Who has the edge?

FORWARDS
The Avalanche’s top line had nine goals and 24 points in the four-game sweep of St. Louis. If center Nathan MacKinnon and wingers Gabe Landeskog and Mikko Rantanen come close to that production in this series — even if it goes six or seven games — Colorado will win. Depth scoring will be important, however, and second-line sniper Andre Burakovsky (one assist against the Blues) needs to contribute. Vegas can be an explosive offensive team, but first-line center Chandler Stevenson is no MacKinnon (Who is?). Stevenson’s wingers, Mark Stone and Max Pacioretty, are elite playmakers, and Pacioretty had six of the Knights’ 18 goals against the Avs in the regular season. The Knights’ second line is a tremendous trio with center William Karlsson and wingers Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith. And Vegas has fourth-line giant Ryan Reaves, the toughest player on skates.

EDGE: Even

DEFENSEMEN
The Avalanche can push the pace from the back end like no other team in the league. Cale Makar, Devon Toews and Sam Girard are terrific at moving the puck and maintaining possession in the offensive end. Shutdown guys Ryan Graves and Patrik Nemeth must play tough and Colorado has great depth with Conor Timmins, Bo Byram, Jacob MacDonald and others. Vegas is similarly stocked with Alex Pietrangelo on the first pairing and Shea Theodore on the second. Tough guy Brayden McNabb, however, is on the COVID protocol list and his replacement, former Av Nick Holden, isn’t nearly as tough. As deep and talented the Avs are at D, Vegas could be the one team that matches them.

EDGE: Avalanche

GOALTENDING
The Avs’ Philipp Grubauer had a .936 save percentage and 1.75 goals-against average against St. Louis to begin his sixth postseason. He has become a trusted puck-stopper. But so is Vegas’ Marc-Andre Fleury, who had a .931 SP and 1.71 GAA in the seven-game series against Minnesota. The 6-foot Grubauer was a backup with the 2018 Stanley Cup champion Washington Capitals, and the 6-2 Fleury has three Cup rings with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the latter as a backup. In terms of depth, the Avs and Knights have experienced extra-large goalies who won’t get rattled if called upon. Colorado’s Devan Dubnyk is 6-6 and Vegas’ Robin Lehner is 6-4. Both are accustomed to a No. 1 role.

EDGE: Even

SPECIAL TEAMS
The Avalanche is red-hot on the power play, capitalizing on 6-of-12 opportunities against St. Louis to lead the league with a 50% clip. However, Colorado’s final two man-advantage tallies came on a vacated net in Game 4. Vegas wasn’t nearly as dangerous against Minnesota, scoring at just 13.3%. The Avs and Knights both have strong penalty-killing units and, unlike Colorado, Vegas uses a top-line forward (Mark Stone) as a shorthanded scoring threat.

EDGE: Avalanche

COACHING
Peter DeBoer is 6-0 in Game 7s, including San Jose’s 3-2 victory over the Avalanche in the 2019 Western Conference semifinals when he was the Sharks’ bench boss. He joined Vegas early last season and led the Knights to the Western Conference finals. But fifth-year Avs coach Jared Bednar has a deeper understanding and relationship with his players, and collectively, the team is rock-solid from top to bottom.

EDGE: Avalanche

Five things to watch

Five things to watch in the Avalanche’s second-round playoff series against the Knights:

1. Rest vs. rust
The Avalanche will have six off days between the clinching win over St. Louis and the series opener against Vegas. Coach Jared Bednar has given his players a day off (Monday), held an optional practice (Tuesday) and conducted full-squad skates (Wednesday-Saturday), all with the goal of creating rest and avoiding rust. Over the past five years, teams with at least six off days are 7-6 in a series, including 0-3 in 2019, when Columbus, the New York Islanders and Boston all lost after breaks of eight, nine and 10 days off, respectively, between playoff series. The key for the Avs: Take advantage of a Vegas team that has already played three more postseason games. In the last five years, those 13 teams are 7-6 in Game 1.

