Cole Smith also scored, and Carter Hart made 20 saves for the Golden Knights, who are the No. 1 seed from the Pacific Division.
“You go through an 82-game season, you’re going to have adversity,” Stone, the Golden Knights captain, told Sportsnet. “I think that’s helped us build to where we are right now. We never wavered, especially in this playoffs.
“We’ve been down, but we’ve always found a way to bounce back. Listen, we’re as surprised as everybody that we’re sitting here at four straight, but just the consistency and the will to win from our team has been awesome since we started the playoffs.”
Vegas will play either the Montreal Canadiens or Carolina Hurricanes in the Cup Final. The Hurricanes lead that best-of-7 series 2-1.
“I think our team just stays steady,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella told Sportsnet. “First couple rounds, we were down in one of the rounds … I think they just steady themselves and they just play. I know people are tired of hearing that, but that’s all we talk about is let’s just go play.”
Gabriel Landeskog scored, and Mackenzie Blackwood made 24 saves in his first start of the series for the Avalanche, who were the Presidents' Trophy winners.
Colorado coach Jared Bednar said his team ran into a “buzz saw” in facing Vegas.
“I think they deserve the credit,” he said of the Golden Knights, “and it’s not a knock on our guys and how hard we played, but they’re a well-oiled machine right now peaking at the right time.”
Stone gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead at 4:42 of the first period. He gloved down a high flip from Brayden McNabb in the neutral zone, skated in on a breakaway, and used a backhand-to-forehand move to beat the left pad of Blackwood.
Stone had a goal and an assist in his return in Game 3, a 5-3 win on Sunday, after missing five games with a lower-body injury.
Smith extended the lead to 2-0 at 14:15 of the third period, redirecting Dylan Coghlan's shot from the point through Blackwood’s five-hole.
Landeskog cut it to 2-1 at 17:57 with Blackwood pulled for an extra attacker. He deflected Martin Necas’ shot from the point down off the ice and over the blocker of Hart.
Avalanche forward Valeri Nichushkin did not play because of a lower-body injury.
