The Vegas Golden Knights rallied from a three-goal deficit to beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday night at T-Mobile Arena, taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series. Colorado struck first and quickly built a 3-0 advantage in the opening period behind goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and Jack Drury, with Drury’s score coming shorthanded on a breakaway.
Vegas began its comeback early in the second period when Mark Stone scored on the power play just 19 seconds into the frame. William Karlsson cut the deficit to one later in the period by finishing a rebound, and Keegan Kolesar tied the game 3-3 with a tip-in goal off Dylan Coghlan’s point shot. The Golden Knights completed the rally in the third period when Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal on a rush, weaving around a defender before lifting a backhand shot over the goalie’s blocker for what proved to be the winner. Brett Howden added an empty-net goal in the final minute to seal the victory.
Carter Hart made 32 saves on 35 shots to help preserve the comeback, including 19 stops over the final two periods. Hertl finished with a goal and an assist and was named the game’s first star. Stone also had a two-point night in his return to the lineup and reached his 40th playoff goal as a Golden Knight, the most in franchise history. Mitch Marner recorded two assists, extending his postseason production and becoming one of only a few players in NHL history to reach at least 14 assists in his team’s first 15 playoff games. Karlsson scored his first goal since returning to the lineup and finished plus-3, while Kolesar netted his first goal of the postseason.
The victory carried additional significance for Vegas, which completed its first three-goal comeback in franchise playoff history and became the 10th team in NHL history to take a 3-0 series lead against a Presidents’ Trophy winner. The Golden Knights have now won the first three games of the series and are one win away from advancing. Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday at 6 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena. The series continues with potential Game 5 in Colorado, followed by Game 6 in Las Vegas and Game 7 back in Denver if necessary.
