The 2026 Stanley Cup Final has been one of the most dramatic in recent memory. Through three games between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Vegas Golden Knights, 25 goals have been scored. That total ranks fifth most through the first three games of any championship series in NHL history. Every game has been decided by one goal. It is only the fourth Final in history where any team erased a multi-goal deficit three times across the series.
According to CBS Sports, this is also the first Stanley Cup Final in which every game has featured a tying goal in the final 10 minutes of regulation. Only three Finals have started with four straight one-goal games, and that last happened in 2015 between the Blackhawks and the Lightning.
Game 3 on Saturday extended to double overtime. Vegas scored four times in the second period to build what appeared to be a comfortable lead, but Carolina responded with four goals in the third period. Andrei Svechnikov tied the game on a power play at 18:17 of the third. Then Shea Theodore ended it at 5:38 of the second overtime, giving Vegas the 5-4 victory. It was Theodore's second overtime winner in these playoffs, making him only the seventh defenseman in league history to score multiple overtime goals in a single postseason.
The loss ended two notable streaks for Carolina. The Hurricanes had been 6-0 on the road in these playoffs and 6-0 in overtime before Saturday night. Carolina is now 3-12 all-time in playoff games that require two or more overtime periods. The Knights are 4-2 in such games.
Vegas now leads the series two games to one and has a chance to go up three games to one in Game 4 on Tuesday. A win would give the Knights a commanding lead heading back to Carolina and would represent their final home game of the season if they close things out on the road.
One of the subplots entering Game 4 is the goaltending situation for Carolina. Neither starting goalie in this series has played particularly well. Vegas coach John Tortorella is not expected to move off Carter Hart, who has been his starter since Tortorella took over after the firing of Bruce Cassidy late in the regular season. Hart is listed at long odds to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
For Carolina, backup goalie Brandon Bussi was in net when Shea Theodore scored the double-overtime winner in Game 3. Whether head coach Rod Brind'Amour makes a change back to Frederik Andersen for Game 4 is an open question heading into Tuesday's game.
The Hurricanes enter as slight favorites on the money line at -114, with Vegas priced at -106. The draws and story lines from the first three games have given the NHL a compelling product. At least seven goals have been scored in each of the three games played so far.
The play-off draw for both rounds is not yet set, but Game 4 is scheduled for Tuesday night in Las Vegas.
