Three nights ago, Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals between the Vegas Golden Knights and Carolina Hurricanes contained just about everything. First there were not one but two disallowed Vegas goals, then four straight tallies which actually counted for Vegas including a Mitch Marner natural hat trick and also a missed penalty shot from him. It seemed like an easy victory was on deck for the Golden Knights but Carolina scored three goals in just over 30 seconds plus one nearly at the buzzer to tie the game 4-4. It took until the second overtime for Shea Theodore to bounce a puck off the end boards to give Vegas the 5-4 victory and 2-1 series lead.
All that in just one game! What will Game 4 have in store? Will Carolina tie the series 2-2 or will Vegas take a commanding 3-1 lead?
Vegas Golden Knights
After the hat trick and four-point performance in Game 3, the Conn Smythe is now Mitch Marner’s to lose as he now leads the postseason leaderboard with 28 points. Vegas also survived a scare with defenseman Brayden McNabb getting dozens of stitches to the nose after taking a puck to the face and he should be in the lineup again tonight.
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Projected Lineup
Ivan Barbashev — Jack Eichel — Pavel Dorofeyev
Brett Howden — William Karlsson — Mitch Marner
Tomas Hertl — Colton Sissons — Mark Stone
Cole Smith — Nic Dowd — Keegan Kolesar
Brayden McNabb — Shea Theodore
Noah Hanifin — Rasmus Andersson
Carolina Hurricanes
The Hurricanes tested their 6-0 overtime record and came up a bit short in Game 3. Their ability to stage a comeback is impressive but they need to stop digging out of holes. If they could score earlier in games that would help their cause. After backup goaltender Brandon Bussi nearly saved the day in relief in Game 3 will Carolina turn to him to start Game 4? The team was mum on the issue at morning skate.
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Projected Lineup
Andrei Svechnikov — Sebastian Aho — Seth Jarvis
Taylor Hall — Logan Stankoven — Jackson Blake
Nikolaj Ehlers — Jordan Staal — Jordan Martinook
William Carrier — Mark Jankowski — Eric Robinson
Jaccob Slavin — Jalen Chatfield
K’Andre Miller — Sean Walker
Shayne Gostisbehere — Alexander Nikishin
Frederik Andersen
Brandon Bussi
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