DENVER — The Colorado Avalanche snatched defeat from the jaws of victory on Friday night.

With a 1-0 lead in the third period, the Avalanche gave up back-to-back third-period goals and fell 3-1 in Game 2. They now head to Vegas down 2-0 in the series.

Here are three takeaways from a Game 2 loss that puts the Avalanche in a massive hole.

1. With no Cale Makar, the Avalanche still opted to make a change on their blue line. Nick Blankenburg reentered the lineup in place of Jack Ahcan, who played the last three games. Blankenburg played well and, because of that, was trusted a bit more than Ahcan. Although he’s not the biggest guy, Blankenburg battled out there and didn’t back down from any of the bigger Golden Knights forwards. He also was active in the offensive zone, which is to be expected from him. A good showing for the defenseman and an improvement on what they had gotten the last few games.
2. Jared Bednar said he wouldn’t wait long to switch up the lines if they weren’t working, and he was true to his word. Late in the first, he removed Martin Necas from the top line, putting Artturi Lehkonen there. That line responded with its best shift at even strength this series, mostly due to its willingness to put it on net and create havoc. Necas has had a tough go of it this series, as Vegas isn’t giving him the room he needs to be effective, but MacKinnon really hasn’t been that much better.
3. That point right there is the series in a nutshell, thus far. Vegas’ top players have outplayed Colorado’s top players. MacKinnon and Necas have been nonexistent offensively at even strength, and the power play hasn’t been good either. The Avalanche desperately need something out of Brock Nelson offensively, and they just haven’t gotten it. Colorado’s depth has provided most of the energy for the Avalanche, and it’s hard to win at this stage of the playoffs if that’s the case. Colorado’s best players just need to be better.