The "Most Boring Final in NHL History" is ANYTHING but that!
Mitch Marner's performance in Game 3 of the 2026 Stanley Cup Final was one for the history books. During the second period, Marner's three-goal, natural hat trick came in just 6:10, making it the fastest hat trick ever recorded in a Stanley Cup Final. It was also the first hat trick scored in a Stanley Cup Final outside the opening period and only the third single-period hat trick in SCF history.
Marner added an assist during the frame, giving him a total of four points for the period. The last player to record four points in a Stanley Cup Final period was Frank Foyston, who tallied three goals and an assist for the Seattle Metropolitans in Game 3 of the 1919 Stanley Cup Final. That series is remembered for a much different reason, though: after five games, Seattle and Montreal were tied at two wins apiece with one tie, and the deciding game was canceled due to the Spanish flu pandemic. As a result, no Stanley Cup champion was crowned, making 1919 the only Stanley Cup Final ever left unfinished. To this day, the Stanley Cup bears the inscription, "Series Not Completed."
But Carolina was ready with some history of their own, and the Hurricanes' comeback was nearly as remarkable as Marner's historic period. Carolina scored three goals in just 39 seconds to erase a four-goal deficit, breaking the previous Stanley Cup Final record of 56 seconds set by the Montreal Canadiens in 1954. The Hurricanes also became just the second team in NHL history to tie a Stanley Cup Final game after trailing by four goals, joining the New York Rangers in Game 1 of the 1972 Final against the Boston Bruins. According to Andrei Svechnikov, the turnaround began during the second intermission. "To be honest, it was kind of quiet a little bit," Svechnikov said. "Roddy came out and gave us a little speech and we knew what we had to do" (NewsObserver). Between Marner's historic hat trick and Carolina's record-breaking rally, Game 3 became one of the most statistically remarkable contests ever played in a Stanley Cup Final.
Quote Source: https://www.newsobserver.com/sports/nhl/carolina-hurricanes/article316032823.html
