Why did Golden Knights beat Hurricanes in 2OT?
Golden Knights escape Hurricanes’ four-goal rally in Game 3
Vegas took control early and then survived a historic collapse by Carolina to win 5-4 in double overtime and move ahead 2-1 in the Stanley Cup Final.
The key swing came after the Hurricanes erased a large deficit in the third period. Multiple reports describe Vegas as having a multi-goal advantage—specifically a four-goal lead—only for Carolina to unleash a scoring burst that forced extra time. The game became defined by how quickly momentum flipped, with Carolina scoring to get the match to overtime and then pushing it through a second extra session.
Once the game reached double overtime, Vegas found the decisive moment. Shea Theodore scored the winning goal at 5:38 of the second overtime, completing a comeback that had started to look impossible. In the process, Mitch Marner delivered an extraordinary performance: he recorded the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history during the second period, and his scoring output helped Vegas build the cushion that ultimately mattered even after the collapse.
What this result changes
- Vegas leads the series 2-1, strengthening its position with the opportunity to close out the championship in later games.
- Carolina’s rally proves its offensive urgency, but it also underscores that defensive lapses can be punished quickly in the Final.
- Marner’s historical production becomes a defining storyline of the series through three games.
With the series still only three games in, the win also highlights how little margin exists once momentum turns—one team’s surge can quickly become another team’s survival test in a game that already featured overturned goals and other late-game swings.