ANAHEIM, Calif.— All Mitch Marner could do was skate toward the wall and smile.

His harmless snapshot trickled through Ville Husso’s pads, and three hats landed on the ice.

Marner continued the best playoff run of his career with four points, including his first postseason hat trick, and the Vegas Golden Knights cruised to a 6-2 win over the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of their second-round series at Honda Center on Friday night.

Game 4 is at Honda Center on Sunday.

The star winger scored his goals consecutively for his first natural hat trick since Dec. 27, 2024, while a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

That seems like ages ago. Much like ages ago when Marner had the blame shouldered upon him for Toronto’s shortcomings in the playoffs.

He has emphatically rewritten the narrative. His six goals and 13 points are now atop the league’s postseason leaderboard, with nine of those points coming in the last four games. He became the first Knights player since Jonathan Marchessault to record a natural hat trick in the playoffs.

“Obviously, I like (my confidence),” Marner said. “But, I like our line’s game a lot, too. I like the five-guys-on-the-ice game. I think we’ve been playing very responsible with the puck in our hands.”

The Knights lead the best-of-seven series 2-1 thanks to an emphatic response and their unquestioned best performance of this round.

Defensemen Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb each scored in the first period, and goaltender Carter Hart finished with 31 saves.

“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 elevate his play more.”

Marner scored his first goal on the power play with 4.6 seconds left in the first period, giving the Knights a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes.

Anaheim goalie Lukas Dostal’s night ended on eight shots.

Marner followed with a tuck-and-finish at 9:19 of the second off a slot pass from Theodore, then completed the hat trick at 17:56 on the snapshot that rolled through Husso’s pads.

“People talk about (Marner), this, that, the other thing,” Golden Knights coach John Tortorella said. “I don’t think he listens to it, whether it be good or bad. He’s just a hockey player.

“I never worry about how he feels about it. That’s why he’s one of the best players around. He’s got that proper mindset.”

The Knights were in desperate need of a performance like this after being outplayed by Anaheim in the first two games at T-Mobile Arena.

After a Game 1 win in which Tortorella said the Ducks were the better team, the Knights followed with an uphill climb in the 3-1 loss Wednesday.

Though they were outshot 11-8 in the first period Friday night, the Knights were in control from the moment they got on the board.

Theodore ensured that start happened 1:06 into the game after taking a pass from center Jack Eichel and finishing in the slot.

McNabb scored the Knights’ third shorthanded goal of the playoffs at 12:13, scoring far side after receiving a drop pass from Marner. The Knights’ PK went 2-for-2 and is now 26 of 27 in the playoffs.

“I thought we got to our game more tonight,” Tortorella said. “Still some things (to work on), but we certainly got to our game as we started.”

Tortorella focused on puck possession and offensive zone time as areas of emphasis to improve on from the first two games. The Ducks had the advantage in shot attempts yet again (72-48) but the Knights made the most of their chances, which they didn’t in Game 2.

Marner, especially, did. And now the Knights are back in control of the series.

“It’s a lot of work still to go,” Marner said. “It’s always nice to contribute and help win games, but at the end of the day, you just want to win games.”

Contact Danny Webster at dwebster@reviewjournal.com. Follow @DannyWebster21 on X.

Series schedule

Knights lead series 2-1

Game 1: Knights 3, Ducks 1

Game 2: Ducks 3, Knights 1

Game 3: Knights 6, Ducks 2

Game 4: Sunday, 6:30 p.m. at Honda Center (ESPN)

Game 5: Tuesday, 6:30 p.m. at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN)

*Game 6: Thursday, TBD at Honda Center (TNT)

*Game 7: May 16, TBD at T-Mobile Arena (ESPN or ABC)

*if necessary