Mitch Marner was never considered a big-game player in Toronto. In his first career Stanley Cup Final, he knew he had the chance to change that perception.
The winger scored Vegas’ second, third and fourth goals of the game all in the span of six minutes during the second period. It was the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history, and the driving force of the Golden Knights’ 5-4 overtime win over the Hurricanes in Game 3.
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The Golden Knights now have the odds in their favor, as 77% of teams to win Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final have gone on to win the series.
The win was far from easy, however, with the Knights staving off a historic four-goal comeback from the Hurricanes in the third.
The second period started with controversy, as both Mark Stone and Jack Eichel had goals called off in quick succession. Tomáš Hertl responded quickly, burying a slot shot on the power play after Jalen Chatfield completely lost his coverage.
Marner started his offensive outburst with a fortuitous bounce off Sean Walker out front.
Marner then danced past Frederik Andersen in tight four minutes later for his second of the period. He had a breakaway shortly before the goal that Andersen denied, but Carolina had no answer as he found his way to another grade-A opportunity.
He capped off the historic period with an ’80s-esque slap shot off the rush, one Andersen would probably want back given the lack of traffic. With three goals and an assist, it was the first four-point period in a Stanley Cup Final game since 1919.
Rookie goalie Brandon Bussi got the nod in the crease heading into the third, and he was tested early. His biggest challenge came from a short-handed penalty shot for Marner, but Bussi stood tall.
The save was the emotional engine to an unprecedented four-goal comeback for Carolina, the first in the third period of a Stanley Cup Final game since the Miracle on Manchester in 1982.
Jordan Martinook snuck Carolina’s first of the game between the legs of Carter Hart following an uncharacteristic turnover by Noah Hanifin. Taylor Hall kept the momentum going, burying a Sebastian Aho feed a mere 26 seconds after the first tally.
Jordan Staal capped off the run with a deflection out front, turning a four-goal deficit into one in the matter of 39 seconds.
Vegas shut things down for the rest of the third, with John Tortorella reverting to a 1-3-1 structure to close regulation.
It looked as though Vegas had stymied the Carolina offense until Shea Theodore took a delay of game penalty with three minutes to go. Andrei Svechnikov battled through a net front scrum to complete the largest Stanley Cup Final comeback in 43 years.
It was a heroic performance from Bussi, who hasn’t seen action since April 14.
Theodore made up for his first-period blunder, banking a shot off the back of Bussi and into the net, finishing off a game for the record books.
