The Vegas Golden Knights had a historic night, almost turned it into a nightmare, then found a way out.
Shea Theodore scored at 5:38 of double overtime Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena, lifting the Golden Knights to a wild 5-4 win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Brayden McNabb and Brett Howden assisted on the winner as Vegas took a 2-1 lead in the series.
“That can’t happen again,” Theodore said of the collapse.
“I just want to go home,” he said after the win.
Theodore’s shot found its way through traffic and saved the Golden Knights from one of the most painful collapses in franchise history. Vegas led 4-0 after two periods behind a record-setting night from Mitch Marner, but Carolina scored four unanswered goals in the third, including three in 39 seconds, to force overtime.
Marner made history anyway.
He scored three goals in 6:10 during the second period, completing the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history and turning a scoreless game into a 4-0 Vegas lead. It looked like the kind of moment that would define the night.
Marner’s hat trick still defined the night, even after the chaos that followed.
Vegas Finally Gets One to Count
The Golden Knights struggled to create offense in the first period, managing only two shots on goal while Carolina put seven on Carter Hart. Vegas hit, blocked shots and survived, but it did not generate much.
Then the second period turned strange.
Mark Stone appeared to give Vegas the lead early in the period, beating Frederik Andersen through the legs, but Carolina challenged for offside and the goal was overturned.
Jack Eichel appeared to break the scoreless tie later in the period, but that goal also came off the board after Carolina challenged for goaltender interference. Officials ruled Ivan Barbashev interfered with Andersen while moving through the crease.
Vegas had two goals wiped away.
Tomas Hertl finally got one to stick.
Carolina was called for too many men on the ice, and the Golden Knights needed only 10 seconds on the power play. Hertl scored at 10:26 of the second off assists from Eichel and Marner to make it 1-0.
Then Marner took over.
Marner Makes History
Marner scored 16 seconds after Hertl’s goal, giving Vegas a 2-0 lead at 10:42 of the second. William Karlsson and Theodore assisted on the goal.
Marner scored again at 14:32, with McNabb picking up the assist in his return to the lineup after taking a puck to the face in Game 2.
Then Marner completed the natural hat trick at 16:52, scoring off a Hertl assist to make it 4-0.
The hat trick came in 6:10, the fastest in Stanley Cup Final history.
Marner also had the assist on Hertl’s power-play goal, giving him four points in the period. After a first period in which Vegas had only two shots, the Golden Knights erupted for four goals on 14 shots in the second.
Carolina changed goalies to start the third, replacing Andersen with Brandon Bussi, who was making his playoff debut.
That move helped change the game.
Carolina Roars Back
Hart carried a shutout into the third period for the seventh time this postseason, but it disappeared fast.
Jordan Martinook started the comeback at 7:03 of the third, scoring off assists from Seth Jarvis and Logan Stankoven.
Taylor Hall scored 26 seconds later, cutting the Vegas lead to 4-2.
Then Jordan Staal scored 13 seconds after that, making it 4-3.
Carolina scored three goals in 39 seconds, turning what looked like a Vegas runaway into another Stanley Cup Final crisis for the Golden Knights.
The Hurricanes kept coming. With Theodore in the box for delay of game late in regulation, Andrei Svechnikov scored on the power play at 18:18 to tie the game 4-4. Staal and Sebastian Aho assisted on the goal.
Carolina had erased the whole thing.
Bussi Keeps Carolina Alive
Marner had a chance to add another absurd chapter to his night earlier in the third when he drew a penalty shot while Carolina was on the power play. Bussi stopped him.
That became part of a bigger story.
Bussi entered to start the third and kept Carolina alive after the Hurricanes had fallen behind 4-0. He stopped everything through the third period and the first overtime, including two Marner chances in two seconds midway through OT.
Vegas had the better push in the first overtime, but Bussi kept answering. Hart did the same at the other end, and the game pushed into double overtime tied 4-4.
Carolina entered overtime unbeaten in the postseason and riding an eight-game overtime winning streak.
Vegas finally ended it.
Theodore Ends It
The winner came at 5:38 of double overtime.
Theodore was credited with his sixth goal of the postseason after his shot got through traffic. McNabb, back in the lineup after his Game 2 injury scare, picked up his second assist of the night. Howden also assisted on the winner.
The goal turned the night back toward Marner’s history instead of a complete collapse.
Marner finished with three goals and an assist on 10 shots. Hertl had a goal and an assist. Theodore had the overtime winner and an assist. McNabb had two assists.
Hart stopped 29 of 33 shots for Vegas. Andersen allowed four goals on 16 shots before Carolina turned to Bussi, who stopped 18 of 19 after entering to start the third.
For Carolina, Martinook, Hall, Staal and Svechnikov scored. Staal added an assist, and Aho had two assists.
The Golden Knights outshot Carolina 35-33. Each team went 1-for-2 on the power play.
The Golden Knights now lead the Stanley Cup Final 2-1, with Game 4 set for Monday night at T-Mobile Arena.
Game 3 had almost everything: two overturned Vegas goals, a Marner record, a goalie change, a four-goal Carolina comeback, double overtime and a Theodore winner.
Vegas survived it.
Now the Golden Knights are two wins from the Cup.
Up next
Game 4 is Monday night at T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights lead the Stanley Cup Final 2-1 and now have a chance to move within one win of the Cup.
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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.
