Mitch Marner will not to be denied in his first-ever postseason with the Vegas Golden Knights. In what would become one of the greatest games in NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs history, Marner came up with a career-defining performance.
The previously maligned playoff contributor while with the Toronto Maple Leafs rewrote the record books on Saturday night, scoring the fastest-ever hat trick in the Stanley Cup Final. Marner notched his natural hat trick in just 6:10 of the second period, a whirlwind stretch that put the Golden Knights up 4-0 heading into Game 3’s third period.
After notching a secondary assist on Vegas’ first goal of the game, Marner potted his first marker 10:42 into the second frame. William Karlsson fanned on a shot, and Marner picked the loose puck up and threw a no-look, spinning backhand pass to the front of the net that caromed off William Carrier and past goaltender Frederik Andersen.
Mitch Marner’s first goal of Game 3
The good-luck goal comes a year and a month after Marner effectively saw his Maple Leafs career end when he attempted a mistimed spinning backhand pass that led to a Florida Panthers goal in a 6-1 playoff loss. The moment was immortalized in a brilliant rant from hardcore Maple Leafs fan Steve Dangle, as he melted down watching Marner’s gaffe.
Marner notched his second goal of the contest just 3:50 later, taking a slick feed from defenseman Brayden McNabb before walking around Andersen with a move to his backhand.
The goal was his 27th point of the postseason for the Golden Knights, which is already the most playoff points in a single season for Vegas in their brief history.
Mitch Marner’s second goal of hat trick in Game 3
The 29-year-old winger capped off his historic night after another 2:20 in the period, getting sprung on a rush chance by a Tomas Hertl outlet pass. After gaining Carolina’s blue line, Marner opted to wind up for a slap shot from the top of the right faceoff circle, beating Andersen to the far post.
Mitch Marner’s third goal of hat trick in Game 3
According to Sportsnet Stats, Marner is the first player to score three goals in one period of a Stanley Cup Final since Peter Forsberg did so for the Colorado Avalanche in 1996. Before this year, the most goals Marner had scored in one postseason for the Maple Leafs was three, and he evened that total in just 6:10 of one game for Vegas.
Maurice Richard previously held the record for fastest hat trick in a championship series game, potting three goals in 6:21 for the 1957 Montreal Canadiens. Marner topped him by just 11 seconds.
“I can’t do it by myself, that’s for sure,” Marner told ESPN at the second intermission. “All five guys have been on a great page. I’ve liked our line’s game a lot, especially in the last, really months. So we just got to keep going, keep playing the same way we are, keeping aggressive, playing down low. And then when we got our chances, try to keep capitalizing.”
Marner, who now has 28 points (10g, 18a) this spring, even had a prime chance to score a fourth-straight goal in the game as he was awarded a penalty shot just 4:04 into the third period. After chasing Andersen from Carolina’s net, Marner was stopped in all alone by Hurricanes backup Brandon Bussi.
Mitch Marner stopped on penalty shot by Brandon Bussi
Unfortunately for Marner and the Golden Knights, they probably needed him to score that fourth goal as they melted down in the third period for a second straight game.
Down 4-0, the Hurricanes bombarded Vegas with a furious comeback attempt, scoring three goals in 39 seconds. The three markers are the fastest scored by one team in a Stanley Cup Final game, beating the previous 56-second mark achieved by the 1954 Canadiens.
While the Golden Knights survived the initial siege, they couldn’t cling to their one-goal lead and secure the victory. With just 1:42 remaining in regulation, Andrei Svechnikov shoved a puck past Carter Hart to push the game to overtime. Former Washington Capitals center Nic Dowd unknowingly helped the puck across the goal line after trucking Nikolaj Ehlers into his own goaltender.
Andrei Svechnikov ties Game 3 with just 1:42 remaining in regulation
The first overtime period was scoreless, with both teams clearly running out of gas after an insane 60 minutes of regulation. Ultimately, the Golden Knights got another fortunate bounce 5:38 into the second overtime session to prevent the Hurricanes from making a full comeback.
Golden Knights defender Shea Theodore, who took the penalty that led to Carolina’s game-tying goal, fired a point drive that clanged off the back boards, past Hurricanes forward Jordan Martinook, off Bussi’s skate, and into the yawning cage.
Shea Theodore wins Game 3 in double overtime, with help from Jordan Martinook
The Hurricanes were attempting to become only the second-ever team to win a playoff game when trailing by four-plus goals in the third period. The only time that has occurred came in 1982 when the Los Angeles Kings beat the Edmonton Oilers in what became known as “The Miracle on Manchester.” The Kings trailed 5-0 in the third period of Game 3 in the Smythe Division Semifinals, and won 6-5 in overtime.
According to ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski, NHL teams are now 0-109 in the Stanley Cup Final when trailing by four or more goals in the third period. More importantly, WWE superstar Danhausen is still perfect with his cursing of sports teams after he was paid many human monies to curse the Hurricanes before puck drop.
The Golden Knights will now take their 2-1 series lead into Game 4 on Tuesday night. Vegas again hosts that matchup at T-Mobile Arena before heading back to Raleigh for Game 5.
