Golden Knights find patience pays off entering Game 3 of Western Final

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights have displayed the qualities of a strong team through two-plus rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

They’ve shown skill, resilience and plenty of patience, too. That last one enabled them to rally with three goals in the third period and defeat the Colorado Avalanche 3-1 in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final in Denver on Friday.

The Golden Knights never were flustered and stuck with the game plan, even after trailing 1-0 following a tough second period that saw them manage only four shots on goal.

“Patience isn’t being on your heels,” coach John Tortorella said Saturday. “You still have to be on your toes, but you also have to let the game come to you sometimes.”

Forward Jack Eichel scored the tying goal at 9:15 of the third period, and Ivan Barbashev followed up with two more goals to help the Golden Knights take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 3 is here on Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN, SN, TVAS, CBC).

"We're just trying to stay with it," forward William Karlsson said. "There's momentum swings in a game."

Having patience in the face of deficits has been one of Vegas’ defining traits this season. 

The Golden Knights gave up the first goal in 48 games during the regular season. They ranked second in the NHL in time trailing (1,965:10), behind the Vancouver Canucks (2,200:10), who were last in the League standings. They were also minus-24 in goal differential through two periods.

"There's no panic," Tortorella said. "They settle themselves down, and they know what to do. We may have a couple of things that we need to rectify, whether it be X's and O's, whatever it may be, but they just go out and do it."

Late in the game is when the Golden Knights show the benefits of even-keeled play.

In the third period, they led the NHL in goals (108) and allowed the second fewest (61). They also outshot teams 803-597 (plus-206) in the third, a League-high margin. Vegas earned 10 third-period comeback wins, finishing tied for second with the Montreal Canadiens, with that total accounting for about a quarter of the Golden Knights’ 39 regular-season victories. They lead the NHL with four more such wins in these playoffs.

"We're just trying to play hockey," Tortorella said. "We're trying to get better each and every game, each and every period. … It's not science. It's just trying to play better. This group understands how to go about it."

More importantly, Vegas doesn’t deviate too far from what has made it successful, especially when playing a dangerous team like Colorado.

“You don’t want to open yourself up and start doing crazy stuff and opening yourself up,” Tortorella said. “That team will make you pay.”

The Golden Knights also have the poise to control the pace of the game when they have the lead. They were 23-0-3 during the regular season when leading after two periods and are 7-0 this postseason in the same circumstance.

Now the Golden Knights are two wins away from their third Stanley Cup Final appearance in nine seasons. They’re not just surviving bad stretches, they're making a habit of overcoming them.

"We haven't really been too stressed in either situation we've been in," defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. "We just keep chipping away, shift by shift. That's the mentality you have to have in the playoffs."