Global Courant
Back in the Stanley Cup Finals for the first time in five years and behind the Florida Panthers less than 10 minutes into Game 1, the Vegas Golden Knights sent a very clear message.
“We were ready,” said Jonathan Marchessault.
Ready and ruthless. Vegas rallied from an early deficit, got Zach Whitecloud’s green goal with just over 13 minutes remaining and arguably the best save of the playoffs from Adin Hill to beat Florida 5-2 on Saturday night to win the take the lead in the best-of-seven series.
“We kept our cool and it was good,” said Marchessault, one of six original Knights players who left from the franchise’s inception in 2017 to score the tying goal in the first period. “We just wanted to play the right way and be disciplined, and tonight we were able to be the better team.”
Whitecloud put Vegas ahead, a crucial penalty kill ensued and captain Mark Stone scored an insurance goal which was judged to be a high stick and confirmed. Reilly Smith sealed it with an empty netter to make the score look more lopsided than the game.
A NEW LEVEL OF pic.twitter.com/MAHPnFBeR3
The combination of that offense and Hill’s 33 saves left Vegas after a spirited opener between Sun Belt teams who wasted little time learning big hits during the game and a lot of pushing and shoving after the whistle.
“It’s exactly what we expected,” said Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore, who scored his first goal of the playoffs and ended a 27-game goal drought on March 7. It.”
That stuff is just getting started. Game 2 is Monday in Las Vegas.
Before the Panthers even had a chance to respond, they ramped up the physical play late after going two down. A handful of penalties resulting from a scuffle with 4:24 left left the Florida bench far short.
The outcome was determined long before that.
After falling behind with an Eric Staal goal that sucked the life out of the crowd of 18,432, the Golden Knights rallied for their ninth comeback win in these playoffs. Marchessault – known since his arrival in Las Vegas for scoring big goals – answered before the end of the first period.
“You need those rescues at key moments”
Early in the second inning, Hill made a desperate save to rob Nick Cousins of what would have been a sure goal. The save was reminiscent of Washington’s Braden Holtby against Vegas – in the same fold – five years ago.
“That’s an unreal save – it’s a game-changer,” said coach Bruce Cassidy. “You need those rescues at key moments.”
ADIN BLEEPING HILL pic.twitter.com/6a7quzafMu
Giving up a tie to Anthony Duclair with 10.2 seconds left in the second didn’t slow the Golden Knights’ momentum much. Whitecloud’s goal, with two-time Vezina Trophy-winning goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky screened and unseen, once again set fans on fire.
Bobrovsky, who was in the finals for the first time, downplayed any concern by stopping 29 of 34 shots to lose for the second time in 12 games this postseason.
“I played a good game,” said Bobrovsky. “I played a solid game. They created some good chances apart from goals. They had a lot of good scoring chances, which was nice.”
ZACH WHITECLOUD’S FIRST pic.twitter.com/9pJ7OxIUBI
Part of the fun came when the game was stopped.
Less than 10 minutes later, Hill was none too happy to see Nick Cousins crash into his crease and punched the excited Panthers winger that sparked a handful of scrums. During the second period, Matthew Tkachuk informed Vegas’ Nic Hague that he was not happy with a corner hit on Cousins and a collision with Brandon Montour after the whistle.
“If guys get into my fold and try to push me around, I’ll hold my own,” Hill said. “I’m not going to do anything crazy or get too wild, but yes, I have to stand up for myself.”
‘It’s getting tight’
Florida coach Paul Maurice, back in the Finals for the first time since 2001, displayed an attitude as calm as he had all along back in the first round, as his team trailed NHL top Boston 1-0 and then 3-1 for winning in seven.
Florida had a five-game win streak, including four wins over the Carolina Hurricanes to clinch the Eastern Conference title.
“It’s getting tight,” said Maurice. “Everybody breathe.”
The Golden Knights are in the Finals for the second time in six years of their existence, five years after their first season. Vegas won the opener in 2018 and lost the series to Washington in five games.
The Panthers play for the cup again for the first time since 1996. Florida was swept by Colorado in that final 27 years ago, 18 months before Tkachuk, the team’s leading scorer in these playoffs, was born.
It is the 66th different matchup of teams in the Cup Finals in NHL history and the 46th since the expansion era began in 1967-68. This marks the first time since Washington-Vegas and only the third time since the turn of the century in which the final features two teams that have never won the league’s championship.
