The Vegas Golden Knights erased a 3-0 first-period deficit and beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 in Game 3 on Sunday night, capped when Tomas Hertl scored the go-ahead goal midway through the third period.
Vegas rallied from a three-goal hole after Colorado opened the game with an early 3-0 lead. The comeback began 19 seconds into the second period when Mark Stone converted on the power play, and continued as William Karlsson and Keegan Kolesar scored consecutively in the second to tie the game 3-3. Hertl’s transition finish put Vegas ahead in the third and Brett Howden sealed the result with an empty-net goal with 59 seconds remaining, producing the final 5-3 score.
The sequence underlined how quickly the game flipped: Colorado’s three first-period goals evaporated before the second period was done, and Vegas completed a comeback that was both rare and landmark. It was the first time in franchise history the Golden Knights rallied from a three-goal deficit to win a playoff game, and it marked Vegas’ second consecutive come-from-behind victory in the postseason. The result gives Vegas a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference final.
The turning points were discrete and decisive. Stone’s power-play strike—just 19 seconds into the second period—began the charge. Karlsson followed with the next goal, and Kolesar’s marker evened the score midway through that period. Hertl then finished a transition play against a Colorado defenseman to put Vegas ahead in the third, and Howden’s late empty-netter closed out the comeback and the scoreboard at 5-3.
Not all of the night’s drama arrived in the scoring summaries. At 12:32 of the first period, a potential Vegas goal was reviewed and the call on the ice was upheld: video review concluded an attacking player used his hand to bat the puck, and officials cited Rule 67.6 in rejecting the goal. The league’s official guidance was cited in full: "A goal cannot be scored by an attacking player who bats or directs the puck with his hand into the net," and "A goal cannot be scored by an attacking player who bats or directs the puck and it is deflected into the net off any player, goalkeeper or official." The review erased what would have been an early Vegas tally and left Colorado with a 3-0 edge after the first period.
The statistical beat of the night underscored the shift in momentum. Colorado’s early strike left Vegas trailing by three, but the Golden Knights answered with three consecutive goals in the second period to erase that margin and then built on it in the third. The comeback was complete when Hertl found the net midperiod and Howden added the clinching empty-netter with 59 seconds to go.
Among the heroes for Vegas was tomas hertl, whose third-period finish not only put his team ahead but symbolized the wider turn of the game: a late swing that transformed a 3-0 first-period deficit into a 5-3 victory and a commanding 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference final.
