ANAHEIM, Calif. – Mitch Marner continues to be a serious presence for the Vegas Golden Knights in these Stanley Cup playoffs. A few of his fellow big-name teammates lastly made noise of their very own in Sport 3 in opposition to the Anaheim Geese.
Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb scored first-period targets, and Marner then scored three consecutive targets for his first profession playoff hat trick because the Golden Knights went on to a 6-2 rout Friday night time at Honda Middle, giving them a 2-1 collection benefit over the upstart Geese within the second spherical.
Sport 4 is Sunday night time in Anaheim. After the Geese performed two robust video games to depart Las Vegas with a cut up, the Golden Knights responded with their finest efficiency — they led 5-0 within the second interval — and now have a possibility to grab management of the collection.
Marner now leads the NHL with 13 factors within the playoffs (six targets and 7 assists) and is one level from tying his profession excessive for a single postseason. Marner’s complete of six targets in 9 playoff video games with Vegas is already his most in a single postseason, together with the primary 9 years of his profession with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Theodore additionally added an help on Marner’s second aim, along with his aim within the first. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Pavel Dorofeyev every had assists. Stone left the sport within the first interval with an obvious harm.
Carter Hart made 30 saves for Vegas. Geese rookie Beckett Sennecke broke Hart’s shutout bid with a aim at 6:30 of the third — Sennecke’s second straight recreation with a aim. Chris Kreider scored for Anaheim with 5 minutes remaining to make it 5-2 earlier than Brett Howden’s late empty-net aim.
Marner dominates with hat trick
Marner has persistently been Vegas’ finest participant in these playoffs, and he was once more Friday night time in Anaheim with a pure hat trick.
Again in his pure place, on the wing, Marner jump-started the Golden Knights with two first-period factors, each on particular groups. First, he stole the puck from the Geese’ energy play, skated the size of the ice to again off the Anaheim defenders, and dropped the puck to McNabb in house. McNabb buried the shot for Vegas’ third short-handed aim of the playoffs. Marner has had the first help on all three.
Within the closing seconds of the primary interval, Marner scored his first aim of the night time by pouncing on a free puck in entrance of the Anaheim internet, extending Vegas’ result in 3-0. He scored his second aim halfway by means of the second interval on a rush probability. Theodore slid it over to Marner on the weak facet of the play, and he calmly tucked the puck across the outstretched pad of Anaheim backup Ville Husso to make it 4-0 Vegas.
Marner completed off his first profession playoff hat trick with a aim later within the second interval, when he discovered room on the quick facet of the web on Husso from a pointy angle close to the aim line. — Jesse Granger
Dostal’s quick night time
Lukas Dostal’s first playoffs for the Geese has been fairly the elevator trip. In Sport 3, he was pulled after the primary interval, having allowed three targets on eight photographs.
Statistically, Dostal had a tough opening spherical in opposition to Edmonton with an .874 save proportion, and he was pulled in Sport 5 after giving up three targets on 9 photographs. He was extra clutch than good in opposition to the high-powered Oilers earlier than discovering his footing within the clinching Sport 6. The 25-year-old goalie rode that momentum into the primary two video games in opposition to Vegas as he stopped 40 of 43 photographs. He got here inside 5.6 seconds of his first playoff shutout in Sport 2.
However Dostal’s knack for permitting a aim on the primary shot popped up once more simply 66 seconds into Sport 3, when Theodore beat him after getting a feed from Jack Eichel. The shot he’ll positively lament is one from the low-scoring McNabb, who bought his sixth profession tally in 113 playoff video games.
One other subject for Dostal within the first spherical was his struggles containing pucks after making an preliminary cease. That was the case within the closing minute of the primary, when he couldn’t safe a shot on the Vegas energy play. Pavel Dorofeyev stored the puck alive for Marner, who slid it in behind the Anaheim netminder. That was it for Dostal, as Geese coach Joel Quenneville turned to Husso to open the second interval. — Eric Stephens
Geese’ energy play nonetheless faltering
No group had a warmer energy play within the first spherical than Anaheim. It’s a decidedly totally different story on this collection in opposition to the Vegas penalty kill. The Geese’ failure to make the Golden Knights pay is turning into a serious subject.
The Geese performed a powerful total group recreation to win Sport 2, however the job might need been simpler had they carried out something with 4 Vegas minor penalties within the first 5:33 of that contest. The Geese additionally had early alternatives in Sport 3 however have but to generate any constant stress and drive Hart to make troublesome saves.
With an opportunity to reply Theodore’s opening aim, the Geese struggled to place passes collectively on two energy performs, after Brett Howden was busted for a cross verify on Troy Terry and Eichel was nabbed for hooking Anaheim’s Tim Washe. The aggressive Vegas penalty kill not solely shut off any momentum Anaheim might construct however grabbed extra of its personal when McNabb scored short-handed in the course of the Eichel penalty. — Stephens
Hart regular for Vegas
He wasn’t as busy as he was in the course of the first two video games of the collection, as a result of the Golden Knights dominated the sport on Friday, however Hart continues to supply the group with strong netminding since his bumpy begin to the playoffs.
Hart stopped 30 of 32 within the Sport 3 victory. It was in all probability his least spectacular efficiency of the collection, after he turned away 58 of 62 photographs in video games 1 and a couple of (.935 save proportion). Going again to Sport 6 within the first spherical, through which Vegas eradicated the Utah Mammoth in a 5-1 win, Hart has given the Golden Knights 4 straight video games of robust goaltending. — Granger
Stone leaves with harm
Stone’s harm put a damper on an in any other case excellent night time for the Golden Knights. Late within the first interval, Stone pulled up whereas skating on the facility play and went straight to the Vegas dressing room. He gave the impression to be reaching for his groin space as he exited the ice.
The captain returned to the Vegas bench briefly within the second interval. He skated round throughout a tv timeout, slammed his stick and went again down the tunnel to the dressing room, and didn’t return to the sport.
Stone has handled a number of main accidents over the previous few years in Vegas, and missed 22 video games in the course of the 2025-26 common season because of two separate accidents that landed him on the injured listing. — Granger