The Vegas Golden Knights gagged up a four-goal third period lead to the Carolina Hurricanes, but still managed to win Game 3 when Shea Theodore’s one-timer from the right point caromed off the end boards and went in off goaltender Brandon Bussi 5:38 into the fifth period.
After a scoreless opening frame that saw visiting Carolina largely carry the play, Mitch Marner turned the second period into his own personal highlight reel. Marner drew the second assist on Tomas Hertl’s power-play goal, which came after Vegas had two scores removed from the board by review, and then went on to notch the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history with three-straight goals in a 6:10 span to give Vegas a seemingly insurmountable 4-0 lead.
The Hurricanes, who replaced starter Frederik Andersen with Bussi to start the third, caught fire midway through, cutting the deficit down to one when Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall and Jordan Staal scored on consecutive shots 39 seconds apart. Bussi denied Marner on a penalty shot prior to the storm of goals. Andrei Svechnikov got the tying power-play marker off a goalmouth scramble with Bussi on the bench for a sixth attacker with 1:42 remaining in regulation following a delay of game penalty on Theodore.
Following his offensive outburst, Marner leads the Stanley Cup Playoffs with 28 points (10G/18A), the most by a Golden Knights player in a single postseason.
CAROLINA HURRICANES at VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS
- WHEN: 8 p.m. ET
- WHERE: T-Mobile Arena – Sin City, NV
- SERIES: Vegas leads 2-1
- ON THE TUBE: ABC
- PROJECTED STARTERS: Hurricanes: Bussi (0-1 .947 / 1.32 0SO) Golden Knights: Hart (14-5 .915 / 2.44 0SO)
- PLAYER STATS: Carolina / Vegas
Panthers news
The Florida Panthers have re-upped 24-year-old goaltender Cooper Black to a two-year, two-way contract extension that runs through the 2027-28 campaign. Last season, Black appeared in 42 regular season games with the AHL’s Charlotte Checkers, posting a 25-13-4 record, .903 save percentage, 2.47 goals against average, and one shutout.