LAS VEGAS -- Before Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, every seat in T-Mobile Arena had a rally towel with Mitch Marner's face printed on it.
By the end of the second period, the Vegas Golden Knights star had made it his night with a finals-record hat trick.
With his natural hat trick in the second period, Marner recorded the fastest three goals by a single player in Cup finals history. He needed six minutes and 10 seconds to score thrice and give Vegas a 4-0 lead. The previous record was 6:21 in Game 1 of the 1957 Cup finals on three goals by Maurice "Rocket" Richard of the Montreal Canadiens vs. the Boston Bruins.
Marner's first goal scored was an own-goal by Carolina defenseman Sean Walker, who tried to deflect Marner's backhand shot out of harm's way but ended up putting it past goalie Frederik Andersen for a 2-0 Vegas lead. Marner was credited with the goal as the last Vegas player to touch the puck.
His second goal was set up on a nice bit of forechecking by defenseman Brayden McNabb, who passed the puck to Marner after a Carolina turnover. Marner deked Andersen for his second goal in 3:50.
McNabb was one of the stories of the game himself, having returned to the Vegas lineup wearing a full face cage after taking an 87 mph shot to his face in Game 2, which sent him to the hospital in Raleigh. Marner completed the hat trick at 16:52 of the second period with a long slap shot from the right circle that beat Andersen. Marner also assisted on Tomas Hertl's power play goal that got Vegas on the board after two disallowed goals earlier in the period.
Marner's four points in a single period of a Stanley Cup Final game tied an NHL record set by Frank Foysten of the 1919 Seattle Metropolitans. Also, Marner became the second player in Cup finals history to record a natural hat trick in a single period. Detroit Red Wings star Ted Lindsay had the only other one in 1955.
Marner entered the game with 24 points in 18 games to lead all scorers. DraftKings has him as the betting favorite to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.