Golden Knights shake off disputed no-goal, storm past Avalanche for a 3-0 series lead

LAS VEGAS (AP) — A two-goal swing over a disputed no-goal call in the first period that resulted in a three-goal deficit could have doomed Vegas on Sunday.

The Golden Knights, instead, put the setback behind them and rallied to beat the Colorado Avalanche 5-3 and take a 3-0 series lead in the Western Conference Final.

Vegas forward Pavel Dorofeyev appeared to score a power-play goal with 7:26 left in the first period, but officials immediately waved it off and the decision was upheld on video review. The Golden Knights immediately celebrated despite the initial call with a run through the high-five line, believing the call would be changed after officials checked the video.

Officials ruled on the ice that the puck went off Dorofeyev's glove, according to the ESPN broadcast, and found the video inconclusive.

Dorofeyev's stick also might have been above the cross bar, but it was at least even with it.

The Avalanche then made the Golden Knights pay when Jack Drury found himself alone on a breakaway, deking Vegas goalie Carter Hart to score the short-handed goal with 6:45 left for the three-goal lead.

A lead that didn't last.

“Not super ideal, obviously, but I think we got a pretty big penalty kill after that and it kind of settled us down and the period ends,” Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said. "That’s probably the best thing that could happen to us, the period ends.”

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/stanley-cup and https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Colorado Avalanche's Jack Drury, left, scores on Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart during the first period in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series, Sunday, May 24, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) CORRECTION: Name corrected to Jack Drury not Cale Makar.

Colorado Avalanche left wing Gabriel Landeskog, right, blocks the shot by Vegas Golden Knights right wing Pavel Dorofeyev during the second period in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals NHL hockey Stanley Cup playoff series Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Kansas City Royals left-hander Noah Cameron took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Minnesota Twins on Thursday before Ryan Jeffers broke it up with a leadoff single.

Cameron threw only 72 pitches through six innings with two walks and five strikeouts, with little solid contact by the Twins. Catcher Salvador Perez sprang forward to pick up Ryan Kreidler’s dribbler in front of the plate and make an on-target underhand toss to first base for the second out of the sixth as the 36-year-old tumbled to the grass to keep the feat alive.

But Jeffers delivered a clean single to right-center field on an 0-2 changeup from Cameron.

Cameron still stretched his consecutive scoreless innings streak to 16 by getting the next six outs for his career-long outing with a one-hitter in eight shutout innings. He threw seven shutout frames in relief last Friday after the Royals used an opener in a 2-1 loss at Detroit. This one ended even worse, when Kody Clemens hit a walk-off grand slam with two outs in the ninth inning to give Minnesota a 4-3 victory.

Former Twins right-hander Randy Dobnak pitched seven scoreless innings for the Royals on Wednesday night in a 4-0 victory.

Cameron went 9-7 with a 2.99 ERA in 24 starts last season and finished fourth in American League Rookie of the Year award voting. The 27-year-old threw 6 1/3 no-hit innings in his major league debut on April 30, 2025, for a 3-0 win at Tampa Bay.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Noah Cameron (65) delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins, Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Kansas City Royals starting pitcher Noah Cameron (65) delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Minnesota Twins Thursday, July 30, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)