{"id":307241,"date":"2026-05-09T05:26:30","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:26:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/307241\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T05:26:30","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T05:26:30","slug":"ducks-cant-slow-mitch-marner-golden-knights-in-game-3-loss-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/307241\/","title":{"rendered":"Ducks can\u2019t slow Mitch Marner, Golden Knights in Game\u00a03 loss \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

ANAHEIM \u2014 Losing battles, both for the puck and on special teams, was something the Ducks hoped they had moved past with their elevated play for elevated stakes.<\/p>\n

But on Friday night at Honda Center, they were outworked and outscored on special teams en route to a 6-2 evisceration by the Vegas Golden Knights led by a hat trick from Mitch Marner.<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights regained the lead in the best-of-seven second-round series, 2-1, after stealing Game 1 in Vegas and nearly being blanked in Game 2. Game 4 is Sunday night at Honda Center.<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal, center, stays on the ice after being scored on as Jacob Trouba, left, and Pavel Mintyukov, right, stand by during the final seconds of the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Ross Johnston (44) is met by a wall of Vegas Golden Knights players while trying to get the puck during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Dylan Coghlan, right, and the Ducks\u2019 Beckett Sennecke battle for the puck during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Tim Washe, left, chases after the Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Mitch Marner during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center. Marner scored three goals and Vegas built a five-goal lead on its way to a 6-2 win for a 2-1 series lead. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Cutter Gauthier, left, and the Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 William Karlsson battle for a loose puck during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Vegas<\/p>\n

Vegas Golden Knights players Ivan Barbashev, left, Shea Theodore, center, and Mark Stone celebrate a goal during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the Ducks on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Vegas<\/p>\n

Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Ivan Barbashev #49 watches a goal from Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Mitch Marner #93 against Ducks\u2019 Ville Husso #33 during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center (Photo by Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks Lukas Dostal (1) blocks a shot against Vegas Golden Knights during the first period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Alex Killorn, left, and the Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Jack Eichel battle for the puck during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Beckett Sennecke controls the puck during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks\u00e2\u0080\u0099<\/p>\n

Ducks\u2019 players Pavel Mintyuiov #98, Jacob Trouba #65 and Lukas Dostal #1 look back after a goal by Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Mitch Marner #93 during the first period of Dame 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey\/Getty Images)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Beckett Sennecke, left, and the Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Ben Hutton battle for the puck during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Ben Hutton, center, controls the puck between the Ducks\u2019 Cutter Gauthier, left, and Alex Killorn during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate a goal during the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the Ducks on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks mildly celebrate a goal against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks Jackson LaCombe (2) reacts after the Vegas Golden Knights scored during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks Jeffrey Viel (28) and Vegas Golden Knights Brayden McNabb (3) chase a flying puck during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Chris Kreider (20) is smashed between Vegas Golden Knights players during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks Ville Husso (33) is on the ground as he defends against the Vegas Golden Knights during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Vegas Golden Knights Carter Hart (79) is helped by teammate Shea Theodore (27) as the defend against the Ducks Chris Kreider (20) during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Mitch Marner (93) shoots and scores past Ducks goaltender Ville Husso (33) as Drew Helleson (14) and Cutter Gauthier (61) defend during the second period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks goaltender Ville Husso, left, blocks a shot by the Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Colton Sissons, right, during the second period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Beckett Sennecke, left, takes a shot on goal, but is blocked by the Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Ben Hutton, right, during the second period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Leo Carlsson (91) takes a shot on goal but is blocked by Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Carter Hart, right, during the second period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Cutter Gauthier, left, fends off the Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Colton Sissons as he skates with the puck during the second period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Tyson Hinds (60) takes a shot on goal during Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks celebrate a third period goal by Chris Kreider (20) during Game 3 against the Golden Knights at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights\u2019 Cole Smith (22) takes a shot on goal during Game 3 against the Ducks at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Golden Knights\u2019 Cole Smith (22) controls the puck on a breakaway, fending off the Ducks\u2019 Tyson Hinds (60), during Game 3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Mikael Granlund (64) and the Golden Knights\u2019 Dylan Coghlan (52) coiled against the boards during Game 3 between the two teams at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Jackson LaCombe (2) controls the puck in the third period of Game 3 against the Vegas Golden Knights at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Pavel Mintyukov (98), left, and the Golden Knights\u2019 Pavel Dorofeyev (16) battle for the puck along the wall during Game 3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Tim Washe (42), right, controls the puck, protecting it from the Golden Knights\u2019 Shea Theodore (27) during Game 3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Chris Kreider (20), right, takes a shot on goal, but is blocked by Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart (79), during the third period of Game 3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks\u2019 Beckett Sennecke (45) takes a shot on goal, but is blocked by Golden Knights goalie Carter Hart (79) during Game 3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A young fan cheers on the Ducks during Game 3 against the Golden Knights at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A slew of Ducks and Golden Knight players jockey for position during a face-off during Game 3 at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ducks<\/p>\n

Ducks players celebrate a third period goal by Beckett Sennecke (45) during Game 3 against the Golden Knights at the Honda Center in Anaheim on Friday, May 8, 2026. (Photo by Jeff Antenore, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks Beckett Sennecke (45) looks to backup a teammate as they work to score on the Vegas Golden Knights Carter Hart (79) during the third period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks Troy Terry (19) shows little emotion after they scored against the Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Vegas Golden Knights Reilly Smith (19) is scored on by the Ducks during the third period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks and Vegas Golden Knights battle for the puck during the third period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Ducks Chris Kreider (20) reacts after the Ducks scored against Vegas Golden Knights during the third period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

