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.
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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.
