Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final had everything: A record-setting hat trick, a comeback that included a record of its own, and double overtime.

The Coles Notes version of this game: Despite coughing up a 4-0 lead, Vegas was able to pull through with a 5-4 win in double overtime. Shea Theodore was credited with the overtime winner on what was nothing more than an unfortunate bounce for the Hurricanes. The Golden Knights now hold a 2-1 series lead.

Off the endboards, through Martinook's stick, off Bussi's skate and INTO THE NET…

Only fitting that this WILD game ended on a crazy bounce 🫨😭 https://t.co/11QfcAcnxT pic.twitter.com/M8eoa9B5rg

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 7, 2026

Now the details, as there's quite a bit more to unpack. For a good chunk of the game, the main storyline looked like it would be about Mitch Marner, who is adding to his legend as a playoff performer. Marner recorded a natural hat trick in the second period to give Vegas a sizeable 4-0 lead. Marner's three goals was the fastest natural hat trick in Stanley Cup Final history (6:10), breaking a record set by Rocket Richard in 1957. With an assist on the first goal of the game from Tomas Hertl, Marner was also the first player since Frank Foyston in 1919 to have four points in one period of a Stanley Cup Final game.

Marner also had a chance to make it four goals with a third-period penalty shot, but he couldn't come through. That didn't seem to matter at the time, but things can change suddenly in a game.   

Brandon Bussi DENIES Mitch Marner on the penalty shot for what would have been his 4TH GOAL of the game 😮‍💨❌ pic.twitter.com/uAWm9d5cZs

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 7, 2026

The hat trick was Marner's second of the playoffs, with his first being in Game 3 of the second-round series with Anaheim. Marner also took a team-leading 10 shots in this game, putting him in the playoff lead in that category (53 SOG). More importantly, Marner leads the playoffs with 28 points, which is eight points clear of second-place teammate Jack Eichel. With his Game 3 performance, Marner should now be the clear frontrunner for the Conn Smythe Trophy. That one's gotta sting, Leafs fans.

Goals by Mitch Marner in his postseason career with the Leafs – 13

Goals by Mitch Marner is his first playoffs in Vegas – 10

— Michael Amato (@amato_mike) June 7, 2026

As for the comeback by the Canes that made this into a game, Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Staal scored three goals in a span of 39 seconds (7:03, 7:29, 7:42) in the third period. Those three goals were the fastest three goals in Stanley Cup Final history.

Andrei Svechnikov scored the tying goal on the power play with just under two minutes to play. Like the unsuccessful Vegas challenge in Game 2 that resulted in Carolina scoring on the power play, it is really hard to tell whether this should have counted. Only this time, Torts decided not to challenge.

ANDREI SVECHNIKOV SCORES AND THE CANES HAVE COME ALL THE WAY BACK FROM A 4-0 DEFICIT!!!

THIS GAME IS ABSOLUTELY INSANE 😱🫨 pic.twitter.com/zrdyag49GD

— Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 7, 2026

Something to look out for in Game 4 is who starts in net for Carolina. After Frederik Andersen allowed four goals on 16 shots, Brandon Bussi took over in net to start the third period. Surprisingly, this was Bussi's first action of playoffs. He performed rather well, allowing only the overtime winner while facing 19 shots in 45 minutes. A stat that may surprise you: Andersen has had five really bad starts in his past eight games dating back to the conference final, and he has allowed at least three goals in each game of the Stanley Cup Final. The 36-year-old Andersen could be wearing down after appearing in 16 consecutive playoff games (although with some lengthy breaks between series).

Some other notes from the game:

Carter Hart hasn't had a quality start in any of the three games of the Stanley Cup Final, allowing four goals in all three games. The thinking before this series was that these two teams would be checking a lot and scoring very little, but the scoring and level of entertainment of this series hasn't had any issues.

Cole Smith was credited with 14 hits in Game 3. Only teammate Ivan Barbashev has more hits than Smith (91) during the playoffs. Smith is averaging nearly five hits per game, while Barbashev (100 hits) is averaging over five hits per game.

