Maybe it was foreshadowing that Mitch Marner’s face was on every seat at T-Mobile Arena.
The gold rally towels covering the chairs for the first home game of the Stanley Cup Final for the Vegas Golden Knights had the star forward’s likeness printed on them.
What happened Saturday will go down in lore for many reasons. The obvious being the Knights overcoming a disastrous collapse to win 5-4 in double overtime against the Carolina Hurricanes to take a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
Just when it seemed like Marner couldn’t have another epic postseason moment in his bag of tricks, he raised the bar with a natural hat trick and an assist in the second period.
“I thought our line played a really good game throughout all periods, all five, I guess,” Marner said. “I thought we did a really good job of just advancing pucks, winning battles down low, making plays.”
That was supposed to be the story. Instead, the Knights squandered a four-goal lead, and Carolina forced overtime.
Shea Theodore was the hero at 5:38 of the second overtime to put the Knights, and Marner, two wins away from a Stanley Cup.
“Crazy game,” Marner said. “Obviously, not how you envision the third in any way, but just really with how our group responded.”
It’s his to lose
If things continue falling into place, the Stanley Cup won’t be the only trophy Marner brings back with him.
Marner has a league-leading 28 points in 19 playoff games. He’s eight points clear of second place, held by Carolina’s Jackson Blake. There’s no doubt who’s the favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy for playoff MVP.
“He’s probably one of the best players in the league,” coach John Tortorella said.
That label of not shining in the playoffs was already ripped to shreds. One could point to Marner’s first playoff hat trick, a month ago Monday in Anaheim, to when he arrived.
Saturday will go down as his Mona Lisa. His Sistine Chapel.
The only way it could’ve been topped is if Marner converted on his penalty shot attempt early in the third period. Had he realized it was Brandon Bussi in net, not Frederik Andersen, the prescout would’ve been different in his mind.
“I was pretty exhausted, to be honest. I was saying that I really didn’t notice they switched their goalie, and then I didn’t notice he’s an off-hand, as well,” Marner said. “I had a lot of different thoughts kind of going through my mind when I was going on that penalty shot, just trying to shoot it quickly or trying to find a play. I liked my move. It just missed by a hair, I thought.”
Still about the team
That’s as far as Marner would talk about himself Saturday.
It’s impossible for the attention to not be on him. Every time he’s been asked to talk about himself, he has veered the credit toward his linemates — Brett Howden and William Karlsson — for why there has been success.
“I thought we had good looks all night from all three of us,” said Marner, who had 10 shots on goal. “I just got put in good areas by my teammates and I was happy enough to finish them off.”
With every goal scored, every point accumulated, Marner’s legend grows.
Vegas lore is one thing. He has already put together the greatest scoring postseason in team history, surpassing Jack Eichel’s 2023 run with 26 points.
Two hat tricks in one postseason had never been done before until this year. For a 9-year-old franchise with some memorable playoff hat tricks, Marner has created a chapter on his own.
“He’s been doing it all playoffs for us,” Eichel said. “Just pretty special. Pretty incredible. He’s on another level right now.”
Marner took over in an eventful second period that saw two Knights goals come off the board because of successful coach’s challenges from Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour.
Marner’s first came 16 seconds after Tomas Hertl opened the scoring on the power play. His backhand centering pass deflected off Carolina defenseman Sean Walker’s stick and trickled in.
Three minutes, 50 seconds later, Marner hit the near post on a breakaway. Defenseman Brayden McNabb — who was his own story in Game 3 — kept the puck in the zone, got it to Marner and finished with the backhand.
Two minutes, 20 seconds later, a blocked shot sprung a breakaway for Marner. He wound back and fired a slapshot from the right circle to beat Andersen and cue the parade of hats.
Three goals in 6 minutes, 10 seconds — the fastest hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history.
“What a player,” McNabb said. “He just takes the game over. It’s so much fun to see. It’s spectacular, really.”
Doing it all
That record stood for 69 years. It was held by Maurice “Rocket” Richard, one of the greatest goal scorers of all-time, on April 6, 1957. There’s a trophy named after him given to the league’s leading goal scorer, after all.
Marner has 10 goals this postseason. He became the third Knights player to reach double digits in goals this spring. Howden, is still the leader with 13.
Who do you think is the one setting up Howden? The process of elimination would guess the league leader in primary assists — which is what 14 of Marner’s 18 helpers are.
“He does everything,” Tortorella said. “Mitch is Mitch.”
Marner has been in the cross hairs of expectation for years. He has been in the spotlight for so long that pressure might not be overpowering, but rather exhausting.
Years of failures placed at his skates. The fourth overall pick in 2015 was the hometown kid that was supposed to lead the Toronto Maple Leafs to glory.
Instead, he’s two wins away from showing that, maybe, he was never truly the problem.
It’s hard to say if Marner has truly felt the weight of expectation on his shoulders. The frenzy in Toronto is drastically cut in Las Vegas. Make no mistake: The Knights were only going to get this far if Marner lived up to the billing.
He’s two wins away from being just that.
“We’re just lucky to have him,” McNabb said.
Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.
Up next
Who: Hurricanes at Golden Knights
What: Stanley Cup Final, Game 4 (Knights lead 2-1)
When: 5 p.m. Tuesday
Where: T-Mobile Arena
TV: ABC
Radio: KFLG 94.7 FM/KKGK 1340 AM
Line: Knights -115; total 6
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Stanley Cup Final schedule
Game 1: Knights 5, Hurricanes 4
Game 2: Hurricanes 4, Knights 3 (OT)
Game 3: Knights 5, Hurricanes 4 (2OT)
Game 4: June 9, 5 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
*Game 5: June 11, 5 p.m. at Lenovo Center, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
*Game 6: June 14, 5 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
*Game 7: June 17, 5 p.m. at Lenovo Center, KTNV-TV (Channel 13)
*if necessary
