Four-goal lead squandered: Knights avoid the worst in double overtime

Mathis Therrien
Four-goal lead squandered: Knights avoid the worst in double overtime
Credit: Capture d'écran Twitter

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals took place last night at T-Mobile Arena in Vegas, with the series tied at 1-1.

So far, the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights had put on an excellent show in the first two games of the series, and let's just say that Game 3 was no exception.

Here's a recap of that wild game.

We were treated to three completely different periods of regulation time in this game.

1st period: Perfectly even with no goals

In the first period, the game remained very tight, with both teams having few scoring chances and few shots on goal.

The Canes had established their style of play well, heading into the locker room with a 7-2 lead in shots, which reminded us of the series against the Montreal Canadiens.

2nd period: Total domination by the Golden Knights

Things took a turn for the worse for the Canes in the second, however, as their offense completely fell apart.

The Golden Knights exploded midway through the second period with four goals in just over six minutes, courtesy of an assist and a hat trick from Mitch Marner.

The former Leaf was absolutely brilliant in this period, as he took Carolina—and especially Frederik Andersen—out of the game.

Andersen was pulled at the end of the period, making way for Brandon Bussi.

It's worth noting that Marner's hat trick in 6:10 is the fastest in Stanley Cup Final history, surpassing Maurice Richard.

Third Period: An Unexpected Comeback by the Hurricanes

After the second period, we all seriously believed the Golden Knights were going to easily take Game 3 to take the lead in the series.

However, that was underestimating the Hurricanes—we should have known they'd find a way to get back into this game.

Seven minutes into the third period, the Hurricanes pulled off a simply unhoped-for feat by scoring three goals in 39 seconds.

Jordan Martinook opened the scoring for the Hurricanes, quickly followed by goals from Taylor Hall and Jordan Staal.

And finally, at the very end of the period, Andrei Svechnikov sent the game into overtime.

Overtime – Back to a Close Game

In overtime, the game became very close again rather than being dominated by either team, leaving us with absolutely no idea who would come out on top.

You might have thought the Hurricanes would take control, but it remained very even, especially in terms of shots.

It wasn't until the second overtime period that a winner was decided, when Shea Theodore's missed shot hit the boards and then came back behind Bussi, who deflected the puck into his own net.

It was a lucky goal that gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead in the series.

It was truly a completely crazy game, really living up to the series we've been treated to so far after three games.

This is probably the best Stanley Cup Final we've had in a very long time.

Three games decided by a single goal, including two in overtime—that's a show.


Overtime

– Here are yesterday's top scorers.

(Credit: NHL.com)

– Game 4 of this series will take place on Tuesday in Vegas starting at 8 p.m.

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