Golden Knights continue amazing ride with Game 3 win against Kings

LOS ANGELES -- Of all the wins the Vegas Golden Knights have earned in their incredible inaugural season, this was the most impressive.

RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Kings series coverage]
Not because of what they did, as impressive as it was, but because of how they did it.
"This is a team that really battled back," defenseman Nate Schmidt said.
The Golden Knights defeated the Los Angeles Kings 3-2 at Staples Center on Sunday and took a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference First Round.
They became the third team to win at least its first three games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, after the 1970 Pittsburgh Penguins (four wins) and 1996 Florida Panthers, and first to do it in its inaugural season.
And they did it even though they trailed 1-0 after the second period and went on the penalty kill to start the third after being outshot 22-17, getting roughed up and losing their composure.

Kings center Anze Kopitar cross-checked Golden Knights forward Erik Haula in the back and fell on him. Haula swung his left arm and didn't connect. He swung his right arm and hit Kopitar in the face, but he didn't get caught.
Then Kings defenseman Drew Doughty smacked Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault in the back of the head twice. Marchessault went after him and got called for high sticking with two seconds left in the period.
Doughty taunted him, staring at him on the ice and clapping his gloves, then looking at him in the penalty box and tapping his right index finger against his temple.
"You've got to stay disciplined," Vegas forward James Neal said. "[Marchessault] knows that, for sure."
The Golden Knights went to the locker room and cooled off.
"They're an experienced team," Schmidt said. "They know what to do. They know how to win games. They've got a lot of guys who have gone a long ways in the playoffs, all the way to the end. It really just takes a little bit extra in the room to calm everybody down and realize this is going to happen. You've got to push through adversity like that."
The Golden Knights came back and killed the penalty.
Cody Eakin had a shot blocked by Kings defenseman Dion Phaneuf in the slot. Forward Ryan Carpenter pounced on the puck and passed it from left to right, and Eakin buried it at 6:10 before Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick could slide over.
Game tied 1-1.
"To see that puck go in felt really good," Eakin said.
Neal made a nice move to elude Kings defenseman Oscar Fantenberg along the right-wing wall. Suddenly, a world-class goal-scorer had a clear path to the net. Neal looked up, found an opening low and slipped the puck under Quick at 14:23.

The Golden Knights led 2-1.
"You want to score big goals, for sure," Neal said. "I think when you do the right things, if you're finishing your checks, you're playing well defensively, the goals will come. I've been in enough of those games, I feel like if you stick with it, you'll get your chance. It felt good to get one."
Seconds later, Marchessault lost a face-off in the right circle in the Kings zone. But forward Reilly Smith beat two defenders to the puck and centered it before anyone knew what happened. Center William Karlsson was alone in front and scored at 14:44.
Suddenly, the Golden Knights led 3-1.
"That's just a relentless work ethic," Eakin said. "We skated through a lot of checks."
The Kings' strengths are their physicality and defense. But the Golden Knights weathered them and used their strengths: speed, depth and offense. Each of their top three lines scored.
"We've played the same way all year," forward David Perron said. "We roll four lines, and we try to create situations that's going to end up into offensive chances and playing the right way all game.
"They really came out really hard. We don't expect anything different. They're a great team over there with a great goalie and some great players. We expect the exact same thing next game, and we're hoping to provide the same effort and the same composure to not get involved in it too much."
Kopitar scored on a deflection with 2:04 remaining, but the Golden Knights held on and set up a potential sweep in Game 4 here Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, TVAS, PRIME, ATTSN-RM).
Asked if this was the sweetest win of the season considering the circumstances, Schmidt smiled.
"I'll tell you after next game," Schmidt said.