Marner’s record-fast hat trick and overturned goals help Golden Knights seize Game 3 edge

LAS VEGAS. The Vegas Golden Knights found a way to win Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night, even after the Carolina Hurricanes nearly completed a stunning reversal from a four-goal deficit. Vegas got its spark from Mitch Marner, who scored the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history, completing three straight goals in a span of 6 minutes, 10 seconds. That second-period flurry gave the Golden Knights a 4-0 lead, but Carolina answered with a rapid surge that pushed the game into overtime, where Shea Theodore eventually delivered the winner in the second overtime to complete a 5-4 Vegas victory.

The game’s turning point began before Marner’s goals counted. According to the official NHL recap, Vegas had two plays reversed early in the second period after Carolina used successful coach’s challenges. One goal was disallowed for offside at 34 seconds into the period, and another was negated due to goaltender interference at 4:00. After that sequence, the momentum settled onto the ice with Marner at the center of it, turning a moment that could have stalled Vegas into the burst that changed the pace of the night.

Marner’s record was the kind that tends to define a Final run. credited him with three consecutive goals in 6:10, eclipsing the previous Stanley Cup Final mark of 6:21 set by Maurice Richard nearly seven decades earlier. The NHL recap also framed the overall stretch as a domination span, describing 370 seconds of control in the second period that transformed Vegas’ effort into an avalanche of scoring chances.

Scoring did not slow down once it began. Marner registered a four-point game in Game 3, including an assist on Tomas Hertl’s power-play opener at 10:26, followed by three goals of his own. His second of the night scored with the puck finding the net off a defensive touch, his third came after a breakaway, and his fourth made it 4-0 with a far-side slap shot that beat Carolina goaltender Frederik Andersen. In a Final context, those details mattered, because the margin of error against a team like Carolina is small, and Vegas still had work to do once the game tilted toward late drama.

The late-game swing started with a close call that did not become a fourth Marner goal. With the game still at 4-0, Marner got a short-handed penalty shot at 4:04 of the third period, but Brandon Bussi, who replaced Andersen to begin the third, stopped the attempt. From there, Carolina’s comeback accelerated, with Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Staal scoring on consecutive waves, including three goals in a stretch of 39 seconds, the fastest such run in Stanley Cup Final history. Andrei Svechnikov then tied the game on the power play at 1:42 remaining in regulation, setting up a full overtime session.

The final result still belonged to Vegas, but it required patience after the third period unraveling. Theodore won it 5:38 into the second overtime, sealing a 5-4 victory and turning what could have been a collapse into a two-game momentum swing. For Vegas, the win came despite the discomfort of watching a four-goal lead disappear. For Carolina, the performance reinforced a rare takeaway from a season and playoffs that have already tested belief. In the NHL recap, Vegas coach John Tortorella acknowledged the reality of the swing, noting that the second period was where Vegas looked in control, while the third period was where it went wrong.

The series outlook now shifts to what Vegas can control next, not what it can recover from. With the Game 3 win, the Golden Knights moved ahead 2-1 in the best-of-seven, and Marner’s record night underlined why he has been the central offensive force this postseason, leading the playoffs with 28 points (10 goals, 18 assists) heading into the game. The Hurricanes, meanwhile, proved they can erase large deficits in this matchup, meaning Vegas will have to protect leads with sharper discipline and risk management. Game 4 is set for Tuesday night back in Las Vegas, and it will be worth watching whether Carolina can keep forcing those long stretches of chaos, or whether Vegas can turn Marner’s ceiling into sustained structure for a full 60 minutes.