Global Courant
The Vegas Golden Knights have won their first-ever Stanley Cup after destroying the Florida Panthers, 9-3, in Game 5 on Tuesday night.
Vegas had a shot at winning the Cup in their first season, but they eventually fell to the Washington Capitals in five games in 2018.
This time, they defeated the Panthers in five games, and Las Vegas now holds a professional sports title.
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Reilly Smith #19 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers with teammates during the second period in Game Five of the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the T-Mobile Arena on June 13, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
In this game, the Panthers would be without their star all postseason in Matthew Tkachuk, who was unable to fight through an upper body injury after working his way through Game 4 on a Game 3 Keegan Kolesar hit.
The Golden Knights got off to a fast start in Game 5, thanks to Mark Stone’s short chance that he didn’t waste.
With 8:08 left in the first period, Stone stole a puck in his own zone and sprinted across ice where he had a 2-on-1 chance in front of the Panthers’ net. His patience was key, though, as he waited as long as he could and blasted the top right plank over Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky to get on the board first.
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That started the Golden Knights offensive attack, as Nicolas Hague scored moments later. It was only his second goal in the playoffs with Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchessault assisting the game.
Florida was able to get right back into it in the second period, though, as Aaron Ekblad just threw one to the net and got the puck eyed as he found the rope past Adin Hill in Vegas.
But the Golden Knights’ answer would be five unanswered goals, four of them coming in the second period.
Stone was among them after Alec Martinez and Reilly Smith found the back of the net, while Michael Amadio also joined the scoring side in the second inning.
In the third period, Ivan Barbashev batted in a shot from Eichel for his seventh of the playoffs.
Reilly Smith #19 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers with teammates during the second period in Game Five of the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the T-Mobile Arena on June 13, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett would go on to increase their career postseason goals after sneaking a few past Hill, but it wouldn’t make the lead big enough.
Golden Knights fans celebrated in the third period chanting “We want the Cup,” and they knew they’d get it after Stone potted an empty net bomb from his own defense zone. Later, Nicolas Roy added another one just to be sure.
Eichel matched Stone’s three points for the Golden Knights at the end of the evening. He was also the team’s assist leader through the playoffs, as he had as many as 20 in their various series. He has been everything Vegas has asked for since trading for him with the Buffalo Sabers last year.
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Also for Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy, he was in the 2019 Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins, but the St. Louis Blues blew that chance in Game 7 on the way to winning it all.
The Bruins fired him before this season started, prompting the Golden Knights to bring his experience to Sin City. It was clearly the right move by Vegas.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that the Panthers themselves had quite the playoffs coming out of the Eastern Conference.
As the eighth and final seed in the East, they defeated the NHL’s record-breaking regular season team ever, the Bruins, in six games. Then they took down the Toronto Maple Leafs, followed by the Carolina Hurricanes, while remaining the underdogs.
They ran out of magic against the Golden Knights, but certainly made for a fun story during this postseason.
Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers during the second period in Game Five of the 2023 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the T-Mobile Arena on June 13, 2023 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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It’s always party time in Vegas, but these Golden Knights and their fans have something big to celebrate as the Cup is proudly hoisted at the T-Mobile Arena.
Scott Thompson is a sportswriter for Fox News Digital.
