Mitch Marner delivered a career-defining performance Friday night, recording his first playoff hat trick in a dominant four-point showing that powered the Vegas Golden Knights to a commanding 6-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup.
The win puts Vegas ahead 2-1 in the best-of-seven series as they look to advance deeper into the postseason.
“There’s a lot of work to still go,” Marner said. “It’s always nice to contribute, but we just want to do what we can to try and win hockey games.”
Supporting Marner’s explosive offensive display, Shea Theodore and Brett Howden each contributed a goal and assist, while Brayden McNabb also found the back of the net for the Golden Knights. Goaltender Carter Hart was stellar between the pipes, turning away 31 shots to secure the victory.
Vegas coach John Tortorella was pleased with his team’s performance after two challenging games to start the series.
“I thought we entered the series tonight,” Tortorella said.
The Golden Knights will attempt to seize control of the series when they face off against Anaheim in Game 4 on Sunday.
For the Ducks, Beckett Sennecke and Chris Kreider managed to light the lamp in the losing effort. Anaheim’s goaltending struggled early, as starter Lukas Dostal was pulled after allowing three goals on just eight shots in the opening period. Relief goalie Ville Husso performed better, making 17 saves on 19 attempts.
Anaheim coach Joel Quenneville acknowledged his team needs to elevate their play moving forward.
“I think there’s a lesson to take out of today’s game,” Quenneville said. “It’s only gonna get harder every single game, not gonna get any easier. So let’s get ready to go to war.
“They played like an experienced bunch and they know what’s necessary as you progress in a series. They got our attention.”
Vegas wasted no time establishing control after offensive struggles in the series opener. Theodore struck first, joining a rush and converting from the slot just 66 seconds into the contest.
McNabb extended the lead to 2-0 with a short-handed marker at the 12:13 mark, beating Dostal from the left faceoff circle after collecting a drop pass from Marner. The goal marked Vegas’s third short-handed tally of the playoffs.
Marner capped off a dominant first period with a power-play goal, cleaning up a loose puck beside the net with just 4.6 seconds left on the clock to make it 3-0.
The second period belonged to Marner as well. He netted his second goal near the midway point when Theodore found him with a perfect pass as he drove to the net, allowing him to tuck the puck inside the post.
Marner’s hat trick was completed when his sharp-angle attempt found its way past Husso with 2:04 remaining in the middle frame.
Anaheim finally broke through in the third period when Sennecke pushed a loose puck across the goal line at 6:30. Kreider added another Ducks goal with 4:41 left, firing quickly from the low slot to cut the deficit to 5-2.
Howden sealed the victory with an empty-net goal in the final two minutes of play.
The triumph came with a concerning development for Vegas, as captain Mark Stone exited the game after the first period with an apparent injury suffered while backchecking. Stone did not return for the remainder of the contest.
Tortorella offered no details about Stone’s condition following the game.
