LAS VEGAS \u2014 It was a comeback for the ages.<\/p>\n
In a season for the Vegas Golden Knights that has been defined by come-from-behind victories, Sunday night may have been the most impressive of all.<\/p>\n
Down 3-0 after 20 minutes in Game 3 to a Colorado Avalanche team that was playing with energy and desperation, the Knights dusted themselves off, regrouped and proceeded to put a stranglehold on the Western Conference Final with a 5-3 win at T-Mobile Arena and take a 3-0 series lead in the best-of-7 matchup with the NHL\u2019s President\u2019s Trophy winners.<\/p>\n
Vegas will get a chance to wrap things up Tuesday night at home and earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Finale for the third time in the nine-year history of the franchise.<\/p>\n
Think about that for a second. Three chances to play for hockey\u2019s ultimate prize and an opportunity to win it for the second time after raising the Cup in 2023.<\/p>\n
That simply doesn\u2019t happen in sports, especially in today\u2019s world of salary caps, free agency and world-wide talent pools from which to build rosters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a game where we showed some balls,\u201d Knights coach John Tortorella said as Vegas won for the fifth time in the postseason coming from behind and the 26th for the overall regular season and playoffs. \u201cTwo good teams going at it. I\u2019m proud of our club.\u201d<\/p>\n
While the Avs were welcoming back their star defenseman Cale Makar<\/a> to the lineup, the Knights were doing likewise with their captain, Mark Stone<\/a>, who had been battling a lower body injury sustained in Game 3 of the second round against Anaheim<\/a> on May 8 and hadn\u2019t played since.<\/p>\n As has been the case numerous times in the past, Stone returned without much, if any rust in his game. He scored the first Vegas goal 19 seconds into the second period on the power play and he assisted on what would be the game-winning goal as he made a nice feed to Tomas Hertl<\/a>, who put a great move on the Colorado defense then lofted a backhand over Scott Edgewood\u2019s shoulder and into the net with 11:39 remaining.<\/p>\n \u201cI felt like (Saturday) there was no reason not to jump back in,\u201d said Stone of the timing surrounding his return. \u201cI felt pretty good and I always want to play. I don\u2019t like sitting and watching.\u201d<\/p>\n The Avs felt the same way about Makar, who played a team-high 28:34 and had three shots and six blocks. But he was unable to dent the scoresheet.<\/p>\n \u201cCale was good,\u201d Colorado coach Jared Bednar said. \u201cHe came back and did the things you expect him to do.\u201d<\/p>\n But Makar didn\u2019t seem 100 percent. He relied mostly on his wrist shot to get the puck goalward and it was noticeable that he didn\u2019t get much lift using his stick.<\/p>\n And when the Avs\u2019 Nathan MacKinnon<\/a> went down after blocking Shea Theodore<\/a>\u2019s shot with his right knee in the second period and returned less than 100 percent himself, Colorado was at a distinct disadvantage. By then, the Knights had cut the deficit to 3-2 and had brought life back into the sellout crowd of 18,212.<\/p>\n Then Keegan Kolesar<\/a> picked the most opportune time to score his first goal of the postseason, scoring in close to tie the game 3-3 after Dylan Coghlan<\/a> and Kaedan Korczak<\/a> set him up. Korczak would also start the process by which Hertl would score as he got the puck to Stone with a poised play from his own end that led to Stone setting up Hertl.<\/p>\n Brett Howden<\/a>, who is having an amazing postseason, sealed the deal with an empty net goal with 57.9 seconds left. He has 10 goals, tying Pavel Dorofeyev<\/a> for the team and league\u00a0lead. \u201cWe kept our composure and Carter made some big saves to keep us in it,\u201d Tortorella said of his goaltender, who has started all 15 games in this year\u2019s playoffs .<\/p>\n The one setback for Vegas may be forward Cole Smith<\/a> who left the game after taking a hard hit from Brent Burns<\/a> in the third period and did not return until the very late stages. It appeared Smith was holding his wrist or his hand as he headed down the tunnel. His availability for Game 4 Tuesday is not known.<\/p>\n If he can\u2019t go, expect to see Brandon Saad<\/a> return to the lineup though Reilly Smith<\/a>, who hasn\u2019t played since May 1 in the first-round series-clincher vs. Utah could be an option.<\/p>\n But it didn\u2019t deter the Knights, who have gotten pretty good at this come-from-behind stuff.<\/p>\n \u201cFalling behind 3-0 isn\u2019t the ideal way to play,\u201d Stone said. \u201cBut you\u2019ve got to keep playing. Experience matters but we\u2019ve ben in tough spots and managed to get out of them.\u201d<\/p>\n Hertl said: \u201cWe\u2019ve come back so many times. Even down 3-0 in the first we knew we could come back. We have so many great players. We just needed you play smarter and more aggressive.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s always nice to score goals but it\u2019s all about winning the game.\u201d \u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThey just got more competitive and we didn\u2019t match their intensity,\u201d Bender said of the second period when the Knights rallied. \u201cIf you make a mistake, they capitalize. It was not a good period for us.\u201d For Bednar, can he get his guys mentally ready knowing they have to win four straight to keep their season alive?<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s low. It\u2019s as low as it can get,\u201d he said of the mood in his locker room following the loss in Game 3. \u201cWe\u2019ve got to find a way to get them up.\u201d<\/p>\n For Tortorella, it\u2019s about keeping his team on the same even keel it has been on throughout this run. He doesn\u2019t want to hear talk about brooms and sweeps or anything like that.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t get carried away,\u201d he said. \u201cThey\u2019re a good team. They\u2019re not going away. We\u2019ll get together at 11 a.m., look at tape and get ready (for Tuesday).\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"LAS VEGAS \u2014 It was a comeback for the ages. 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And while the Knights were ramping things up offensively, Carter Hart<\/a> was closing the door on Colorado at the other end. He was blitzed for three goals in the first, then didn\u2019t surrender another the rest of the way, finishing with 32 saves.<\/p>\n
\u00a0
So while both teams deal with physical issues impacting their rosters heading into Tuesday, there\u2019s a psychological factor at play too.<\/p>\n