Western Conference Final
Vegas Golden Knights at Colorado Avalanche
Game 1 – 8:00 PM ET
REFEREES |
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Francis Charron #6 |
Wes McCauley #4 |
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| Games ’25-26 (RS/PO) | 76 / 8 | 77 / 9 | ||||
| Career Games (RS/PO) | 882 / 112 | 1517 / 229 | ||||
| First NHL Game | 4/5/10 | 1/20/03 | ||||
| First Playoff Game | 4/18/14 | 4/12/07 | ||||
| Birthplace | Ottawa, ON | Georgetown, ON | ||||
| Goals/Gm | 6.3 (11) | 6.1 (17) | 6.1 (22) | 6.2 (10) | ||||
| PP Opp/Gm | 6.3 (4) | 5.1 (38) | 5.4 (33) | 5.4 (16) | ||||
| PPG/Gm | 1.5 (3) | 1.1 (27) | 1.1 (32) | 1.2 (19) | ||||
| Penl/Gm | 7.7 (9) | 6.3 (35) | 7.1 (27) | 7.0 (16) | ||||
| PIM/Gm | 17.9 (22) | 6.3 (30) | 17.7 (26) | 16.7 (14) | ||||
| % of Penl on Home | 50.2% (5) | 50.0% (5) | 47.2% (19) | 50.0% (16) | ||||
| % PP Opp for Home | 49.3% (34) | 50.0% (37) | 51.1% (27) | 50.0% (24) | ||||
| Penl Diff.* | 1.2 (35) | 1.2 (30) | 1.4 (9) | 1.4 (10) | ||||
| Home Win % | 51% (35) | 63% (17) | 50% (37) | 68% (4) | ||||
| Home Rec. | 30-28-17 | 41-22-10 | 13-14-4 | 45-19-10 | ||||
| OT/SO Games | 36.0% (2) | 20.0% (15) | 32.9% (4) | 20.0% (29) | ||||
| Team Records | 25-26 | 24-25 | 23-24 | 25-26 | 24-25 | 23-24 |
| VGK | 2-0-1 | 1-3-1 | 2-0-0 | 2-1-2 | 3-3-0 | 2-3-1 |
| COL | 2-0-1 | 2-1-1 | 1-3-1 | 4-0-0 | 1-3-0 | 4-2-0 |
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Ryan Gibbons #58 |
Trent Knorr #74 |
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| Games ’25-26 (RS/PO) | 77 / 8 | 78 / 7 | ||||
| Career Games (RS/PO) | 790 / 92 | 850 / 49 | ||||
| First NHL Game | 10/8/15 | 11/13/13 | ||||
| First Playoff Game | 4/12/17 | 4/12/17 | ||||
| Birthplace | Vancouver, BC | Powell River, BC | ||||
Tonight’s officials are paired up for the first time this postseason.
Referee Wes McCauley is going back-to-back. After closing out Round 2 at Game 7 of Canadiens vs. Sabres, he gets the call for Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.
McCauley started the playoffs alongside Brandon Blandina at OTT/CAR Game 1, MIN/DAL Game 2, TBL/MTL Game 4, and EDM/ANA Game 6. He also worked with Chris Rooney at TBL/MTL Game 7 (MTL W 2-1). In Round 2, McCauley skated with Pierre Lambert for MTL/BUF Game 1, CAR/PHI Game 4, and ANA/VGK Game 5 (VGK W 3-2 OT), as well as with Jean Hebert for MTL/BUF Game 7.
Referee Francis Charron worked the opening round with Jon McIsaac, refereeing BOS/BUF Game 1, OTT/CAR Game 3, PHI/PIT Game 5, and MTL/TBL Game 6. He was paired up with Gord Dwyer in the second round, officiating PHI/CAR Game 2, ANA/VGK Game 4, MIN/COL Game 5 (COL W 4-3 OT), and BUF/MTL Game 6.
Linespersons Ryan Gibbons and Trent Knorr have worked together since the second round. Gibbons was paired up with Libor Suchanek in Round 1, while Knorr worked alongside Tyson Baker in the first round.
Games: PS (Preseason); RS (Regular Season); PO (Playoffs)
Stats/Numbers: ’25-26 avg. (’25-26 rank) | ’24-25 avg. (’24-25 rank)
Number in orange/parentheses indicated referee’s rank among active officials.
* Penalty Differential represents the absolute value of the variance of penalty calls by team per game. If Team A takes two more penalties (or two fewer) than Team B, this is a 2. Lower numbers indicate less variance between total penalties in a game – that is, a closer number of calls for both teams.
We’ve also got new rules, new refs, promoted officials, and an updated pronunciation guide for 2025-26.
The NHL officials working the second round of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs:
NHL Officials Advancing to Round 2 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Playoffs
