The Vegas Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup Tuesday night, defeating the Florida Panthers 9-3 to win the championship series in five games. Here’s what you need to know:
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
We’ve seen this story multiple times over the last several years in the NHL. After years of contention, the Capitals finally broke through in 2018. The Lightning did it after that in 2020. The Avalanche were amongst the league’s best for several years before they finally lifted the Cup in 2022.
Now, after six years as a contender and four trips to at least the conference finals, the Golden Knights break through as champions. A Cup requires an ultra-talented team and a lot to go your way. Give yourself as many shots as possible and eventually the cards may fall your way. This year they did for the Vegas Golden Knights. — Granger
Stone put Vegas on the board and blew the top off of T-Mobile Arena with a shorthanded goal in the opening frame. Stone’s on-ice processing speed, patience and quick snapshot were all on display on the goal as he recognized the Florida defender backing off to guard a pass, waited until Sergei Bobrovsky backed into his own goal line, and ripped a shot into the top corner of the net.
Stone leads Vegas by example and is the first over the boards in all situations. Scoring on the penalty kill to give his team the lead early was a massive moment. Then he added another with a one-timer that snuck through Bobrovsky late in the second period to blow the game open for Vegas. — Granger
Tuesday was the first time the Golden Knights had ever played with the Stanley Cup in reach, and it showed. They were relentless on the forecheck, dominated Florida along the walls and ran away with the game thanks to four second-period goals. Bobrovsky did well to hold that under six, as he faced an all-on assault of shots from dangerous areas. — Granger
The Panthers don’t have a lot of depth as it is, but Matthew Tkachuk’s upper body sustained in Game 3 was devastating for the Cats. Ironically, one game after he leveled Jack Eichel in Game 2, Tkachuk took the brunt of a Keegan Kolesar check in the first period and that was the hit that presumably derailed the rest of his series. In Game 4, Tkachuk didn’t take shots in warmups, had trouble lifting his stick and didn’t play for 10:41 of the third period in order to save him for potential late-game heroics.
IT’S A HAT TRICK FOR MARK STONE🙌
The Vegas Golden Knights take a 8-3 lead as the Stanley Cup moves closer to their grasp.
(Photo: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
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