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Winners, losers from Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final

Vegas Golden Knights right wing Mitch Marner (93) celebrates with teammates after scoring his third goal against the Carolina Hurricanes during the second period in Game 3 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena. Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

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Winners, losers from Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final: Golden Knights avoid historic collapse with OT win

By Adam Gretz | Last updated Jun 7, 2026 12:47 AM ET

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The 2026 Stanley Cup Final delivered another classic game on Saturday night, with the Vegas Golden Knights picking up a 5-4 double-overtime win over the Carolina Hurricanes to take a 2-1 series lead.

Shea Theodore scored the game-winning goal on an absolute fluke play, helping the Golden Knights avoid what would have been an historic meltdown.

After jumping out to a 4-0 lead going into the third period, Vegas allowed Carolina to score four consecutive goals — including three in 39 seconds — to tie the game.

Had Vegas lost, it would not only have been the worst Stanley Cup Final collapse in league history, but it might also have been a devastating loss that could have completely swung the series.

Thanks to Theodore and some luck, they do not have to worry about that.

Here are some more winners and losers from Saturday's game.

Game 3 winners

Shea Theodore, Vegas Golden Knights. It is not the way he drew it up, but Theodore is officially in the books as the Game 3 hero thanks to his double overtime goal.

It required a weird bounce off the boards, and then hitting off Hurricanes goalie Brandon Bussi, but it shows how accurate the old OT motto in hockey really is — no shot is a bad shot.

SHEA THEODORE WINS IT FOR VEGAS IN @ENERGIZER DOUBLE OVERTIME TO TAKE A 2-1 LEAD IN THE #STANLEYCUP FINAL pic.twitter.com/zpOANju87a
— NHL (@NHL) June 7, 2026

Theodore is an original Golden Knight and has been there through all of the team's success, so it is fitting he scores one of the franchise's biggest goals.

Mitch Marner, Vegas Golden Knights. The big-game narrative surrounding his career continues to change, and his hat trick on Saturday only adds to his Conn Smythe argument.

He finished the game with four total points (three goals, one assist) and is now up to a league-leading 28 points this postseason. If Vegas wins the Cup, the Conn Smythe will be his.

His hat trick made history for being the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history. He scored all three goals during a 6:10 stretch in the second period.

Carolina's video coaches. It might have come in a losing effort, but the only reason this game even had a chance to get to overtime is that Carolina was successful on two replay challenges in the second period, negating what would have been two Vegas goals. That 4-0 deficit could have easily been a 6-0 deficit. But thanks to some quick work from the Carolina coaches behind the scenes, they were able to stay in it.

Game 3 losers

Frederik Andersen, Carolina Hurricanes. Andersen was having an outstanding postseason entering this series, and had emerged as a Conn Smythe contender for the Hurricanes. But he struggled on Saturday, allowing four goals, plus the two disallowed goals that got in behind him. That resulted in him getting benched after the second period in favor of backup Bussi.

Does Rod Brind'Amour consider a goalie switch for Game 4? It would be a risky and bold move, but it might be on the table.

Carolina's puck luck. Carolina was not good at times defensively. It got outplayed for pretty much the entire second period. But there is no denying how luck was not on their side.

Marner's first goal was an own-goal off the stick of Hurricanes defenseman Sean Walker.

The game-winning goal in overtime was another own goal off the backside of Bussi after it took a bounce off the boards.

Sometimes you need some luck to win in the playoffs. Vegas had it on Saturday. Carolina did not.

Adam Gretz

Adam Gretz is a freelance writer based in Pittsburgh. He covers the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA. Baseball is his favorite sport -- he is nearly halfway through his goal of seeing a game in every MLB ballpark. Catch him on X @AGretz

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