LAS VEGAS -- The only word that could properly describe the first two games of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final would be unhinged.
Game One saw the Vegas Golden Knights steal one in Raleigh thanks to Tomas Hertl’s late goal, while Game Two would see the Carolina Hurricanes claw their way back to an overtime victory. To see what looked like a defense-oriented series on paper transform into a desperate struggle for the Stanley Cup has been equal parts shocking and exciting to witness. With Games One and Two coming down to the wire, it only made sense that Game Three would end in equally cinematic fashion.
What no one anticipated, however, was that Game Three on Saturday was going to be the hottest barnburner of all, requiring double overtime before the Golden Knights earned a 5-4 victory to take a 2-1 series lead.
“I’ve experienced a lot of games and playoffs. I haven’t experienced one like this,” Golden Knights head coach John Tortorella admitted during his postgame press conference.
While the Hurricanes would give themselves an early edge on the shot count in the first period, Vegas’ strong defense would keep the game scoreless through the first 20 minutes. The physicality from the Golden Knights was another point of emphasis, landing 23 hits early and sending Carolina players like defenseman Jalen Chatfield and former Golden Knight William Carrier to the locker room at different points.
The second period got off to a frustrating start for the Golden Knights, who saw potential opening goals from Mark Stone and Jack Eichel in the first four minutes disallowed after Carolina successfully challenged the play.
“I thought they were the right calls tonight,” Tortorella explained about the no goals.
“I was happy we’ve got a lead scoring the first goal, but both of those goals, it’s the right call. The one the other night was wrong,” the veteran head coach referred to the controversial disallowed goal from Game Two.
Vegas would ultimately get their revenge on the first power play of the game. Only ten seconds in, Eichel would find Hertl all alone in front of Frederik Andersen and rip a shot that would finally beat the Hurricanes goaltender clean. It continues a remarkable run from the Czech forward, who has scored ten points in the last ten games since breaking a 29-game scoring drought.
“It’s so much fun,” said Hertl, who was playing in his first home game in the Stanley Cup Final. “The fans have been there for us all game.”
16 seconds later, Mitch Marner would get his first Stanley Cup Final goal in the unlikeliest of fashions. After William Karlsson fanned on a shot, Marner would feed the puck across the ice on the backhand. However, Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker would tip the puck past an unsuspecting Andersen to double the Vegas lead and give the star forward his first career Stanley Cup Final goal.
“We just try to play fast, try to stay connected,” noted Karlsson about his instant chemistry with Marner. “When we get some room, we try and make some plays.”
Marner would leave no doubt on his next attempt, however. After running out of room on a breakaway, Marner would get another opportunity with the puck and beat Andersen on a deke to his backhand to open up a three-goal advantage. The goal would also mark Marner setting the Vegas franchise record with points in a single postseason with 27.
To make the moment sweeter, defenseman Brayden McNabb would get the assist on Marner’s second goal, emphasizing an excellent 35-minute effort from the longtime Vegas defensive stalwart despite nursing the injury he sustained in Game Two.
“When I was at the hospital, there was skome doubt for sure,” said McNabb about his availability for Game Three while sporting a self-estimated thirty stitches on his nose. “Waking up, I felt okay, and then I would have a chance.”
“I heard the players yelling Warrior. He’s more than that,” added Tortorella.
Marner would close the second period and extend his new record with a slapshot past Andersen to complete the natural hat trick, scoring the fastest hat trick between all three goals in NHL history at 6:20, just one second ahead of the legendary Maurice Richard 69 years ago.
“I think a lot of guys made great plays to set me up in that area,” said Marner about his hat trick. “I think you need five guys on the ice to all be on the same page, and I thought our line did a really good job of that throughout the entire night.”
The four-goal second period was all Carolina needed to see, as Andersen was pulled in favor of a postseason-debuting Brandon Bussi to start the third.
Bussi saving a Marner penalty shot would ultimately be the catalyst for Carolina making an interesting game out of it. Within 39 seconds, Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall and Jordan Staal would all find their way on the board to turn a four-goal cushion into a one-goal game again.
An overtime goal from Andrei Svechnikov with less than two minutes remaining, and the Hurricanes somehow managed to push another game to overtime.
“We couldn’t do nothing wrong in the second period, and probably did everything wrong in the third period. It just comes and goes so quickly,” said Tortorella.
Overtime would see both teams trading excellent chances, but neither were able to get the deciding goal in the extra period.
In double overtime, however, the Golden Knights would have luck on their side. Using the lively end boards of T-Mobile Arena, Shea Theodore was able to bounce a shot off and deflect off Bussi’s skate into the net, turning a potentially devastating loss into one of the greatest showcases of resilience from Vegas in a long time.
“At that point of overtime, you’re just trying to get anything to the net. Kind of hope for a bounce, and we got one,” answered Theodore when asked about his goal.
After a string of exciting games and momentum swings, both teams will get a couple days of rest before heading back on the ice at T-Mobile Arena for Game Four on Tuesday.
“Lot of back and forth. A lot of lead changes,” said Eichel about the game. “So much resiliency from our group in finding a way to get it done. Really happy to be on the right side of this.”