Golden Knights' Mitch Marner got high praise from coach John Tortorella after a stellar Game 3 in the Stanley Cup Final. In the postgame interview, Tortorella hailed him as one of the best players in the NHL after Vegas' 5-4 double overtime win.

Marner scored the fastest hat trick in the history of the Stanley Cup Final on June 6. He achieved the feat in just 6 minutes and 10 seconds against the Carolina Hurricanes.

He beat the previous record of 6 minutes and 21 seconds set by late winger Maurice Richard for the Montreal Canadiens 69 years ago.

NHL Media shared a clip from Tortorella’s interview on X in which he was asked about Marner's impact.

“He is probably one of the best players in the league. He does everything. I don’t know how to answer that. Mitch is Mitch,” said Tortorella.

Marner joined the Vegas Golden Knights as part of a trade deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs in July 2025. Coming into the playoffs, the right winger had a decent regular season, recording 80 points in 81 games.

“As I have said, most of our star players are our top players, play on the other side of the puck too. He is that important there. He does everything as a player and prepares himself that way, and was certainly a huge piece tonight going through the game,” the Golden Knights coach explained.

Notably, apart from his hat trick in the second period, Marner also provided an assist. He set up Tomas Hertl to open the scoring for the Golden Knights at 10:26 in the second period.

The 29-year-old was on the ice for 27 minutes in the contests, recording 37 shifts and earning a plus-3 rating. Marner was quick to celebrate his teammates, as Vegas now has a 2-1 series lead.

What did Mitch Marner have to say about his performance in Game 3?

Mitch Marner credited his teammates for his performance in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.

“Well, I think a lot of guys made great plays to set me up,” said Marner, as per ESPN. “I think you need five guys on the ice to all be on the same page. And I thought our line did a really good job of that throughout the entire night.”

The forward could have scored his fourth goal with a rare penalty shot in the third period. But Hurricanes goaltender Brandon Bussi, who had replaced Frederik Andersen to start the third period, made a stellar save.

“I was pretty exhausted, to be honest,” remarked Marner about his miss. “I really didn't notice they switched their goalie, and I didn't notice he's an offhand as well.”

Marner has scored 28 points in 19 games in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the most in a season for Vegas. He has already surpassed teammate Jack Eichel, who scored 26 points in 22 games during Vegas' title win in 2023.

Will Mitch Marner continue to make a huge impact for the Vegas Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final? Give us your take in the comments.

Read more at NHL Central.

Written by

Arjun Sharma

Edited by

Sijo Paul