Marner’s fastest – Mitch Marner scored a fastest-in-Stanley-Cup-history natural hat trick in the second period to help the Vegas Golden Knights take a 4-0 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. Carolina answered with four goals in the third to forc
LAS VEGAS — Mitch Marner didn’t just tilt Game 3 with a multi-goal night. He did it in a way that made the building feel like it was speeding up.
In the second period. Marner delivered a natural hat trick—so quick it became the fastest natural hat trick in Stanley Cup history at 6:10. Vegas built a 4-0 lead over the Carolina Hurricanes on Saturday night in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. turning momentum into something close to inevitability.
Then the game snapped back.
The 4-0 advantage didn’t last. Carolina scored four goals in the third period to force overtime for the second straight game. The Hurricanes had already shown they could come back from a deficit, winning Game 2 in overtime after Seth Jarvis scored on a power play 3:56 into extra time.
Marner’s night began with a scoreless tie that lasted until midway through the second. Tomas Hertl broke it after Vegas opened the stanza with two goals overturned by challenges. Hertl’s goal set the tone for what followed.
Marner’s first goal came when he gathered a loose puck near the boards and fired a backhander into the crease. Carolina defenseman Sean Walker accidentally deflected the puck past Frederik Andersen, giving Vegas a 2-0 lead.
Less than four minutes later, Marner struck again. He deked around Andersen and slipped the puck into the net with what looked like ease, making it 3-0.
With a little more than three minutes left in the period, Marner added the third—blasting a shot from the right circle and sending the ice into a frenzy of hats being thrown. It was the fastest natural hat trick in Stanley Cup history.
Between periods, Marner spoke about the night without putting it all on his own shoulders. “I can’t do it by myself, that’s for sure,” he said during a television interview. “All five guys have been on a great page. I’ve liked our line’s play for the last month.”
He also assisted on Hertl’s goal, finishing the period with four points. His four-point output in a single period is tied for the most since 1919.
Beyond the scoreboard, Marner’s production has reshaped what people expect from a postseason with a new team. His 28 points are the most by any player in NHL history in his first postseason with a new team. The 29-year-old has 10 goals in 19 playoff games with the Golden Knights. Before that, he scored 13 goals in 70 playoff games during his nine years with Toronto.
As Game 3 headed toward overtime again, the patterns the playoffs have already written kept pressing into view. Carolina has now played seven overtime games this postseason, while Vegas has reached extra time five times.
Vegas may have looked in control when Marner’s hat trick put it well ahead, but Carolina’s response—four unanswered goals in the third—made sure the series would continue to demand stamina, not just skill.
Mitch Marner Vegas Golden Knights Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup Final Game 3 natural hat trick overtime Frederik Andersen Sean Walker Tomas Hertl Seth Jarvis
6:10 hat trick is insane lol
Wait so it was 4-0 then Carolina came back and scored like… four in the third? That’s crazy. I feel like the Vegas goalie must’ve just fell asleep or something.
Natural hat trick means like he didn’t get any assists right? Also how can it be fastest ever but the other team still won it like that. Seems fake that it would be record-setting and then suddenly it’s tied.
Vegas 4-0 was already over then Carolina just went on a random rampage. I swear NHL games are like that now, momentum disappears in like 10 minutes. And it says Walker deflected it “accidentally” but I mean cmon that’s still a goal for Vegas… I dunno, hockey is wild.