Marner’s Hat Trick Lift Golden Knights to 6–2 Win Over Ducks
Written By Gina Anton
ANAHEIM – The Vegas Golden Knights erupted for three first-period goals and never looked back Saturday night, rolling to a commanding 6-2 victory over the Anaheim Ducks behind a hat trick from Mitch Marner and a stellar performance from goaltender Carter Hart.
Marner scored three times and added an assist, while Hart turned aside 31 shots as Vegas controlled the game early before weathering a heavy Anaheim push over the final two periods by the entirety of the team.
"It's always nice to try and contribute in a couple games but, at the end of the day, you just want to win games," Marner said. "Tonight, a lot of great plays by a lot of people around me to set me up in a spot I could succeed in."
Vegas struck quickly and often in the opening period, capitalizing on defensive miscues and sustained offensive pressure. Shea Theodore opened the scoring just 1:06 into the game, wiring home his third goal of the postseason off feeds from Jack Eichel and Mark Stone for a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Knights continued to dictate play physically and territorially, outmuscling Anaheim along the boards while Hart shut down every Ducks opportunity during two early penalty kills. Anaheim generated quality looks from Leo Carlsson, Mikael Granlund and John Carlson, but Hart remained sharp with 11 first-period saves.
Brayden McNabb doubled the advantage midway through the first period when he joined the rush and buried his first goal of the postseason at the 7:47 mark off a setup from Marner. Vegas then delivered the knockout blow in the closing seconds of the period.
With just five seconds remaining before intermission, Marner finished a crisp passing sequence from Pavel Dorofeyev and Colton Sissons to send the Golden Knights into the locker room with a commanding 3-0 lead despite Anaheim holding a slight edge in shots.
Anaheim swapped goaltenders to begin the second period, replacing Lukas Dostal with Ville Husso, but Vegas continued to pour on the offense.
Marner struck again at 10:41 of the second, finishing a setup from Theodore and Brett Howden for his second goal of the night and fifth of the playoffs. The veteran winger completed his hat trick less than nine minutes later, scoring at 2:04 after William Karlsson and Ivan Barbashev forced turnovers deep in the Anaheim zone.
By the end of the second period, Vegas had built a 5-0 cushion while Hart continued to frustrate the Ducks with timely saves through heavy traffic and several second-chance opportunities. Anaheim generated extended offensive-zone pressure during stretches of the middle frame, but Hart repeatedly denied attempts from Cutter Gauthier, Jansen Harkins and Carlsson.
The Ducks finally broke through midway through the third period when rookie Beckett Sennecke snapped home a goal off assists from Killorn and Granlund at 13:30. Anaheim added another at 4:51 remaining as Kreider converted a feed from Troy Terry and Carlsson to trim the deficit to 5-2.
Any hopes of a late rally were quickly erased when Howden capitalized on an Anaheim giveaway and scored unassisted with 1:56 left to restore the four-goal margin and seal the victory.
Vegas finished with six goals on 28 shots and received multi-point efforts from Marner (3 goals, 1 assist), Theodore (1 goal, 1 assist), Karlsson (assist, dominant faceoff performance), and Barbashev (two assists). Eichel added an assist and helped drive play at even strength despite drawing a first-period penalty.
Hart was the backbone of the win, with a .939 save percentage as Anaheim outshot Vegas for much of the night and delivered a relentless physical attack led by Kreider, Ross Johnston, Jackson LaCombe and Jacob Trouba.
The Golden Knights improved to another convincing offensive outing thanks to balanced scoring, opportunistic transition play, and Hart’s standout night between the pipes.
