Exciting Stanley Cup Final: Golden Knights Edge Hurricanes in Double Overtime

LAS VEGAS — On Saturday night, the Golden Knights held a four-goal lead during a thrilling Stanley Cup Final, but that wasn’t enough to guarantee them a win.

In a wild third period, the Hurricanes managed an incredible four-goal comeback, nearly rewriting NHL history as they shook T-Mobile Arena.

The match concluded in a chaotic fashion, with Las Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore’s shot deflecting off backup goalie Brandon Bussi’s skate and into the net at 5:38 of double overtime. This unexpected moment awarded the Golden Knights a 5-4 victory over Carolina.

Golden Knights coach John Tortorella remarked, “We’ve been through a lot of playoff games, but I’ve never experienced anything like this.”

Yet, surprisingly, the spotlight almost shifted away from Mitch Marner, who scored four times for Las Vegas and achieved the quickest hat trick in Cup Finals history.

This win gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead in the series. Both teams are set for a break before Game 4 in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Historically, teams leading 2-1 in the series have clinched the Cup in 46 out of 57 instances, translating to an impressive 80.7% success rate.

Carolina had been undefeated in overtime this postseason, hoping to make history as the first team to come back after trailing by four goals in the third period—something that has never happened before, with a dismal record of 0-109 for such situations.

“We just let off the gas,” Theodore told ABC. “We should have been sharper in the third, but I was proud of our team’s resilience. It felt like we regained our focus by the time we entered the second overtime.”

This marked only the tenth time the first three games of a Stanley Cup Final ended with alternating scores, the last being in 2016 between Pittsburgh and San Jose.

The Golden Knights seemed to dominate earlier, scoring four points in the second period, which included Marner’s natural hat trick.

However, the Hurricanes fought back with goals from Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Staal, netting three goals just 39 seconds apart—the fastest trio of goals in Cup Final history.

Andrei Svechnikov found the net on a 6-on-4 power play with 1:42 left in overtime.

“I like being able to rebound from setbacks, but we can’t let ourselves fall into a hole like that,” Martinook noted. “You don’t expect them to come out so strongly during the second period and take total control.”

Marner struck during the second period’s 6:10 mark and assisted Tomas Hertl midway through the same period.

The last player to score four goals in a Cup Final was Frank Foyston of the Seattle Metropolitans back in 1919.

Marner nearly added to his tally in the third but missed a breakaway opportunity and a penalty shot; those missed chances would come back to haunt the Golden Knights.

After switching goalies, Bussi stepped up, making 18 saves and helping his team gain the lead on the third goal while Frederik Andersen had a rough outing, allowing four goals on just 16 shots.

Carolina also entered the game without forward William Carrier, a former Golden Knight, who suffered an upper-body injury earlier.

Las Vegas’ Carter Hart managed to stop 29 shots throughout the match.

In a tense moment early in the second, the Golden Knights thought they’d taken the lead only for the Hurricanes to rally defensively and keep them scoreless.

The return of defenseman Brayden McNabb provided a much-needed boost for the Knights. After taking a puck to the face in a previous match, his presence as a top defensive player alongside Theodore is invaluable for the team’s strategy.