Avalanche HC Jared Bednar Drops Honest Quote After Blowing 3-Goal Lead and Now Facing Elimination

Colorado Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar reacted to his team failing to maintain a three-goal lead in a 5-3 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference finals on Sunday night.

"It's as low as it can get," Bednar said after the game, per ESPN's Greg Wyshynski (3:20 mark of video below).

"You've got a big hill to climb," he added. "You've got to find a way to get over it and regroup."

Colorado now faces a 3-0 series deficit and is at risk of being swept for the first time since 2008.

The Avalanche initially appeared to be on their way to winning their first game of the series on Sunday, as Gabriel Landeskog and Nazem Kadri both scored within the first eight minutes of the contest before a shorthanded goal on the breakaway by Jack Drury gave them a 3-0 lead.

The Golden Knights started to cut into the deficit in the second period, with Mark Stone scoring on a power play.

Roughly four minutes later, William Karlsson fired a rebound into the back of the net for Vegas' second consecutive goal.

While the Golden Knights still trailed 3-2 heading into the third period, they tied the game when Keegan Kolesar tipped in a shot from Dylan Coghlan.

A backhander by Tomas Hertl finally gave Vegas its first lead of the game with just over eight minutes left in the third before Brett Howden scored on an empty net to seal the victory.

It was a tough loss for an Avalanche squad that won the Presidents' Trophy by compiling the best record in the NHL at 55-16-11.

They'll now attempt to avoid elimination in Game 4 on Tuesday.