Global Courant
Jonathan Marchessault scored twice to start an early blitz that chased the NHL’s top goaltender, and Adin Hill continued his stellar play in the Vegas Golden Knights’ stunning 7-2 victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup- final on Monday night.
Hill made 29 saves and Marchessault had an assist to finish with three points in the win. His 12 postseason goals set a Golden Knights record, all after the first round.
Brett Howden scored twice for the Knights, who also saw goals from Alec Martinez, Nicolas Roy and Michael Amadio. Six players had at least two points for Vegas.
All 18 Knights skaters were on the ice for equal-strength goals, and their nine goalscorers in the first two games are a Stanley Cup Finals record. The team’s seven goals also tied for a playoff game.
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Brett Howden #21 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates Monday night’s 7-2 victory over the Florida Panthers with his team. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The offense was too much for Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky, who was removed 7 minutes 10 seconds into the second period as Florida trailed 4–0. It was the fifth time in 12 games that the Knights chased the opposing goalkeeper.
Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell scored the Panthers’ two goals.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS TAKE GAME 1 OF STANLEY CUP FINAL THANKS TO 5 DIFFERENT GOALS
Hill again brought both his spunk and his A-game. He stopped Carter Verhaeghe on a breakaway in the first inning, and later that span hit Tkachuk, who was in his net, with his blocker and then slashed him with his stick.
The Panthers’ Sam Reinhart #13 (left) and Vegas’ Brett Howden #21 (right) battle during the third period in Game 2 of the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final. (Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
The Knights were dominant early on and took a 2-0 lead in the first period through goals from Marchessault and Martinez. It was Vegas’ third game in a row with a power play goal – its first game since Christmas week.
The Panthers lost their biggest and strongest defender early in the game when Radko Gudas was injured on a clean hit by Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev. Gudas left the ice after 6 minutes and 39 seconds and did not return.
That was one of many big hits from Barbashev, the Golden Knights’ biggest acquisition and a 2019 Stanley Cup champion with St. Louis. Barbashev broke Colorado defenseman Samuel Girard’s sternum last year during the playoffs, too on a clean hit.
Vegas had his own scare late in the second period when Jack Eichel was nailed in the right shoulder by Tkachuk, but Eichel returned in the third to set up Marchessault’s second goal.
Brett Howden #21 of the Vegas Golden Knights punches his teammates after scoring a third period goal against the Florida Panthers in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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With Monday’s victory, Vegas controls the series with a 2-0 lead, and teams with that exact Stanley Cup Finals lead are 31-3 in the expansion era. The Panthers will try to make history starting with Game 3 on Thursday in Sunrise, Florida.
