LAS VEGAS -- There are a number of adjectives that could be applied to how the Golden Knights have found various ways to win in the regular season and playoffs. Vegas coach John Tortorella had his own description.
"This is a game where we showed some balls," the man known as Torts said after the Golden Knights' latest Houdini act.
Tomas Hertl weaved his way toward the slot and broke a tie at 8:21 of the third period as the Golden Knights overcame a three-goal deficit Sunday night to beat Colorado 5-3 and move to within a victory of their third Stanley Cup Final appearance in nine years.
"It wasn't a great first period for us," Hertl told ESPN's Emily Kaplan after the game on the Vegas bench. "But like all season, we knew we could do it. We've come back so many times. This team ... we just never quit."
Vegas, which trailed 3-0 after the first period, was 0-19 in the playoffs when behind that many goals. The Avalanche were 74-1 when holding such a lead.
"It obviously feels really good right now, but we're playing a hell of a hockey team," Golden Knights forward Mitch Marner said. "We know that the next game is going to be even tougher now. Enjoy this for the next 10 minutes, 30 minutes, go home and then try to take care of yourself, and do what you got to do to be ready tomorrow."
The Golden Knights go for what would be a stunning sweep over the Presidents' Trophy winners Tuesday night. Chicago in 2013 was the last team to win the Presidents' Trophy and the Stanley Cup in the same season.
"We still need one more," Hertl told Kaplan. "For us, we need everyone. It's not just one guy or two guys. But this is a huge win for us."
Colorado will try to become only the fifth team to win a series after falling behind 3-0. Los Angeles in 2014 was the most recent team to accomplish that in eliminating San Jose in their first-round series on its way to a Stanley Cup title.
"As low as it can get," Avalanche coach Jared Bednar said of the team's emotions. "It's a big hill to climb. The next 24-to-36 hours is for ... you've got to find a way to get over it, regroup and go again."
Colorado has other concerns because front-line center Nathan MacKinnon might not be fully healthy going forward. MacKinnon, who has 15 points this postseason and led the league in the regular season with 53 goals, took a puck to his right knee in the second period and played through the injury.
That comes just as the Avalanche got back star defenseman Cale Makar, who sat out the first two games this series because of an upper-body injury.
Vegas keeps finding aways, going this deep into the postseason despite being outshot in 11 of 15 games, including now nine in a row. The Golden Knights erased deficits the past two games against Colorado, though Game 2 was just 1-0.
Hertl, Mark Stone and William Karlsson each had a goal and assist. Keegan Kolesar and Brett Howden scored the other Golden Knights goals, and Marner and Kaedan Korczak each tallied two assists. Carter Hart made 32 saves.
Stone's goal came on his first appearance since suffering a lower-body injury in Game 3 of the second-round series against Anaheim. Kolesar, who had gone 37 playoff games without a goal, picked up his first point of the postseason.
Gabriel Landeskog, Nazem Kadri and Jack Drury scored for the Avalanche, and Devon Toews had two assists. Scott Wedgewood stopped 18 shots.
The Avalanche dominated the first period by taking a 3-0 lead, but the Golden Knights thought they had cut the deficit to 2-1 when Pavel Dorofeyev appeared to score a power-play goal with 7:26 left. Officials immediately waved it off and the decision was upheld on video review.
Colorado then made the Golden Knights pay when Drury found himself alone on a breakaway, deking Vegas goalie Hart to score a short-handed goal with 6:45 left for the three-goal lead.
But the Golden Knights didn't let the two-goal swing trouble them too much, with Stone's power-play goal 19 seconds into the second period sparking a three-goal answer to tie the score heading into the final period of regulation.
Then Hertl broke the deadlock -- and now the Golden Knights need to win only one of four games.
"I want them to feel it for a little bit, as far as what they just did against a really good hockey club," Tortorella said, "but then we get back to work."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
