The Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche have faced very little adversity so far this postseason. They swept the Los Angeles Kings without much ado, and dispatched the Minnesota Wild in just five games. But after blowing a three-goal lead in Game 3 to fall behind 3-0 to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final, the Avalanche are learning just how quickly snow melts in the deserts of Nevada.
This time last week, the Avalanche were a team destined for greatness, and for their second Stanley Cup in five years. Nearly every writer and analyst in the hockey world predicted this series going in the other direction, and for good reason.
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What everyone failed to take into account is just how much the Golden Knights thrive on being counted out.
Game 4 of the Western Conference Final is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. PST on Tuesday.
When the Golden Knights were down 2-0, Pavel Dorofeyev scored on the power play to cut the Avalanche’s lead in half. Or, at least, he thought he did. Instead, the goal was waved off, and the officials upheld the call on the ice. Just 36 seconds later, Jack Drury scored shorthanded to give his team an insurmountable 3-0 lead.
As it turned out, that insurmountable three-goal lead wasn’t insurmountable in the slightest.
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“The period ends,” said Mark Stone following the win. “That’s probably the best thing that happened to us— the period ends.”
In a year where miraculous comebacks were the norm, the Golden Knights did something tonight that they failed to do all season: they came back from a three-goal deficit. And they did so against an Avalanche team that was 52-0-0 with a multi-goal lead.
Golden Knights Captain Mark Stone returned to the lineup for Game 3 after missing the previous five games with a lower-body injury. He slotted in on the third line with Tomáš Hertl and Colton Sissons and made his impact felt almost immediately. He threw four hits in his 15:45 TOI, jump-started the comeback with his power play goal, and assisted on Hertl’s game-winner.
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“He does a lot for our team, on the ice and off the ice,” said Mitch Marner postgame. “His leadership, the intensity he brings to every game… It’s big to have 61 back. It’s great to have him in the locker room.”
Of course, no one is happier about Stone’s return to the lineup than Stone himself.
“I don’t like watching, ever,” said Stone following the 5-3 win. “I want to play every game. It’s been an unfortunate part of my career, sitting out. But this time of year, it definitely is harder.”
Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella had just one thing to say about his team following the 5-3 comeback win.
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“This was a game where we showed some balls,” Tortorella said postgame. “I want them to feel it for a little bit, as far as what they just did against a really good hockey club.”
Tortorella was absolutely right. Facing a three-goal deficit against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Colorado Avalanche in the first period, the Golden Knights easily could have folded. They didn’t.
Instead, they chipped away at Colorado’s lead, gaining more and more confidence with every goal. The Golden Knights were an avalanche, and the Avalanche– who were such a powerhouse during the regular season and in the first two rounds of the playoffs– were powerless to stop it.
“We’re a team that doesn’t have any quit,” said Mitch Marner following the 5-3 win. “We want to make sure every game, regardless of the score, we’re fighting and trying to come back.”
