Bedar failed to give any major update on Makar beyond this, so there's no way to know whether he'll be back for Game 3 or if this could be an extended absence, but for now, Colorado need to get themselves back into this series without their Norris Trophy contending blue liner.

Related: Avalanche's Cale Makar Concern Emerges Before Game 1 vs. Golden Knights

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This story was originally published May 22, 2026 at 12:46 PM.