ANAHEIM, Calif. — Mitch Marner continues to be a major presence for the Vegas Golden Knights in these Stanley Cup playoffs. Some of his fellow big-name teammates finally made noise of their own in Game 3 against the Anaheim Ducks.

Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb scored first-period goals, and Marner then scored three consecutive goals for his first career playoff hat trick as the Golden Knights went on to a 6-2 rout Friday night at Honda Center, giving them a 2-1 series advantage over the upstart Ducks in the second round.

Game 4 is Sunday night in Anaheim. After the Ducks played two strong games to leave Las Vegas with a split, the Golden Knights responded with their best performance — they led 5-0 in the second period — and now have an opportunity to seize control of the series.

Marner now leads the NHL with 13 points in the playoffs (six goals and seven assists) and is one point from tying his career high for a single postseason. Marner’s total of six goals in nine playoff games with Vegas is already his most in a single postseason, including the first nine years of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Theodore also added an assist on Marner’s second goal, in addition to his goal in the first. Jack Eichel, Mark Stone and Pavel Dorofeyev each had assists. Stone left the game in the first period with an apparent injury.

“Not all problems are solved because you win a game,” Vegas coach John Tortorella said. “You have to keep on trying to get better. I thought we entered the series tonight, playing our game a little more than we have, but we’re going to have to keep improving.”

Carter Hart made 30 saves for Vegas. Ducks rookie Beckett Sennecke broke Hart’s shutout bid with a goal at 6:30 of the third — Sennecke’s second straight game with a goal. Chris Kreider scored for Anaheim with five minutes remaining to make it 5-2 before Brett Howden’s late empty-net goal.

Marner dominates with hat trick

Marner has consistently been Vegas’ best player in these playoffs, and he was again Friday night in Anaheim with a natural hat trick.

“I think he’s a hell of a hockey player,” Tortorella said of Marner. “I’ve watched him from afar for many years. We feel we’re very fortunate to have him on this team.”

Back in his natural position, on the wing, Marner jump-started the Golden Knights with two first-period points, both on special teams. First, he stole the puck from the Ducks’ power play, skated the length of the ice to back off the Anaheim defenders and dropped the puck to McNabb in space. McNabb buried the shot for Vegas’ third short-handed goal of the playoffs. Marner has had the primary assist on all three.

“Mitch was fantastic,” Theodore said. “He’s just so smart. He’s so skilled. You can use him in every situation. It’s good to see him elevating his game even more. It’s definitely a good time to get three goals for sure.”

In the closing seconds of the first period, Marner scored his first goal of the night by pouncing on a loose puck in front of the Anaheim net, extending Vegas’ lead to 3-0. He scored his second goal midway through the second period on a rush chance. Theodore slid it over to Marner on the weak side of the play, and he calmly tucked the puck around the outstretched pad of Anaheim backup Ville Husso to make it 4-0 Vegas.

Marner finished off his first career playoff hat trick with a goal later in the second period, when he found room on the short side of the net on Husso from a sharp angle near the goal line. — Jesse Granger, Golden Knights writer

Dostal’s short night

Lukas Dostal’s first playoffs for the Ducks has been quite the elevator ride. In Game 3, he was pulled after the first period, having allowed three goals on eight shots.

Statistically, Dostal had a rough opening round against Edmonton with an .874 save percentage, and he was pulled in Game 5 after giving up three goals on nine shots. He was more clutch than good against the high-powered Oilers before finding his footing in the clinching Game 6. The 25-year-old goalie rode that momentum into the first two games against Vegas as he stopped 40 of 43 shots. He came within 5.6 seconds of his first playoff shutout in Game 2.

But Dostal’s knack for allowing a goal on the first shot popped up again just 66 seconds into Game 3, when Theodore beat him after getting a feed from Jack Eichel. The shot he’ll definitely lament is one from the low-scoring McNabb, who got his sixth career tally in 113 playoff games.

Another issue for Dostal in the first round was his struggles containing pucks after making an initial stop. That was the case in the final minute of the first, when he couldn’t secure a shot on the Vegas power play. Pavel Dorofeyev kept the puck alive for Marner, who slid it in behind the Anaheim netminder. That was it for Dostal, as Ducks coach Joel Quenneville turned to Husso to open the second period.

When asked if Dostal will start Game 4, Quenneville said, “We’ll see. We’ll see.” — Eric Stephens, Ducks writer

Ducks’ power play still faltering

No team had a hotter power play in the first round than Anaheim. It is a decidedly different story in this series against the Vegas penalty kill. The Ducks’ failure to make the Golden Knights pay is becoming a major issue.

The Ducks played a strong overall team game to win Game 2, but the job might have been easier had they done anything with four Vegas minor penalties in the first 5:33 of that contest. The Ducks also had early opportunities in Game 3 but have yet to generate any consistent pressure and force Hart to make difficult saves.

With a chance to answer Theodore’s opening goal, the Ducks struggled to put passes together on two power plays, after Brett Howden was busted for a cross check on Troy Terry and Eichel was nabbed for hooking Anaheim’s Tim Washe. The aggressive Vegas penalty kill not only shut off any momentum Anaheim could build but grabbed more of its own when McNabb scored short-handed during the Eichel penalty.

“I think there’s been some good things on the power play,” Ducks forward Alex Killorn said. “They’ve obviously done a great job and even in the first round they had a great kill. If we’re not going to score, we have to make sure we get some momentum. At least getting some shots on that. But we have a pretty talented group and hopefully with more opportunities we’ll be able to get a goal.” — Stephens

Hart steady for Vegas

He wasn’t as busy as he was during the first two games of the series, because the Golden Knights dominated the game on Friday, but Hart continues to provide the team with solid netminding since his bumpy start to the playoffs.

Hart stopped 30 of 32 in the Game 3 victory. It was probably his least spectacular performance of the series, after he turned away 58 of 62 shots in games 1 and 2 (.935 save percentage).

“You need a good goalie, and Hart has been great on the kill, and throughout the playoffs,” McNabb said.

Going back to Game 6 in the first round, in which Vegas eliminated the Utah Mammoth in a 5-1 win, Hart has given the Golden Knights four straight games of strong goaltending. — Granger

Stone leaves with injury

Stone’s injury put a damper on an otherwise perfect night for the Golden Knights. Late in the first period, Stone pulled up while skating on the power play and went straight to the Vegas dressing room. He appeared to be reaching for his groin area as he exited the ice.

The captain returned to the Vegas bench briefly in the second period. He skated around during a television timeout, slammed his stick and went back down the tunnel to the dressing room, and didn’t return to the game.

Stone has dealt with several major injuries over the last few years in Vegas, and missed 22 games during the 2025-26 regular season due to two separate injuries that landed him on the injured list.

Tortorella didn’t offer an update on Stone’s status after the game. — Granger