After two goals were overturned in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, Mitch Marner responded with a record-fast hat trick, including two goals 16 seconds apart, as the Vegas Golden Knights surged to a commanding 4-0 lead after two periods.
For the Vegas Golden Knights, it wasn’t just the scoreboard that felt unstable—it was the calls. After losing a key goal in Game 2 on an unsuccessful challenge, the team watched two more goals get erased in the second period of Game 3.
Then the response arrived in a way that left little room for debate.
Mitch Marner scored three times in the period, turning a difficult stretch into a fast, decisive run. His three goals came in a span of 6 minutes. 10 seconds. setting a record for the fastest Stanley Cup Final hat trick—beating the previous mark held by Maurice “Rocket” Richard. By the end of two periods, Vegas was leading 4-0.
The sequence began with a breakaway that looked like it would set the tone early. Golden Knights captain Mark Stone scored on a breakaway on a pass from Brett Howden at the blue line. Carolina then challenged. Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour argued for offsides. and a review found that Howden was in the zone before the puck.
No goal.
Not long after, Jack Eichel scored shortly afterward, and the referees initially called it a good goal on the ice. Brind’Amour challenged again, this time for goalie interference. The goal was overturned after review showed that Ivan Barbashev clipped the head of Frederik Andersen as he skated through the crease.
With the scoreboard still locked, Vegas moved quickly to convert momentum into pressure. The Golden Knights earned a power play when Carolina had too many men on the ice. Tomas Hertl scored. Sixteen seconds later. Marner added to the lead. firing the puck in front of the net and having it tipped accidentally past the Hurricanes goalie by Sean Walker.
The pace didn’t slow.
Marner missed on a breakaway, then got another chance after taking a feed from Brayden McNabb. He scored his second goal of the game. After that, he blasted a shot past Andersen on another breakaway, completing the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history.
What happened next was, in its own way, the defining moment: every time the Golden Knights had a goal taken away through review, they answered again—faster, sharper, and with enough speed to rewrite the record book.
Mitch Marner Vegas Golden Knights Carolina Hurricanes Stanley Cup Final hat trick record Mark Stone Rod Brind'Amour Frederik Andersen Ivan Barbashev NHL
So they just keep reviewing everything now? Sounds like they can’t decide rules.
I swear every goal in the Final gets overturned now, it’s like Vegas can’t win unless it’s 4-0 already. Marner did the opposite of slow though so I gotta respect it.
Wait, didn’t Carolina get robbed in Game 2 and then it swung back? Like the refs were shaky but then Marner breaks records so it balances out? I don’t even know, I just heard “16 seconds” and that’s wild.
Goalie interference?? Isn’t that basically always a thing if someone’s near the goalie. Also the Barbashev clipping Andersen thing, that sounds super dirty but then they call it back. Anyway hats off to Marner I guess, but the officiating felt cursed.