Vegas Blew a 4-0 Lead. Scored Three in 39 Seconds. Won in Double OT. What Is This Series?
Game 3 was the most chaotic Cup Final game in years. Vegas leads 2-1. Nobody knows what's coming Tuesday.
Diddja see this one? Because I'm still not sure I understand what I watched.
Vegas led 4-0. Marner had a hat trick in 6 minutes and 10 seconds — the fastest in Stanley Cup Final history. The game was over. It was done. Carolina hadn't shown any life since the first period.
And then Carolina scored three goals in 39 seconds. Also the fastest in Cup Final history. Two records in the same game, pointed in opposite directions. That's not a game — that's a fever dream.
Kid ran the numbers on this series and they're unhinged: 25 total goals through three games. The over 5.5 is 3-0. Neither team has held a lead comfortably for more than ten minutes. Vegas' 4-0 cushion evaporated in less than a period. Carolina's 6-0 overtime record became 6-1.
The thing about Andersen is concerning now. He got pulled after allowing 4 goals on 16 shots. That's a .750 save percentage in a Cup Final game. Brandon Bussi came in and went 18-for-19. If you're Carolina, who starts Game 4? The guy who got them here and is wobbling, or the backup who looked sharper in relief?
Meanwhile, Vegas has Marner just doing whatever he wants. 28 playoff points. Franchise record. He took over Game 3 in the second period and then watched his team nearly give it all back. Theodore bailed them out with the winner at 5:38 of double OT. McNabb played the whole game with a full face cage after taking a slap shot to the face Thursday.
The series thesis I had — that this would be a defensive grind, that the Final would tighten up — is dead. It's completely dead. These teams cannot stop each other. They can only outscore each other. And apparently, nobody can hold a lead.
Vegas leads 2-1. Game 4 is Tuesday at home. If they win, they'll have a chance to close it out at home in Game 5. If Carolina steals one, we're going back to Raleigh for 6 and probably 7.
The over 5.5 for Game 4? I'm riding it. Why would the pattern break now? Neither goaltending situation inspires confidence. Neither defense has shown the ability to clamp down. This is a track meet with goalies and it's going to stay that way until someone hoists the Cup.
Vegas at 0.52 to win the whole thing, up from 0.46. They're two wins away with home ice. But after what happened Saturday, I'm not confident in anything except that we're going to see more chaos.