LAS VEGAS – The Vegas Golden Knights’ stunning comeback win over the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night was only possible because of a seemingly unshakable composure.Vegas erased a three-goal first-period deficit and scored five consecutive goals to beat Colorado 5-3. It gave the Golden Knights a 3-0 stranglehold on the Western Conference final and pulled them to within one victory of a third trip to the Stanley Cup Final in their nine seasons of existence. It only happened because they survived what could’ve been a devastating 40 seconds by banding together and leaning on their unflappable demeanor.The sequence happened toward the end of what had been a nightmarish first period for the home team. A desperate Avalanche squad put Vegas on its heels early with two quick goals by Gabriel Landeskog and Nazem Kadri. The, for a moment, it appeared Vegas’ leading scorer, Pavel Dorofeyev, had turned the tide and cut the deficit to 2-1.The Russian winger batted the puck out of the air and into the Colorado net, then skated by the Vegas bench to celebrate with his teammates. The officials waved off the goal and, after a review, ruled that it wasn’t a goal due to Dorofeyev hitting the puck out of the air with his glove rather than the shaft of his stick.Then, before the sold-out crowd at T-Mobile Arena had even finished booing the call, Colorado’s Jack Drury struck with a short-handed goal to extend the Avalanche lead to 3-0 before the game was even 14 minutes old.It was the type of sequence that has unraveled plenty of hockey teams. The Golden Knights didn’t blink.“We have an older group that just stays patient and stays calm,” Vegas forward Mitch Marner said. “We don’t turn on each other. We don’t get mad at each other. We know everyone is trying to do their best out there every single shift.”Still, this sequence was particularly devastating.“It was a bit of a buzzkill, for sure,” Vegas’ William Karlsson said. “It was unfortunate that they go down and score the third one right after that. It was tough. Maybe we were focused a little too much on the refs there, so we tried to lay off them and focus on the right things.”Small moments of self-awareness like that can set apart experienced teams when faced with adversity. The Golden Knights’ bench didn’t pout or point fingers. They rallied, came up with a crucial penalty kill to survive the remainder of the first period, and retreated to their dressing room to regroup.“Just stay patient,” Marner stressed. “Bounces aren’t always going to go your way. You know that, throughout a game and throughout a series.”