Golden Knights survive Hurricanes' furious comeback, win Game 3 in double OT

The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 in double overtime in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on June 7, 2026. Shea Theodore was credited with the winning goal. The puck took an awkward bounce off Carolina's Jordan Martinook, then ricocheted off goalie Brandon Bussi's equipment and into the net.

Mitch Marner scored a hat trick in the second period for Vegas. ESPN reported that Marner's hat trick was the fastest in Stanley Cup Final history. Marner's three goals helped the Golden Knights take a 4-0 lead into the third period.

Tomas Hertl also scored a power-play goal in the second period, set up by Jack Eichel with a pass from behind the net; Marner recorded the secondary assist. Theodore made a breakout pass to William Karlsson on Vegas's second goal. Karlsson sent a cross-ice pass to Marner, whose shot was deflected by Carolina defenseman Sean Walker past Frederik Andersen to make the score 2-0.

A turnover allowed Brayden McNabb to recover the puck and assist Marner on the Golden Knights' third goal. Marner scored his third goal on a blast from the faceoff circle. Two straight Vegas goals were disallowed in the second period, one for offside and one for goalie interference.

Carolina starting goalie Frederik Andersen was pulled after allowing four goals. Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Staal scored three goals for the Hurricanes in the span of 39 seconds in the third period. Andrei Svechnikov scored the game-tying goal for Carolina with less than two minutes left in the third period.

The game featured four straight goals scored by each team at one point. Noah Hanifin left the game and went to the dressing room midway through the second period. He returned but played third-pairing minutes, with his ice time largely absorbed by Jeremy Lauzon.