In what is turning out to be one of the most stunning playoff series in recent NHL history, the Vegas Golden Knights took a commanding 3-0 lead over the Colorado Avalanche in the Western Conference Final.
Vegas did so by erasing a three-goal first-period deficit on its way to a 5-3 win.
It now has the Golden Knights one win away from their third trip to the Stanley Cup Final in their first nine years of existence, and the Avalanche just one loss away from what would be a potentially stunning exit.
Here are some of the biggest winners and losers from Sunday’s game.
Sunday’s winners
Mark Stone, Vegas Golden Knights. What made the Golden Knights’ first two wins in the series so impressive is that they did it without the services of Stone, one of their best all-around players. He returned to the lineup on Sunday and made a huge impact, scoring a goal to help jumpstart Vegas’ comeback and adding an assist.
Vegas’ resilience. It’s not so much that Vegas was facing pressure in this game. It had a 2-0 series lead returning home, and even if it drops one of these two home games, it is still going to be in a great position in the series.
But when the Golden Knights fell into a 3-0 hole in the first period and looked to be in the process of getting run out of its own building, there was some reason for concern for their ability to win Game 3. And then they just flipped the switch, started to chip away, and then gradually took over the game and proceeded to break Colorado’s spirit.
Another two-point game for Mitch Marner. The man just keeps adding points to his postseason performance and continues to make his case for the Conn Smythe trophy.
Marner had two assists in Sunday’s game and is now up to seven goals, 14 assists and a league-leading 21 total points in the playoffs.
Sunday’s losers
Scott Wedgewood, Colorado Avalanche. Wedgewood is not the only problem for the Avalanche; he might not even be the biggest problem, but make no mistake, his play has been a problem in this series. And it was again on Sunday as a three-goal lead slipped away. The Golden Knights generated just 1.54 expected goals during 5-on-5 play on Sunday. They scored three goals in those minutes. That’s a bad night for Wedgewood.
Colorado potentially being swept. It would not be totally unheard of for a Presidents’ Trophy winner to be swept out of the playoffs, but it would certainly be rare. It has happened just two times since the award started to be handed out. The 2019 Tampa Bay Lightning and 2022 Florida Panthers are the only two teams to have that happen.
That reality has helped produce some understandable anxiety for Avalanche players.