The phrase “under the circumstances” keeps getting batted around as the Colorado Avalanche fight through injuries, illness and more.

Those circumstances made Tuesday’s win even more special. Directly off a faceoff against the division-leading Vegas Golden Knights, Nazem Kadri located a rebound right in front of Marc-Andre Fleury and roofed it for the go-ahead goal.

Forty-one seconds later, the Colorado Avalanche won 3-2.

“I think there was a lot of urgency, there was desperation in our game,” coach Jared Bednar said. “We certainly had our share of mistakes and breakdowns and (goalie Philipp Grubauer) was exceptional.”

“I think it’s a pride thing. You have a lot of guys out of the lineup. Chips are kind of down in a lot of different ways.”

Host Vegas had tied the game earlier in the period. Grubauer dove to the ice to stop a wraparound attempt. The puck bounced all over the crease but stayed out for several painstaking seconds before Jonathan Marchessault located it and roofed it to tie things up at 2.

Vegas’ Nick Holden kept the game 0-0 with a well-placed stick in front of an open Pierre-Edouard Bellemare. Nathan MacKinnon did the honors soon afterward.

Mikko Rantanen played catch with Brandon Saad before feeding MacKinnon for a one-timer. MacKinnon whipped it between Fleury’s leg and glove.

The Avalanche finally took a penalty and that was the chance Vegas needed to get on the board. Against Colorado’s NHL-best penalty kill that, like the rest of the team, is missing some manpower, Max Pacioretty sent the puck past a screened Grubauer.

Thanks to Saad, there was no letdown. One minute later, he took a pass from Joonas Donskoi and cut through the crease. His shot eked its way through Fleury’s five hole.

“For us to stick with it after every goal we gave up, keep chipping in and taking back that lead, that’s a big win for us,” Saad said.

“All these points add up. For us to be able to steal that second (standings point) in the last minute, that’s huge for us.”

Grubauer made 27 saves.

Alex Pietrangelo wound up with the puck while most everyone else was untangling themselves in the faceoff circle. Grubauer came out to confront him and snagged his shot, leaving Pietrangelo looking skyward.

“Under the circumstances for our team, finding a way to carve out a win here tonight, in regulation especially, was exceptional,” Bednar said. “We’ll take the result. The game wasn’t perfect, but I think we’re asking a lot of our kids on the back end.”

They were down another body almost immediately. Less than two minutes into the game, fill-in defenseman Dennis Gilbert threw down with Keegan Kolesar and was left with a bloodied nose. Penalty box towels didn’t do the trick and he sought professional help. Gilbert did not return to the game.

“He’s a tough guy,” Saad said of Gilbert. “Any time he can kind of get the momentum going for us, stick up for a teammate — that always brings energy to the team. He’s been doing it a long time.”

The Avalanche and Golden Knights aren’t done with each other, though they’re moving to a more scenic spot. The teams will face off Saturday outdoors in Lake Tahoe, Nev., in a nationally televised game.

New dates for postponed Colorado Avalanche games announced

Coming off pause, one and only gets through Colorado Avalanche at Vegas Golden Knights