In an absolutely bonkers game 3, the Golden Knights escape through sheer luck

Well, I need a drink. In what was one of the most stressful playoff games this team has ever played, the Golden Knights took a 4-0 lead into the third-period, blew it with the three fastest goals in Stanley Cup Final history, but somehow still clawed away a victory on one of the more ridiculous goals I've ever seen. Mitch Marner scored the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history as well (his second of these playoffs, by the way), and yet that somehow ranks as maybe the third-most memorable thing in this game.

It was a deeply flawed effort that continued to expose a lot of this team's issues, but some of Carolina's were just as in the open, and ultimately, Vegas finally got some of the same puck luck that had previously doomed them in game 2. Let's delve into the best and worst of an utterly crazy game 3.

On Mitch Marner, Shea Theodore, and acts of (hockey) gods

At the end of the second period, this one looked like it'd be defined as the Mitch Marner legacy game. In the span of just six minutes and ten seconds, Marner potted Vegas' second, third, and fourth goals of the game, completing not just a natural hat trick, but the fastest hat trick in the entire history of the Stanley Cup Final.

The previous record had been set by the legendary Rocket Richard 69 years ago, in which he potted three in 6:11 against Boston during the 1957 Final. The second one in particular was a beauty, as he absolutely undressed former teammate Frederik Andersen in a way reminiscent of his goal against Lukas Dostal some weeks back. Andersen ended up pulled to start the third period, marking the first time Vegas has chased a goalie mid-game these playoffs.

Oh, and his second goal there set the new Golden Knights' single-playoff points record, surpassing Jack Eichel's 26 points in 2023. However, and as we'll touch on again, Mitch did benefit from some fortunate puck luck; the first goal of the hat trick wasn't a traditional score so much as a brutal own goal by Sean Walker, who inexplicably deflected a pass from Marner into his own net.

That goal wasn't the only act of god that Carolina would fall victim to, nor the worst one. That would instead be Shea Theodore's double overtime winner, which definitively stopped the bleeding for Vegas and sent us up 2-1 in the Final.

Yep, your eyes aren't deceiving you. That slapshot goes off the end boards and deflects off Brandon Bussi's back into his own net, ending an already-crazy game on an absolutely ridiculous own-goal. I don't know what rituals the Golden Knights or fans might've pulled off before this game (well, maybe we do), but unlike the first two games, it was our turn to be the recipients of absurd puck luck.

We need to talk about the third-period collapses

Time to address the elephant in the room. Although we did escape with the win, this is a game that should've been nowhere near overtime as it stood. If you consider the two disallowed goals early in the second period, Vegas potted six total goals in regulation, with four of those actually making it onto the board, and without Carolina responding.

For most teams, a 4-0 lead should be a chokehold on a game; however, like last game, the Golden Knights took their foot off the gas too early, and it cost them. Carolina's three goals in 37 seconds to make it a one-goal game marked the fastest three goals in Stanley Cup Final history, and Andrei Svechnikov's late equalizer marked the first time in SCF history that back-to-back games featured a tying goal in the last two minutes.

The Golden Knights turtled hard in that period, and John Tortorella's failure to call a timeout after the second goal still stands out a bit even with the win. I suppose it does make sense that a team that spent most of the season trailing doesn't quite know how to defend leads. That said, they need to lock this down if they want to hoist Lord Stanley's mug in a few days, as the Hurricanes are an aggressive, opportunistic team that will continue to capitalize on a third-period lack of aggression.

It'd be nice if ABC/ESPN's announcers could stop jinxing us as well; this was the second straight game that Carter Hart allowed goals on three consecutive shots in the third, and both times came almost immediately after said announcers enthusiastically mentioned a possible shutout.

After it all, though, the Golden Knights now stand just two wins away from a second Stanley Cup victory, in one of the least-likely seasons to do so. See you all for Game 4, and Go Knights Go!!

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