After extensively dissecting the video of his team\u2019s dramatic come-from-behind 5-3 victory in Game 3 on Sunday, Tortorella came up with a conclusion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re playing another game and we need to be better,\u201d he said. \u201cThat\u2019s how we\u2019re going to approach it and that\u2019s how we\u2019re going to do it. That\u2019s how we\u2019re going to go about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
In other words, game by game. Period by period. Shift by shift.<\/p>\n
\u201cI trust them,\u201d Tortorella said. \u201cI think they get it. That\u2019s how we\u2019re going to approach it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Translation: Take nothing for granted.<\/p>\n
Yes, Colorado’s Cale Makar<\/a>, a two-time winner of the Norris Trophy as the NHL\u2019s top defenseman and a finalist this season, might not yet be 100 percent after missing the first two games of the series with an upper-body injury.<\/p>\n Yes, forward Nathan MacKinnon<\/a>, the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy winner as the League\u2019s top goal-scorer with 53 and the heart and soul of the Avalanche, is questionable after blocking a shot with his right leg in Game 3.<\/p>\n And yes, forward Valeri Nichushkin<\/a>, who had 49 points (17 goals, 32 assists) during the regular season, is also questionable after sustaining a lower-body injury late in the second period on Sunday.<\/p>\n No matter.<\/p>\n The Golden Knights aren\u2019t about to get involved in the \u201cwill he or won\u2019t he play\u201d speculation. Their primary focus is concentrating on how to defeat Colorado for a fourth consecutive game no matter who might or might not be healthy enough to suit up in an Avalanche jersey in Game 4.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the fourth win is always the hardest to get, whether it\u2019s first round, second round or conference finals,\u201d Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore<\/a>\u00a0said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to expect their best.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cObviously, for them, it\u2019s win or go home, so we have to match that intensity from the start. I think we can have a better start than we did in Game 3 and just kind of keep building our game from there.\u201d<\/p>\n Upon further review, they could not have come out of the gate much worse in Game 3.<\/p>\n By the time the first period was over, the Golden Knights trailed 3-0. Never before had Vegas won a postseason game in which they\u2019d trailed by three or more goals, having previously gone 0-19 in those situations.<\/p>\n They snapped that dubious streak by scoring five consecutive times en route to victory.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s not a hill they want to try to climb again.<\/p>\n