2. Under-26 limit
During its nine-game winning streak bridging the regular season and playoffs, the Avalanche has allowed 25 or fewer shots in six games. In the first round, the Avs held St. Louis to 27.5 shots per game (second-best in playoffs); Vegas averaged 32.1 shots per game in its win over Minnesota (11th of 16 teams). Sure, there will be a game in this series that goalie Philipp Grubauer will have to be lights out, but keep the Knights in the 25-shot range and the Avs will win. “It’s what our goal is every night, to limit the amount of shots and keep the team to the outside,” defenseman Devon Toews said. “It’s a five-man group defending. It’s a whole-team community we’ve created in our zone.”

3. Max is back
Winger Max Pacioretty returned to the Vegas lineup Friday for the first time since May 1 and scored the eventual game-winning goal. The Blues had no shot against the Avalanche minus leading scorer David Perron (COVID-19). No such luck in round 2. Pacioretty led the Knights in goals (24) and was second in points (51) and shots on goal (174) in the regular season. “Just writing his name up on the board in the lineup gave our group a lift,” Knights coach Pete DeBoer said after Game 7. “Playing the first six games of the series without him was a hill our group had to climb. It was critical we got him back (Friday). It changed everything.”

4. Secondary scoring
In the first round, 11 Avalanche players scored at least once, including three by Brandon Saad and two by Joonas Donskoi. Vegas had 12 skaters score at least once, including three apiece by Mattias Janmark (all in Game 7) and Alex Tuch and two by Nicolas Roy. The top lines are expected to do top-line things, but the difference could be the production from Lines 2-3 of each team, particularly at even strength. The Avs need more production from second-line winger Andre Burakovsky (one assist) and third-line winger Valeri Nichushkin (empty-net goal); the Knights need more from the second line of Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith (three combined goals in round 1).

5. Win in 4, 5 or 6
Saying this with tongue semi-planted in cheek, the Avalanche must finish this series before it reaches Game 7. Why? Friday’s 6-2 win over Minnesota moved Knights coach Pete DeBoer to 6-0 all-time in Game 7s, a remarkable statistic considering the Avalanche have won only four Game 7s since moving to Denver in 1995 (4-8 record). DeBoer’s San Jose club beat the Avalanche in Game 7 two years ago. Add in Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who has won three career Game 7s, including the Stanley Cup Final at Detroit in 2009, and the Avs might want to avoid a Game 7.

Avs-Knights predictions

Mike Chambers, Avalanche beat writer: This is like the Avs and Red Wings in the late 1990s. The winner of this series will probably be favored to win the Stanley Cup. The Golden Knights can flat-out fly but the Avalanche can’t be stopped with everybody on board. Vegas and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury can steal a game or two but Colorado is too darn good to lose more games than it wins. Avs in six

Sean Keeler, columnist: I believe in Ball Arena. I believe in mojo. I believe in destiny. I believe in Nate, Landy, Mikko, Cale, the Tornado, Joe Sakic’s vision and Jared Bednar’s calm. I believe in the unrelenting storm, the tides of burgundy that rise to lift all boats. Mostly, I believe in Philipp Grubauer. Because as long as he’s the man in blue between the pipes, these Avs can handle anything thrown at them. Fists included. Avalanche in seven

Mark Kiszla, columnist: Well, after umpteen months when the pandemic played havoc with all our regular schedules, including the NHL slate, it’s good to see a sign of normalcy: The Stanley Cup winner will be decided in June. Except this year the champ will be crowned during the playoffs’ second round. If the Avs find a way to beat Vegas, nobody will find a way to stop Colorado from raising the Cup. But who wins this series? Well, that’s a roll of the dice. Avalanche in seven

Ryan O’Halloran, staff writer: The NHL’s two best regular-season teams … meet in the second round. Exhibit 425 of how flawed the league’s playoff format is and will be until the Lords of the Boards get a clue. In a matchup this tight, the tie-breaker is siding with the club which has the best player. Center Nathan MacKinnon scores 13 points in the series as the Avs advance to round 3. Avalanche in six

Matt Schubert, deputy sports editor: If the Avalanche is finally going to advance past the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, goalie Philipp Grubauer will need at least one game in this series. If Game 3 of the Avs’ first-round series sweep of the Blues showed us anything, it’s that the time to doubt Grubi has long since passed. Avalanche in seven