The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4 on Saturday night.
Defenseman Shea Theodore scored at 5:38 of the second overtime period, giving Vegas a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Golden Knights squandered a four-goal lead during the third period. Theodore secured the game-winning goal off the skate of opposing goaltender Brandon Bussi.
Mitch Marner recorded the fastest natural hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history. He scored three times within a 6:10 span during the second period.
Teams that secure a 2-1 lead in the championship round have historically won the Stanley Cup in 46 of 57 instances.
That translates to an 80.7% success rate.
The loss marked the first overtime defeat of the postseason for Carolina. They had previously been 6-0 in extra periods.
The game marked the 10th time in NHL history that the opening three matchups of a Stanley Cup Final were each decided by a single goal.
That last occurred during the 2016 series between Pittsburgh and San Jose.
Vegas established a commanding lead through a four-goal second period.
Marner recorded four points and assisted on a goal by Tomas Hertl, matching a single-period Stanley Cup Final scoring feat last achieved by Frank Foyston in 1919.
Marner failed to score on both a breakaway and a penalty shot against Bussi in the third period.
Bussi made 18 saves after replacing Frederik Andersen.
Carolina initiated a comeback with goals from Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Staal within a 39-second span.
That represents the fastest three goals scored by one team in a Stanley Cup Final game.
The Hurricanes forced overtime when forward Andrei Svechnikov scored on a six-on-four power play with 1:42 remaining in regulation.
They played without forward William Carrier, who suffered a second-period injury.
Vegas goaltender Carter Hart stopped 29 shots.
Defenseman Brayden McNabb returned to action wearing a protective facial cage after sustaining an injury in Game 2.
Two early second-period goals by Mark Stone and Jack Eichel were overturned following successful video challenges by Carolina.
The challenges were for an offside violation and goaltender interference, respectively.
"We just left our foot off the gas," said Shea Theodore.
"I think we have to be sharper in the third, but I liked the resiliency out of our group."
Theodore played on the top defensive pairing alongside McNabb. Team captain Mark Stone praised McNabb's quick return and work ethic.
"I wish I could say it's shocking, but it's not," said Mark Stone. "Just the way he comes to the rink every day, it's like nothing happened."
The teams will have a two-day break before resuming the series for Game 4 on Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
