Golden Knights weather Hurricanes rally, win Game 3 in double overtime after blowing a four-goal lead

The Vegas Golden Knights escaped Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final with a 5-4 win in double overtime at T-Mobile Arena, turning a four-goal lead into a scare before Shea Theodore’s winner finally sealed the result. The night became a study in momentum, with Vegas exploding early in the second period, then Carolina answering with a third-period rally that nearly rewrote what the series could be.

Carolina entered Game 3 with a simple goal, to treat the Final like a fresh start after splitting the first two games. In Game 1, Vegas rallied from a two-goal deficit to win 5-4, and in Game 2, the Hurricanes erased a late 2-0 hole to win 4-3 in overtime. Those back-to-back multigoal comebacks were part of why this matchup immediately felt dangerous for both sides, and why the stakes in a 1-1 series tie were unusually high heading into Game 3. noted that when the series is tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 goes on to win the Cup 77.4 percent of the time.

Vegas provided the decisive early separation through Mitch Marner. According to the NHL game recap, Marner scored three consecutive goals in a span of 6:10, the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history, and that stretch pushed the Golden Knights to a 4-0 lead with 3:08 remaining in the second period. Theodore, then, became the closer. His shot in the second overtime caromed off the end boards and found the net at 5:38, giving Vegas the win.

Carolina’s reply was just as forceful, even if it fell short. The Hurricanes scored three goals in 39 seconds to pull within one, highlighted by goals from Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Staal, before Andrei Svechnikov tied the game on a power-play goal as Vegas faced a late extra-skater situation. The recap also emphasized how rare the comeback was, noting Carolina became only the second team in Stanley Cup Final history to erase a four-goal deficit in a single game, though this time the comeback ended in overtime rather than a win.

The goaltending change added another layer. Brandon Bussi replaced Frederik Andersen to start the third period after Carolina fell behind 4-0 through two periods. Bussi stopped the first 18 shots he faced, including a penalty shot by Marner, and continued into overtime, but the Hurricanes’ push ultimately could not reach the finish line. For Vegas, the performance was a reminder that defensive lapses can appear even when a team feels in control, and for Carolina, it was evidence that the offense can keep finding answers late in games.

Even with the outcome decided, the Game 3 groundwork reflected what each coach wanted to unlock. In NHL’s pregame preview, Carolina was expected to begin with its regular-style top lines of Sebastian Aho with Andrei Svechnikov and Seth Jarvis, and with Nikolaj Ehlers paired alongside Jordan Staal and Jordan Martinook. Vegas’s projected lineup leaned on the forward group led by Jack Eichel, Mitch Marner, and Brett Howden, plus a defensive pair centered on Shea Theodore. The preview also underscored Carolina’s power-play search for consistency, after early struggles in Game 2 and earlier playoff power-play numbers.

Now the series picture shifts. With the 5-4 double-OT win, Vegas is up 2-1, and the Cup Final continues with Game 4 in Las Vegas on Tuesday, June 9 at 8:00 p.m. ET. The next test will be whether Vegas can protect leads more reliably when the Hurricanes’ counterpunch is this organized, and whether Carolina can replicate the timing of its comeback without needing a four-goal deficit first.