\"\u2018The<\/p>\n

\u2018The Ducks Cutter Gauthier (61) controls the puck against the Vegas Golden Knights\u2019 Ivan Barbashev (49) and Ben Hutton (17) during the second period of Game 3 of the NHL Western Conference second-round playoff series on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center in Anaheim. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

1 of 44<\/p>\n

Ducks goaltender Lukas Dostal, center, stays on the ice after being scored on as Jacob Trouba, left, and Pavel Mintyukov, right, stand by during the final seconds of the first period of Game 3 of their second-round playoff series against the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday, May 8, 2026, at the Honda Center. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Beckett Sennecke and Chris Kreider each scored with the game already out of reach. Luk\u00e1\u0161 Dost\u00e1l stopped just five of eight shots before being replaced after the first intermission. Ville Husso allowed two more goals on 19 shots in relief.<\/p>\n

Ducks coach Joel Quenneville was non-committal when asked if he would go back to Dostal as his starter for Game 4: \u201cWe\u2019ll see, we\u2019ll see.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marner buried three goals and assisted on another by Brayden McNabb after Shea Theodore, who later added a helper, opened the scoring. Brett Howden slapped on an empty-netter. Carter Hart made 30 saves.<\/p>\n

In the first period, it was a pair of Southern California castoffs who became original Golden Knights who snagged a pair of goals for Vegas. Former Duck Theodore and one-time King McNabb scored before Marner made it 3-0. Vegas converted 5-on-5, shorthanded and on the power play to complete its assortment.<\/p>\n

The Ducks fell into a not-so-old habit, giving up a goal on the first shot of the game, this time just 66 seconds into the match. It was Dost\u00e1l\u2019s third such goal allowed in the playoffs and 13th overall in 2025-26, this one to Theodore, Vegas\u2019 all-time leading scorer from the blue line. He zapped one in from the right circle off a seam pass from Jack Eichel after Mark Stone gained the Ducks\u2019 zone. Stone left the game late in the frame and did not play another shift.<\/p>\n

After some pressure by the Ducks on their second fruitless power play of the period, Vegas struck shorthanded. Marner slowed the play and left a drop pass for McNabb, who fired in a shot from the left dot at 12:13. The Ducks have gone 0 for 11 on the power play in the series, with a 3-0 deficit on special teams.<\/p>\n

Marner effectively ended the game after 20 minutes with a goal that ensured the Ducks were not saved by the bell. A puck jammed into the crease ricocheted around until Pavel Dorofeyev backhanded it to Marner, who stuffed it in with five seconds left on the clock.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt wasn\u2019t a great start, the score in the first, you know, four or five minutes,\u201d Ducks forward Alex Killorn said. \u201cAnd then they get a PK goal, and then that goal, um, on the power play with, you know, whatever it was, five seconds left first. It\u2019s tough to win a game when you put yourself in spots like that, um, kind of some mistakes that we made, not, uh, typical of our team, but, uh, was that a game series, so they, uh, they played well tonight, give them credit.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the 9:19 and 17:56 marks of the second period, Marner padded the lead with two more goals from close range, completing his first career playoff hat trick in his 79th postseason game.<\/p>\n

First, Theodore found Marner wide open to finish a 4-on-3 rush during which the Ducks were making a line change. Marner weaved past Husso and tucked the puck in off his backhand.<\/p>\n

Then, after Vegas ganged up on Drew Helleson along the boards, former Duck William Karlsson fed Marner below the goal line. He drifted in front of and away from the net, slipping the puck under Husso\u2019s pad for a soft goal.<\/p>\n

In nine seasons as a Toronto Maple Leaf, Marner had two multi-goal efforts across 70 outings, but he has two in his past four appearances for Vegas, who acquired him over the summer in a sign-and-trade deal.<\/p>\n

Sennecke denied Hart what would have been his third career playoff shutout with 13:30 to play, diving to stab in a rebound created by Alex Killorn\u2019s sharp-angled bid. Killorn was also on the ice for five of Vegas\u2019 six goals.<\/p>\n

Kreider finished with a redirection in front with 4:51 remaining, a goal created by Leo Carlsson\u2019s agility and Troy Terry\u2019s savvy below the goal line. Kreider made no mistake hammering the puck past Hart from the low slot.<\/p>\n

But that goal was negated by Howden\u2019s empty-netter with 1:56 left, his sixth goal in nine playoff games after scoring just 12 all season.<\/p>\n

The Ducks will look to draw back even on Mother\u2019s Day with another 6:30 start.<\/p>\n

More to come on this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ANAHEIM \u2014 Losing battles, both for the puck and on special teams, was something the Ducks hoped they…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307242,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[163,824,165,164,404,9900,127,4626,136,8614],"class_list":["post-307241","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-ducks","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-nhl","tag-nhl-playoffs","tag-sports","tag-stanley-cup-playoffs","tag-top-stories","tag-vegas-golden-knights"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307241","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307241"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307241\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307241"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307241"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307241"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}