Golden Knights erase 3-goal deficit, on verge of sweeping Avalanche in Western Final

LAS VEGAS -- Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal at 8:21 of the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights came back from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday.

The Golden Knights lead 3-0 in the best-of-7 series. Game 4 is here on Tuesday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

“They're not afraid. Something we've tried to stress is don't be afraid to make a mistake,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “They're not afraid of any of that. I think they just have an uncanny ability to stay together. … Having said all that, we can't get too carried away. It's a very important win for us, the kind we want.”

On the go-ahead goal, Mark Stone bumped the puck to Hertl through the neutral zone. Hertl then skated to the center of the ice and released a backhand that beat Scott Wedgewood blocker side to put Vegas in front 4-3.

“I could see him coming up the wing. He's flying. So, I gave him the little bump,” said Stone, who also had an assist in his return after missing five games with a lower-body injury. “Actually didn't see the goal. I was always changing. Once I got to the bench, it went crazy.”

It was Vegas’ first lead of the game after going down 3-0 just 13:15 into the first period.

“All season we've been down many times, and we never quit,” Hertl said. “Even when we've been down 3-0, we knew we could do it because that's our team. We have great players. … We scored right away. We put doubt in their heads because they know they need this win tonight. We just started playing better, a little smarter, a little more aggressive, and scored a couple of key goals and got it done.”

Hertl and William Karlsson each had a goal and an assist, and Mitch Marner and Kaedan Korczak each had two assists for the Golden Knights, who are the No. 1 seed from the Pacific Division. Carter Hart made 32 saves.

“I’ve always believed in the team, believed in the group,” said Stone, Vegas’ captain. “That we can accomplish what we need to accomplish, no matter what things have been said of us. We, as a 23- or 25-man group, whoever's in that locker room, we believe that we can compete. Not going to win every night, but if we put our best foot forward, there's still a feeling that we have a chance to win a game.”

Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri, and Jack Drury scored, and Wedgewood made 18 saves for the Avalanche, who won the Presidents’ Trophy as the team with the best record during the regular season.

“Everyone's down and in the dumps right now,” Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. “That's what the next 36 hours are for, to get our team back to where our focus is in the right place. … You just got to break it down, a shift at a time, five at a time, a period at a time, a game at a time.”

Stone started Vegas' comeback when he cut it to 3-1 with a power-play goal just 19 seconds into the second period. He redirected a pass from Marner past Wedgewood’s left skate.

Karlsson pulled Vegas to within 3-2 at 4:05. Avalanche forward Parker Kelly couldn’t control a rebound and the puck landed on the stick of Karlsson, whose shot snuck by Wedgewood.

Keegan Kolesar tied the game 3-3 at 12:46. Kolesar’s tip attempt of Dylan Coghlan's shot deflected off the right post, but Wedgewood was moving in the opposite direction, allowing Kolesar to tap the puck into an open net.

After Hertl gave Vegas the lead, Brett Howden scored an empty-net goal at 19:01 of the third period for the 5-3 final.

Landeskog scored during a delayed penalty at 3:21 of the first period to give the Avalanche a 1-0 lead. Devon Toews won a footrace against Noah Hanifin, who hooked him on a partial breakaway. Toews still managed to get a shot off, which Hart saved, but Landeskog was there to knock the rebound into the net.

Kadri pushed it to 2-0 at 7:03. Josh Manson found Martin Necas with a stretch pass through the neutral zone, and Necas then spun around and fed Kadri, who beat Hart blocker side.

“Three straight hockey games where we feel good about where we're at. Good spot on the road in a tough building,” Landeskog said. “I think we keep rolling it, but they score on individual effort. We threw everything we had at them, and it didn't bounce our way tonight.”

Pavel Dorofeyev thought he had cut it to 2-1 at 12:32, but the officials ruled that he used his hand to bat in the puck, and the call was confirmed by video review. 

Drury made it 3-0 at 13:15, scoring on a short-handed breakaway.

Cale Makar returned for the Avalanche after missing the first two games of the series with an upper-body injury. He played 27:14 and had three shots on goal.

“Our season is on the line,” Makar said. “... I felt like it was desperate at times, but as I said, it was just that we gave them a couple too many opportunities. They capitalized on that."