Golden Knights Eye Sweep of Avalanche in Game 4 with MacKinnon Questionable

The Presidents' Trophy winner's curse appears to be alive and well in the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs, as the league-best Colorado Avalanche could be swept out of the West Final in Game 4 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas. No team that led the NHL in points during the regular season has even reached the Stanley Cup Final since 2013, and only four teams in league history have successfully rallied from a 3-0 series deficit to win a best-of-7 series.

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Avalanche vs. Golden Knights same-game parlay

- Golden Knights +1.5 - Both teams to score at least two goals (including OT)

BetRivers SGP: -115

Teams that take a 3-0 series lead in a best-of 7 series in the round before the Stanley Cup Final are 49-0, including 13-0 when starting on the road like Vegas. The Golden Knights are now 18-4-1 under head coach John Tortorella, who took over with eight games remaining in the regular season.

It wasn't about Avalanche All-Star blue-liner Cale Makar , after all. He missed the first two games injured but was back for Game 3 on Sunday as the series shifted to Sin City, but the Golden Knights won regardless, 5-3. That high-powered Colorado offense now has totaled only six goals in the series. That's three fewer than it had in Game 1 of the last round vs. Minnesota. Makar didn't have a point, with three shots on goal and six blocked shots in a game-high 27:14 of ice time.

Scott Wedgewood and Mackenzie Blackwood were the NHL's best goaltending tandem in the regular season and shared the William M. Jennings Trophy, but neither had been a true No. 1 entering the playoffs previously. That is showing. The 33-year-old Wedgewood stopped only 18 of 22 shots Sunday and might be headed back to the bench after not being able to hold a 3-0 second-period lead.

In its franchise history, Colorado had held a 74-1 postseason record when leading by at least three goals and had won 49 straight games (regular season and playoffs) when having built a three-goal lead. Vegas was 0-19 in the playoffs when behind by that many goals. It was the Knights' fifth comeback win in the postseason after 21 during the year. They trailed 1,966 minutes during the season, the second-most in the NHL. So, apparently falling behind is not worth panicking over.

To make matters worse for the Avs, superstar Nathan MacKinnon was hobbled after blocking a shot in the loss. MacKinnon was able to take only four shifts in the third as he was clearly favoring his right leg/knee. He had been the Conn Smythe Trophy favorite for most of the playoffs but is now down at +1800.

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MacKinnon led the NHL with 53 goals this season and leads the team with seven playoff goals and 15 points. Fellow forward Valeri Nichushkin was injured, too, and missed the third period. He has four playoff points after 49 during the year. The status of both is in question. MacKinnon is still the +125 anytime goal-scoring favorite. His 14 career points when facing elimination are third-most in franchise history.

"There's going to be a sense of urgency, but it's got to be smart urgency," defenseman Josh Manson said. "It's got to be desperation. It's got to be our best style of play the whole night. You've got to maintain that sense of do or die, while playing up to the edge. That's what makes it so difficult."

The Knights got good news Sunday with the return of captain and all-time franchise playoff scoring leader Mark Stone from injury. Stone had been out since suffering a lower-body injury in Game 3 of the second-round series against Anaheim but had a goal and an assist. The goal came on the power play 19 seconds into the second to start the rally from down 3-0. That's what captains do.

"Experience matters for sure. I believe that," Stone said after. "Throughout this 82-game season, we put ourselves in some pretty tough spots that we were able to dig ourselves out of. It's not ideal to get down 3-0 early on, but we've been through that this year. The thing is, you just have to keep playing your game."

Vegas forward Mitchell Marner , now the +180 Conn Smythe favorite, had two assists for his sixth multi-point game and leads the postseason with 21 points. He is one of only of five players in the past 30 years with 14 or more assists through his first 15 career playoff games with a franchise. Marner is +155 for at least two points tonight. He has five points in potential series-clinching games during these playoffs.

Vegas became only the seventh team in postseason history to register a three-goal comeback win against the NHL's No. 1 regular-season team. The Knights are the 10th team in NHL history to take a 3-0 series lead against a No. 1 seed. None of the previous nine went more than five games. The Avalanche own an all-time series record of 1-3 during Game 4 in their four previous playoff rounds where they faced a 3-0 hole.

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Not quite the +156 price we hit Monday on Hurricanes-Canadiens Game 3 in this space. Neither of the alt totals I preferred (Over 4.5 or Under 7.5) were reasonable price-wise. Whether MacKinnon plays or not, I have to believe Colorado scores at least twice. Vegas, meanwhile, can become the seventh franchise in NHL history with three Stanley Cup Final appearances in its first nine seasons.  Check out other expert picks in the SportsLine daily newsletter.

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_Originally reported by [CBS Sports](https://www.cbssports.com/betting/news/avalanche-vs-golden-knights-game-4-picks-vegas-looks-to-complete-shocking-sweep-with-mackinnon-in-question/)._