Recap: Canes' Historic Comeback Bid Foiled In Double Overtime

LAS VEGAS - The Carolina Hurricanes erased a four-goal deficit in the third period, but a tough bounce in the second overtime dealt them a 5-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final.

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Keeping pace with the first two games of the series, Carolina was the more effective team to begin the night; however, Rod Brind'Amour's group wasn't able to get anything out of a penalty-free frame in terms of scoring.

That proved problematic because the middle stanza belonged to the hosts. Despite a pair of successful coaches' challenges by the Canes, the hosts struck for a quartet of goals in just 6:26 to completely take command of the contest.

Including a natural hat trick by Mitch Marner to conclude the run, the barrage ended Frederik Andersen's night with 12 saves on 16 shots, making way for Brandon Bussi's first career appearance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and his first action since Apr. 14.

Yet just like Game 2, the Canes were down, but not out.

After a Bussi penalty shot save on Marner, denying him what would have been his fourth goal of the night, the Canes counterpunched with the fastest three tallies in Stanley Cup Final history to make it a contest. In the blink of an eye, Jordan Martinook, Taylor Hall, and Jordan Staal went back-to-back-to-back in just 39 seconds to propel Carolina right back into things.

Stunning the T-Mobile Arena crowd, the Canes remained in pursuit of the equalizer, and with 1:42 remaining in regulation, they found it. A power-play goal courtesy of Andrei Svechnikov made more history for his team, making them the second team in NHL history — and the first in 50 years — to equalize from four goals down in the Stanley Cup Final.

Heading to overtime for the second straight contest, the two clubs traded blows for another 20 minutes, but to no avail. A two-way struggle that seemed destined to continue long into the night then ended abruptly 5:38 into its fifth period of play, as a Shea Theodore shot from the blue line caromed off the boards behind the net, then found Bussi's skate before trickling across the goal line to give Vegas a 2-1 lead in the series.

Bussi, to his credit, wrapped up the night with a sterling 18 saves on 19 shots to give his team a fighting chance in the late action.

Stats & Standouts

• Jordan Staal joined Brad Marchand (3 GP in 2025) as the second player age 37 or older to score in the first three games of a Stanley Cup Final.
• Sebastian Aho logged two assists to become the fifth player in NHL history with eight consecutive 10-point postseasons at any point in their career. He joins Wayne Gretzky (11 from 1981-91), Mark Messier (10 from 1983-92), Brad Marchand (8 from 2018-25) and Bernie Geoffrion (8 from 1953-60).
• The Hurricanes scored three goals in a span of 39 seconds, the fastest three goals in Stanley Cup Final history and the fifth time a team has notched three tallies that quickly in any playoff game. The previous record for fastest three goals by one team in the Final was 56 seconds, achieved more than 72 years ago by the 1954 Canadiens.
• The Canes also became the second team in NHL history to erase a four-goal deficit in the Stanley Cup Final. The only other instance occurred more than 50 years ago in Game 1 of the 1972 Stanley Cup Final when the Rangers trailed 5-1 before tying the score at 5-5 in an eventual 6-5 regulation defeat against the Bruins.
• This is the first time Carolina has lost on the road this postseason, as well as the first time the team has fallen in overtime.
• William Carrier left the game during the second period and did not return. Rod Brind'Amour did not have an immediate update on the forward following the contes.

They Said It...

Rod Brind’Amour giving his description of things and where they went wrong during regulation…

“It was kind of a weird game. I thought we were okay to start. Events first six minutes of the second, everything’s fine. Then we took a bad penalty, and they made a nice play. Then a bad bounce on the second one. Then they just snowballed on us there for the rest of the period. I knew we were going to get going eventually to get back in the game, give us a chance to win, but you can’t have those mistakes in the second period.”

Andrei Svechnikov accepting blame for taking a penalty in the second period, which started Vegas’ snowball of four goals in 6:26…

“It started with me. Obviously, I took the penalty and they scored the (first) goal. They kept the momentum and scored a few more goals.”

Jordan Martinook on the team's ability to fight back to force overtime...

“I love that we feel like we can come back from anything, but you can’t put yourself in a hole like we did in the second period. For them to come out like that and take total control of the game, it’s something that can’t happen, especially at this time.”

Rod Brind’Amour on the decision to turn to Brandon Bussi for the third period…

"There was no reason to leave Freddie in there the way that game was going... (Bussi) gave us a chance. (The overtime winner) is a tough break. I hate it for him, because he was playing great."

Brandon Bussi on playing for the first time in almost two months and making his first-ever Stanley Cup Playoffs appearance…

“Honestly, I was pretty even-keeled. These are the moments you want to be playing in, right? I just put my head down and have fun with it. It was a great effort by us. Obviously, a tough bounce there in overtime. It kind of felt like it was going to be a greasy one, and unfortunately, it was in our net. We’ll regroup.”

Jordan Martinook on Brandon Bussi's playoff debut...

“He was incredible. I think, what, his first shot (against) was a penalty shot against Marner? We know we’ve had two good guys all year, so we have a ton of faith in Bus, and he played well when he got in there.”

Rod Brind’Amour on where the team goes from here in net…

“We'll figure all that out later. We've got a couple of days to reassess how we're going to go about the next game.”

Jordan Staal on the emotional drain of a game like that and looking ahead to the next one...

“It’s playoff hockey. It’s part of the gig. It’s never easy, it’s never going to be easy, and we know that. We understand that. We’ve got a bigger hill to climb now, but we’re excited for the challenge and excited to keep playing hard and keep moving forward.”

What's Next?

The Canes are scheduled to meet with the media on Sunday and practice on Monday ahead of Tuesday's Game 4.

Next Game: Tuesday, June 9 | SCF, Game 4 at Vegas | 8:00 p.m. ET | How To Watch | Watch Parties

Next Home Game: Thursday, June 11 | SCF, Game 5 vs. Vegas | 8:00 p.m. ET | How To Watch | Tickets | Parking