Vegas Golden Knights shut the door on Canucks to take Game 3

Robin Lehner was the star of Game 3 for the Vegas Golden Knights.

The elite goalie saved all 31 shots he faced for his second shutout of the postseason as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Vancouver Canucks 3-0 to take a 2-1 series lead.

It was a dominant outing from the Golden Knights who showed their superior star power and their depth up and down the lineup.

Alex Tuch continued his tear this postseason early in the first period after ripping a wrister past Jacob Markstrom.

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Zach Whitecloud, who has been one of the most consistent defensemen for the Golden Knights, then made it a two-goal game with his second goal of the postseason.

And the game was in the books when Mark Stone converted on the power play in the third period for his sixth goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

It was a huge W for the Golden Knights and they could move a step closer to the Western Conference Finals with a victory in Game 4 on Sunday.

Let’s break Game 3 down period-by-period…

First Period

Robin Lehner got his fifth straight start, eight of the last nine, and he was kept busy in the opening frame.

He made a couple of huge stops with the Canucks on the power play, before the Golden Knights drew first blood thanks to a stunning play.

Nicolas Roy sent a sublime saucer pass to Alex Tuch who brought the puck down on his backhand before switching to his forehand and ripping a hell of a shot past Jacob Markstrom to get Vegas on the board at 4:05 in the first.

And the Golden Knights were in the driving seat at 5:28 thanks to Zach Whitecloud, who took a dish from Max Pacioretty before going top-shelf with a hell of a snipe.

Tyler Motte manufactured a breakaway but was denied by the blocker of Lehner, who made 16 saves alone in the first period.

Second Period

It was a different story in the middle frame as the Golden Knights began to take over the contest more.

They were doing a great job of blocking shots and were also neutralizing the Canucks and limiting their most potent offensive weapons.

Meanwhile, Robin Lehner was continuing to come up big for Vegas and he was stopping everything Vancouver had to throw at him.

Third Period

It was effectively game over at 2:19 in the final period of the game as Mark Stone took a pass from Shea Theodore inside the circle before ripping a shot over the shoulder of Jacob Markstrom.

Vancouver Captain Bo Horvat was stoned by the brilliant Robin Lehner, and that was that as Lehner’s second shutout of the postseason helped to give the Golden Knights victory in Game 3 and a 2-1 series lead.

Let’s look at our Three Stars of the Game…