Brayden McNabb was in the lineup for Game 3 wearing a full cage after taking a shot to his face during Game 2. McNabb had the second-highest icetime among Vegas skaters in Game 3 (35:47), only trailing Theodore (39:09). Hockey players bring a whole new level of toughness during the playoffs.

Noah Hanifin appeared to injure his shoulder in the second period, but he returned to the game at the start of the third period.

For the Canes, William Carrier left with an upper-body injury. Carrier is third in the playoffs with 79 hits.

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Andrei Vasilevskiy is this year's winner of the Vezina Trophy. Vasilevskiy led the league with 39 wins, which is often a strong indicator of who will win the award even with wins primarily being a function of team performance. Vasilevskiy also posted a strong 2.27 GAA and .912 SV%, while his 41 quality starts led the league.

Vasilevskiy's 2025-26 performance also provides a counterargument to Zero G. In other words, he was drafted high (ADP 16 in Yahoo leagues) and he delivered on that ADP. For the most part, Vasilevskiy is as safe a goalie pick as there is out there, as he has won at least 30 games in each of the past nine seasons. He should be one of the first goalies off the board again in 2026-27 drafts.

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As I continue to recap the fantasy season, the topic for today is players that completely caught me off guard. In other words, I did not predict the season they would have at all. To me, two players stand out in that area. Both are defensemen.

Darren Raddysh

Prior to 2025-26, Raddysh was an afterthought in fantasy leagues; mainly a player you would add if you had injuries on your defense. That was reflected in Raddysh being drafted in 3 percent of Yahoo leagues. Although Raddysh's 37 points in 73 games was just above the 40-point pace that seems to be the threshold for being rostered in many standard-sized Yahoo leagues, Victor Hedman was the Tampa Bay defenseman to roster having just come off 76-point and 66-point seasons.

After Raddysh recorded just three points in his first 11 games and had been a healthy scratch several times by mid-November, I don't think anyone saw what was coming next. With Hedman out of the lineup for multiple intervals, Raddysh took the ball and ran with it. From November 16 to the end of the season, Raddysh piled up 21 goals and 67 points in just 62 games, keeping a regular role on the top power play. Meanwhile, Hedman was out of the lineup for over half the season and couldn't get his footing while he was active. Raddysh had gone from seven-year AHL veteran to setting a franchise record for goals in a season by a defenseman (22).

All of this is perfect timing for Raddysh, who hits unrestricted free agency and stands to receive a gigantic raise on his $975,000 cap hit. Although most of their 2025-26 roster is under contract for next season, the Lightning have only $13 million in cap space. That means Raddysh's dominant 2025-26 performance may have priced him out of the Lightning's salary cap budget. Before we can make a judgement call on next season, let's see where he lands.

Matthew Schaefer

At the time of last year's draft, Schaefer seemed like a deserving first overall pick who would make an impact in fantasy leagues whenever he was ready. The thing was that I didn't expect him to make an impact this quickly. At least his rookie season outlook seemed more promising than Raddysh's upcoming campaign, as Schaefer was drafted in 36% of Yahoo leagues.

Schaefer's rookie season was not only impressive, it was historical. Here are the records he set:

Most points by an 18-year-old defenseman (59)

Most goals by an 18-year-old defenseman (23)

Most goals by a rookie defenseman (tied) (23)

Youngest defenseman to 50 points (18 years, 195 days old)

Between Schaefer and Raddysh, only Jakob Chychrun had more goals among defensemen (Norris Trophy winner Zach Werenski had the same number of goals as Raddysh).

After Schaefer broke the age curve as an 18-year-old in 2025-26, it will be interesting to see what will be in store next season. Perhaps there is some regression on some of his advanced stats, including shooting percentage (10.4%), 5-on-5 shooting percentage (9.5%), points per 60 (1.7), and secondary assist percentage (52.8%). We don't know that for sure, since Schaefer has only one NHL season under his belt.

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