Graney: Fearless Golden Knights tame giant again for 3-0 series lead

Patience might be a virtue, but it’s also why the Vegas Golden Knights are a win from the Stanley Cup Final.

Because this is who they are.

Because no matter the circumstance of any game, they just refuse to die.

Again. Yet again.

Given the moment, the Knights staged the most impressive of comebacks on Sunday night in beating Colorado 5-3 in front of 18,212 wild fans at T-Mobile Arena.

The situation: Vegas holds a 3-0 lead in a best-of-seven Western Conference Final series and can wrap things up with a victory in Game 4 here on Tuesday.

“This is a game where we showed some balls,” Knights coach John Tortorella said. “I want them to (celebrate) it a little as far as what they just did against a really good hockey club and then get back to work.”

Flatline. Never too high or low. It has been calling cards for these Knights all season, and terms Tortorella has consistently used to describe the room since taking over with eight games left in the regular season.

This was the ultimate test for all of it.

And the Knights passed with flying colors.

A giant awoke

Fact: They trailed Colorado 3-0 after one period. For those 20 minutes, a giant awoke. The winners of a Presidents’ Trophy for having the league’s best record during the regular season looked every bit the part.

They played with a desperation you expect from a team down 2-0 in the series and on the road for the first time in it.

It was all Avalanche to start.

It was 6-1 in shots. Then 7-1. Then 8-1. Then 9-1.

The Knights had some chances but couldn’t convert. Things really were going Colorado’s way when an apparent Pavel Dorofeyev power-play goal was disallowed when it was deemed he hit the puck with his hand.

Shortly after, the Avalanche tallied a short-handed score for their 3-0 advantage.

There was no buzz in the building. Nothing to cheer for.

“We knew there was a lot of time left in the game,” Knights forward Mitch Marner said. “We’re an older group and wanted to make sure we came out for the second period and did our thing.”

What an understatement.

What an answer.

What a comeback.

They would do so by flipping the script and scoring three times in the second — captain Mark Stone on a power play, William Karlsson ripping one off a rebound and Keegan Kolesar also being there to pick up a loose puck.

And suddenly, you believed the T-Mobile Arena roof might be blown off. Delirious.

It reached its apex when Tomas Hertl looked like the Tomas Hertl of old when he cut inside and scored back-handed for a 4-3 lead with 11:39 left in the third period.

It really is amazing. The confidence this team has no matter its position in a game. What makes it more impressive is the opponent in which it’s doing this to.

Colorado didn’t become a bad team overnight. It is still so fast, so talented. But the Knights are making all the important plays at the most critical of times.

They’re not getting away from who they are. They aren’t cheating the game to make a push and rally from a deficit, no matter how imposing.

They trailed 3-0 and countered by sticking with the same plan as they executed in winning both games in Colorado.

That’s patience. That’s flatline. That’s never getting too high or low. That’s them.

Never afraid

“This team, in the short time I’ve been with them, has shown me nothing but (fearlessness),” Tortorella said. “They’re not afraid. They have this uncanny ability to stay together. That comes from the leadership group in there, the veteran guys.

“We can’t get too carried away. It’s an important win for us and how we won it was very exciting for them. I trust they’re going to come to work tomorrow. We’ll look at tape and start again for Game 4.”

Know this: No matter how things begin on Tuesday, you won’t see a different Knights team. No matter the score, the situation, whatever, they will continue to be themselves.

It is what has delivered them to this place, to a win from the Stanley Cup Final.

They won’t mess with things now.

That’s just them.