Mitch Marner did not just change Game 3. He pulled it back into Vegas’ control and kept it there.
Marner had a natural hat trick and four points Friday as the Golden Knights beat the Anaheim Ducks 6-2 at Honda Center. The win gave Vegas a 2-1 lead in the second-round series and answered a flat Game 2 with force.
“It’s always nice to try and contribute in a couple games,” Marner said. “But at the end of the day, you just want to win games.”
Vegas got the first push it needed at 1:06 of the first period. Jack Eichel found Shea Theodore, and Theodore snapped in his third goal of the playoffs for a 1-0 lead.
Then the Knights’ special teams took over. Marner helped create Brayden McNabb’s shorthanded goal at 12:13, turning an Anaheim power play into a 2-0 Vegas lead.
That play mattered. The Ducks entered the night still searching for a power-play goal in the series, and Vegas made the problem worse.
Natural Selection
Marner started his hat trick with five seconds left in the first period, scoring on the power play after Pavel Dorofeyev and Colton Sissons helped set the play.
That goal made it 3-0 and ended Lukas Dostal’s night. Anaheim replaced him with Ville Husso to start the second period.
It did not change much.
Marner scored again at 9:19 of the second off assists from Theodore and Brett Howden. Then, at 17:56, he finished the natural hat trick with a sharp-angle goal after William Karlsson and Ivan Barbashev set him up.
It was Marner’s first career playoff hat trick. He also set a playoff career high with four points and moved to 13 points this postseason.
“Tonight, a lot of great plays by a lot of people around me to set me up in a spot I could succeed in,” Marner said.
Hart Closes the Door
Carter Hart gave Vegas the cushion it needed to play with control. Anaheim finished with 33 shots, but Hart stopped 31 and was sharp during the Ducks’ best pushes.
That mattered most in the first period. Anaheim outshot Vegas 11-8, but the Knights led 3-0 because Hart held the line and Vegas finished its chances.
The Ducks finally broke through in the third. Beckett Sennecke scored at 6:30, and Chris Kreider made it 5-2 at 15:09.
Still, Vegas did not let the game turn messy. Howden scored into the empty net at 18:04 for his sixth goal of the playoffs.
Series Back in Vegas’ Hands
The Knights won the faceoff battle 56.9% to 43.1%, blocked 20 shots and held Anaheim’s power play to 0-for-2. The Ducks are now 0-for-11 on the power play in the series.
That is a massive part of the matchup.
Vegas also got production from across the lineup. Theodore had a goal and an assist. Howden had a goal and an assist. Eichel added his 10th assist of the postseason.
There was one concern. Mark Stone had an assist but played only 4:24 after appearing to sustain a lower-body injury late in the first period. John Tortorella did not have an update after the game.
Still, the bigger story was the response. Vegas needed more pace, more pressure and more control after Game 2.
It got all three.
Up next
The Golden Knights visit the Ducks for Game 4 on Sunday at Honda Center. Puck drop is 6:30 p.m. Pacific Time, with Vegas leading the series 2-1.
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Dice City Sports editor Mark Hebert covers the Vegas Golden Knights, Las Vegas Raiders, Athletics, and UNLV baseball and softball. He has 24 years of journalism experience, is also a senior reporter at Exhibit City News, and previously covered the Dallas Stars and Texas Rangers. Follow him on X or connect on LinkedIn.
