Noah Hanifin and Brayden McNabb were not on the ice for Vegas’s Monday Stanley Cup Final practice, a notable absence for a team that needed double overtime to beat the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3. McNabb returned to action in Game 3 after being struck in the
The last thing the Vegas Golden Knights needed after a 5-4. double-overtime Game 3 win was a practice day that looked anything but routine. The kind of night Vegas just had—jumping out to a 4-0 lead with Mitch Marner’s hat trick. watching Carolina erase the deficit in the third period. and then surviving the Hurricanes’ push after the score was knotted—already carried enough adrenaline.
On Monday, though, the adrenaline had a different shape. Vegas was shorthanded during practice, with both Noah Hanifin and Brayden McNabb not on the ice with the rest of their teammates.
“Noah Hanifin and Brayden McNabb are not on the ice for practice today,” SinBinVegas reported on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The update lands with added weight on McNabb. whose Game 3 return came after he was struck in the face by a slapshot from Carolina forward Nikolaj Ehlers in the second period of Game 2. In Game 3, McNabb played while wearing a full cage on his helmet. The choice didn’t slow his impact either: he recorded an assist on the goal that became the double-overtime decider. scored by Shea Theodore.
Vegas will be watching whether that same readiness carries over to Game 4 preparations. The numbers so far in these playoffs have pointed to McNabb as a steady driver for the lineup. He has scored once and added six assists through the postseason. posted a plus-10 rating. and averaged 19:59 of ice time per game. His physical involvement has also shown up in the shot-blocking: he has 33 blocked shots this postseason. after logging a team-high 142 blocks during the regular season across 63 games.
Hanifin’s absence adds its own layer. A former Hurricanes defenseman. he has appeared in 19 games this postseason for Vegas. collecting seven assists and finishing with a plus-three rating. His ice time has averaged 23:36 per game—an important figure given how often the Stanley Cup Final forces defenses to carry the load in tight moments.
What makes the practice miss stand out is the contrast with what just happened in Game 3. Vegas took control early with Marner’s hat trick and a 4-0 lead. only for Carolina to mount a historic comeback in the third period to tie the game before it finally went to overtime. Theodore’s double-overtime winner then sealed a victory that felt earned from start to finish.
Now the Golden Knights head into the next step of that series—Tuesday evening’s Game 4 against the Hurricanes—without Hanifin and McNabb on the ice during Monday’s practice, even as both were central to what Vegas needed most in the most recent chapter.
Golden Knights Vegas Golden Knights Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup Final Game 3 double overtime Mitch Marner hat trick Noah Hanifin Brayden McNabb Shea Theodore Nikolaj Ehlers SinBinVegas Game 4