The Anaheim Ducks came home flying high, but the Vegas Golden Knights had other plans—clipping their wings in a decisive 6-2 Game 3 victory Friday night at Honda Center. With this win, Vegas takes a 2-1 series lead in the Western Conference semifinal, setting up a pivotal Game 4 on Sunday.

Mitch Marner stole the show, netting a hat trick and adding an assist to power the Golden Knights' offense. Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb, and Brett Howden (empty-netter) also found the back of the net, handing the Ducks their first home loss of the postseason after a perfect 3-0 start.

The game was effectively decided in a blistering first period, where Vegas scored three times on just eight shots. After two games of watching Anaheim's speed dictate the pace, the Golden Knights flipped the script with a physical forecheck that grounded the Ducks' young, quick attack. Vegas also stifled Anaheim's possession time in the offensive zone through the first 40 minutes.

Theodore opened the scoring just 66 seconds into the game, beating Cutter Gauthier to the puck and firing a clean shot past Lukas Dostal. Jack Eichel earned his 10th assist of the postseason on the play. McNabb then doubled the lead shorthanded, and Marner capitalized on a fortunate bounce—a shot from Colton Sissons deflecting off defenseman Jacob Trouba straight to his stick—to make it 3-0 with five seconds left in the period.

The Ducks showed life in the third period with goals from Beckett Sennecke and Chris Kreider, but the early deficit proved too steep. Vegas killed off both Anaheim power plays, extending their perfect penalty-kill streak to 11-for-11 in the series.

For the Ducks, the challenge now is clear: rediscover the speed and puck possession that made them unstoppable at home—or risk watching their playoff hopes take flight without them.