Las Vegas, NV — Tomas Hertl delivered the decisive blow midway through the third period as the Vegas Golden Knights erased an early three-goal deficit to defeat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 on Sunday night, moving one victory away from another trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
Hertl sliced through traffic before burying the go-ahead goal at the 8:21 mark of the third period, capping a remarkable comeback by Vegas after a disastrous opening frame.
The Golden Knights now hold a commanding 3-0 series lead and will attempt to complete a stunning sweep Tuesday night against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Avalanche.
Vegas entered the night with an 0-19 postseason record when trailing by three goals, while Colorado had historically dominated in those situations, holding a 74-1 playoff mark when leading by at least three. None of that mattered once the Golden Knights found their rhythm after the first intermission.
Mark Stone, Hertl and William Karlsson each finished with a goal and an assist for Vegas. Keegan Kolesar and Brett Howden also scored, while Mitch Marner and Kaedan Korczak contributed two assists apiece.
Goaltender Carter Hart steadied Vegas after the rough start and finished with 32 saves.
Colorado came out dominant in the opening period, jumping ahead 3-0 behind goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and Jack Drury.
The Avalanche appeared fully in control after a dramatic sequence late in the first period. Vegas thought it had cut the deficit when Pavel Dorofeyev appeared to score on the power play, but officials immediately waved off the goal, and video review upheld the call.
Moments later, Colorado capitalized on the momentum swing as Drury broke free on a short-handed breakaway and beat Hart to extend the Avalanche lead to three.
But the Golden Knights responded quickly in the second period.
Stone, returning to the lineup after missing time with a lower-body injury suffered during the second round against Anaheim, scored just 19 seconds into the middle period to ignite the comeback. Vegas continued to pressure Colorado throughout the period, eventually netting three unanswered goals to tie the game entering the third.
Kolesar also ended a lengthy playoff scoring drought, recording his first postseason goal after going 37 playoff games without finding the net.
Hertl finally delivered the breakthrough in the third period, sending the home crowd into a frenzy and leaving the Avalanche searching for answers.
Colorado’s concerns now extend beyond the series score. Superstar center Nathan MacKinnon appeared to suffer a right knee injury after taking a puck off the leg during the second period. Although he remained in the game, his health moving forward could become a major storyline for the Avalanche.
The Avalanche had already welcomed back star defenseman Cale Makar, who returned after missing the first two games of the series with an upper-body injury.
Devon Toews added two assists for Colorado, while goaltender Scott Wedgewood made 18 saves in the loss.
Before puck drop, the arena held a moment of silence honoring late NASCAR champion Kyle Busch, the Las Vegas native who died Thursday at age 41 following complications from severe pneumonia and sepsis.
Now, with the series shifting toward a possible sweep, Vegas stands one win away from its third Stanley Cup Final appearance in franchise history.
