The Golden Knights took Game 3 in a commanding 6-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks in the Second Round series on Friday night at Honda Center. The Golden Knights lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.
HOW IT WENT DOWN
At 1:06 of the opening period, Shea Theodore struck first to give the Golden Knights an early 1-0 lead. Mark Stone completed a spin move and backhanded the puck to Jack Eichel as he sent a cross-slot feed to Theodore, who lifted the puck past Lukas Dostal. Brayden McNabb extended the Golden Knights’ edge to two with a shorthanded goal with 7:47 remaining in the first frame. Mitch Marner skated into the offensive zone and left a drop pass for McNabb, as he controlled the puck and ripped it far side for the score. With five seconds remaining in the opening frame, Marner made it a three-goal game on the power play. Marner sent the puck toward the net, and Pavel Dorofeyev got the loose puck back to Marner at the goal line, as he went backdoor past Dostal.
Midway through the middle period, Marner netted his second goal of the night to put Vegas up, 4-0. Brett Howden fed the puck to Theodore on the blue line as he found Marner streaking toward the net to take advantage and tuck the puck behind a compromised Ville Husso. Marner then netted his third consecutive goal of the game to record a natural hat trick and boost the Golden Knights’ edge to 5-0. William Karlsson found the puck along the end boards and fed it to Marner behind the goal as he found space and fired the puck short side into the back of the net. Beckett Sennecke got the Ducks on the board, 5-1, with a goal at 6:30 in the final period. Chris Kreider cut the Vegas lead to three as he netted a goal at 4:51 remaining in the contest. Three minutes later, Howden sealed the victory with an empty-netter to beat Anaheim 6-2. Carter Hart turned aside 30 out of 32 shots to secure Game 3 and hand the Ducks their first home loss of the postseason.
TOP PERFORMERS
Mitch Marner: Marner recorded his first career playoff hat trick and picked up an assist to increase his postseason point total to 13 (6G, 7A).
Brayden McNabb: McNabb netted a shorthanded goal, becoming the second Golden Knights defenseman ever to score shorthanded in the postseason.
Carter Hart: Hart stopped 30 shots and posted a .938 save percentage to lift the Golden Knights to a win in Game 3.
Shea Theodore: Theodore scored the game-opening goal and recorded an assist, tallying his seventh point (3G, 4A) of the postseason.
SERIES AT A GLANCE
All times PST
Game 1: Vegas Golden Knights 3, Anaheim Ducks 1 | HIGHLIGHTS
Game 2: Anaheim Ducks 3, Vegas Golden Knights 1 | HIGHLIGHTS
Game 3: Vegas Golden Knights 6, Anaheim Ducks 2 | HIGHLIGHTS
Game 4: Sunday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m. | Honda Center
Game 5: Tuesday, May 12 at 6:30 p.m. | T-Mobile Arena | BUY TICKETS
Game 6 (if necessary): Thursday, May 14 - Time TBD | Honda Center
Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, May 16 - Time TBD | T-Mobile Arena | BUY TICKETS
VGK STATS OF THE KNIGHT
Brayden McNabb scored the Golden Knights’ third shorthanded goal this postseason, marking the most shorthanded goals in the franchise's history during a playoff run.
Mitch Marner became the first player in Golden Knights history to record three or more points in back-to-back road games.
Jack Eichel has tallied a point in every road game this postseason, registering six points (1G, 5A) through four away playoff games.
Mark Stone recorded his 40th career postseason helper, moving into a tie for the fourth-most assists in Golden Knights’ playoff history.
Theodore scored the game-opening goal 1:06 into the game, the fastest goal since Round 2, Game 6 of the 2023 Golden Knights postseason.
Marner became the third player and second Golden Knight to record a hat trick this postseason. Pavel Dorofeyev tallied a hat trick in Round 1, Game 5.
Marner and Howden are tied for the most goals of the postseason with six each.
WHEN VGK WINS, YOU WIN!
Fans can receive six free boneless or traditional wings at any Buffalo Wild Wings restaurant location throughout the greater Vegas metro area with a $10+ qualifying pre-tax purchase of food and non-alcoholic beverages, available for two days after any 2025-2026 VGK Win.
LOOKING AHEAD
The Golden Knights battle the Ducks in Game 4 of the Second Round on Sunday at Honda Center, with puck drop set for 6:30 p.m. Tune into the Pregame Show on The Spot-Vegas 34, then catch all the action on ESPN. Listen live on FOX Sports Las Vegas 94.7/1340 and Deportes Vegas 1460.
