Golden Knights rally for win, trail Colorado Avalanche 2-1 | Las Vegas Review-Journal

Mark Stone skated in a large circle around center ice Friday, raising his stick in the air as a salute to the capacity crowd at T-Mobile Arena.

Before he headed off, the captain flashed a thumbs-up to the announced gathering of 17,504 signaling the Golden Knights have life in the West Division final.

Max Pacioretty’s deflection with 4:33 remaining capped a thrilling third-period comeback, and the Knights climbed back in the best-of-seven series with a 3-2 victory over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3.

Game 4 is at 5:30 p.m. Sunday at T-Mobile Arena.

The Knights trail 2-1 in the series, but have outplayed the Presidents’ Trophy winner in the past two games.

Colorado received another outstanding effort from goalie Philipp Grubauer and nearly stole a victory despite being outshot 43-20.

Mikko Rantanen capitalized on a power play to put the Avalanche ahead 2-1 at 5:04 of the third period and extend his playoff scoring streak to 17 games dating to last season.

But the Knights rallied with two goals 45 seconds apart to stay alive in the series.

Jonathan Marchessault whiffed on his first attempt, then banked the puck off Grubauer’s back from behind the goal line to tie the score 2-2 with 5:18 to play.

With the crowd roaring after the tying goal, Pacioretty deflected Nick Holden’s shot from the point past Grubauer with 4:33 remaining.

Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 18 saves, including a stop on Rantanen in the final minute to preserve the one-goal lead.

The Knights struggled throughout the postseason in the first period, including the opening two games against the Avalanche, but got off to a fast start after Raiders quarterback Derek Carr cranked the rally siren.

Their forechecking pressure and play in the neutral zone that worked so well in the second and third periods of Game 2 pinned Colorado in its own zone for extended stretches.

The Avalanche finished with three shots on goal in the period, but the Knights were unable to cash in on their two chances with the power play and allowed Colorado to stay close.

Shea Theodore and Alec Martinez were turned away by Grubauer at the end of the Knights’ first man advantage, which had a difficult time entering the offensive zone.

Grubauer slid to his left to deny Reilly Smith’s one-timer in the final minute for the last of his 14 first-period stops.

The Knights finally took their first lead of the series 4:38 into the second period. Alex Pietrangelo’s shot from the right point was blocked, but William Karlsson shook free and kicked the loose puck onto his backhand before flicking in his third goal of the postseason.

The lead lasted 1:29, as Colorado’s revamped fourth line found room through the neutral zone on the rush and tied the score 1-1.

Former Golden Knights forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare launched a shot from the left wing that Fleury couldn’t handle, and Carl Soderberg cleaned up the rebound for his first goal of the postseason.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.

Series schedule

Game 1: Avalanche 7, Knights 1

Game 2: Avalanche 3, Knights 2, OT

Game 3: Knights 3, Avalanche 2

Game 4: 5:30 p.m. Sunday, T-Mobile Arena (NBCSN)

Game 5 — 6 p.m. Tuesday, Denver, NBCSN

x-Game 6: Thursday, T-Mobile Arena, TBD

x-Game 7: June 12, Denver, TBD