– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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LAS VEGAS — There seemed to be panic surrounding the Las Vegas Knights just 55 days ago, when a precipitous slide in the Western Conference standings prompted their front office to fire the coach who brought them to Stanley Cup glory just three seasons ago, Bruce Cassidy, in favor of another former Cup winner, John Tortorella.
Fast forward to Sunday night, and panic surely was setting in when Vegas, with a 2-0 series lead, let in the first three goals of the game and all but ceded momentum in the Western Conference Finals series.
On both occasions, what appeared to be panic was actually another scenario where the Golden Knights have thrived the most, when their collective backs are against the wall. The calm that Vegas has shown since March 30, and especially on Sunday night, has the team and the town on the edge of euphoria after they moved one step closer to playing once again on the National Hockey League’s biggest stage.
Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal at 8:21 of the third period, and the Vegas Golden Knights came back from a three-goal deficit to defeat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final at T-Mobile Arena on Sunday night. The stirring win against the Presidents’ Trophy winners has given Vegas a 3-0 lead in the best-of-7 series, with the Golden Knights’ first chance to reach the 2026 Stanley Cup Final coming in Game 4 on Tuesday.
“They’re not afraid. Something we’ve tried to stress is don’t be afraid to make a mistake,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “They’re not afraid of any of that. I think they just have an uncanny ability to stay together. Having said all that, we can’t get too carried away. It’s a very important win for us, the kind we want.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday evening’s game, with photos taken by staff photographer Arnie Bazemore. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 13 pictures in total.
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