McNabb returns for Game 3, wearing full cage, as Golden Knights survive a wild night

Vegas didn’t have to wait long to find out whether Brayden McNabb could answer the toughest question a team can face in the middle of a Stanley Cup Final. After the Golden Knights’ veteran defenseman was struck in the face by a puck during Game 2, McNabb came back for Game 3 on Saturday, June 6, wearing a full cage over his helmet, an image that instantly changed the tone of the series for Vegas and its fans.

The scare began earlier in the Final when an 87-mph slap shot hit McNabb squarely in the face in Game 2, and he did not return to that game. reported that McNabb was seen on the ice during warmups for Game 3 with the full cage in place. In a separate postgame account, also described McNabb’s return as coming two days after the hit, noting he had undergone what he estimated as 25 to 30 stitches, with the work running below his nose and up toward the bridge. Despite the obvious discomfort, McNabb logged 35:47 of ice time in Game 3, a workload that underscored both his willingness and Vegas’s need for his defensive presence.

McNabb’s return mattered not only for health optics, but for how Vegas defended and carried the puck in pivotal moments. ’s Game 3 recap highlighted McNabb keeping the puck in the offensive zone and feeding Mitch Marner low in the slot area, a sequence that contributed to Marner’s scoring in the game. That mattered because Vegas built an early lead and still ended up riding a dramatic second half, with Carolina staging a late run that forced overtime.

The ending ultimately belonged to the Golden Knights. Vegas won 5-4 in double overtime, with Shea Theodore’s shot off the end boards finding the net at 5:38 of the second overtime. also noted the Hurricanes became only the second team in Stanley Cup Final history to erase a four-goal deficit in a single game, which helps explain why this victory felt less like a routine title-step and more like a gut-check. Still, for Vegas, the key scoreboard point was the same one that kept coming back all night: the Golden Knights took Game 3 to lead the best-of-7 series 2-1.

For Carolina, the late comeback was a message. For Vegas, McNabb’s ability to play through the aftermath of the Game 2 hit was an even sharper one. Golden Knights coach John Tortorella’s staff now has one less lineup uncertainty to manage, particularly at a position where minute-to-minute communication, gap control, and clearing decisions have amplified importance. At the same time, the league has not publicly detailed the exact medical classification of McNabb’s injury, so the safest assumption is that his return came with monitoring and restrictions that could affect how he moves, turns, and braces during contact-heavy shifts.

What to watch next is how Vegas uses McNabb as the series tightens. If he stays on the ice for significant stretches while wearing the cage, it will likely stabilize the club’s defensive rotations and power-play looks that depend on veteran timing. Meanwhile, Carolina can be expected to keep pressing in areas where slap shots and quick entries create screens and rebound chances, because that is how the Hurricanes created their most dangerous late-game moments. Game 4 comes Tuesday, and the central storyline will be whether McNabb’s physical resilience translates into the same style of minutes and puck play that helped Vegas withstand a Game 3 that got away from them before the second overtime winner.