The Vegas Golden Knights pose for a team photo with the Stanley Cup Trophy after the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 to win the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Las Vegas.
Published Tuesday, June 13, 2023 | 4 p.m.
Updated Tuesday, June 13, 2023 | 7:56 p.m.
Vegas Golden Knights right wing Jonathan Marchessault hold the Conn Smythe Trophy after the Knights defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals against the Florida Panthers Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Las Vegas. The Knights won the series 4-1.
Final: Golden Knights 9, Panthers 3
The Stanley Cup will be having a yearlong residency on the Strip.
For the first time in franchise history, the Vegas Golden Knights are Stanley Cup champions following a dominant victory over the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday.
Mark Stone recorded a hat trick, the first in a Stanley Cup Final since 1996, and four other Golden Knights scored to help deliver the first championship from one of the four major professional leagues to the city of Las Vegas. Adin Hill made 30 saves to wrap up a goaltending performance for the ages, going 11-4 since relieving Laurent Brossoit in Game 3 of the second round.
Stone, who finished with 11 goals in the playoffs, had five of them in the Cup Final.
The Golden Knights jumped out to an early two-goal lead after the first period and didn't look back. Despite the Panthers cutting into that lead 2:15 into the second, they responded with a dominant second period with four goals from Stone, Alec Martinez, Reilly Smith and Michael Amadio.
Vegas outscored Florida 20-7 in three home games this series.
The celebration is just beginning. The Conn Smythe Trophy will be awarded, and Stone will become the first player in Golden Knights history to hoist the Stanley Cup.
Read below for more updates, and stay tuned to coverage for the rest of the night
End of 2: Golden Knights 6, Panthers 1
The Golden Knights are 20 minutes away.
What felt like the Panthers getting back into the game was quickly evaporated with three goals by the Golden Knights in the middle frame to take a commanding 6-1 lead into the third.
Alec Martinez and Reilly Smith scored 1:45 apart, and Mark Stone scored his second of the game just five minutes after to give the Golden Knights a four-goal lead after two periods.
Once Aaron Ekblad scored his goal to get the Panthers on the board, the Golden Knights dominated from that point on. Extended zone time, long shifts, suffocating defense. It looked like the Golden Knights were playing "Make It, Take It" in hockey and didn't stop scoring.
Michael Amadio scored with 1.2 seconds left in the period to make it a five-goal lead.
Twenty minutes remain for the Golden Knights to obtain their first championship if the lead holds.
2:15, second period: Golden Knights 2, Panthers 1
It's been mostly Florida to start the second period, and the Panthers get rewarded with an early goal by defenseman Aaron Ekblad to cut the Vegas lead to 2-1.
Ekblad scored just his second goal of the playoffs but it came at a good time for the Panthers. It was a seemingly harmless shot from the blue line, with forward Ryan Lomberg screening in front, to get the Panthers in it.
Since then, the Panthers have revved up their forecheck and started dominating possession in the offensive zone. After a near-stellar start from the Golden Knights, there's still a lot of time left.
End of 1: Golden Knights 2, Panthers 0
As good of a start as you could ask if you're the home team.
The Golden Knights withstood the early jitters, settled into their game, and now are 40 minutes away from snagging the Stanley Cup.
Along with Stone and Hague delivering the Knights an early lead, Adin Hill was strong in net, stopping all eight shots he faced. That included a poke check on Anton Lundell following a Brayden McNabb turnover, and a kick save off a scramble moments before Stone's shorthanded goal.
Other housekeeping notes: Jonathan Marchessault got an assist on Hague's goal to give him 25 points in the playoffs (13 goals, 12 assists) and extends his point streak to 10 games. Should the Golden Knights hold on, it's hard to argue why Marchessault shouldn't be the Conn Smythe Trophy recipient.
Plenty of time left in this game, but the fans can feel it.
Golden Knights off and running in Game 5, lead by two
There may not be a roof on T-Mobile Arena by the time the first period ends.
The Golden Knights are off to a 2-0 lead after two goals in less than two minutes from Mark Stone and Nic Hague.
Stone's goal came shorthanded at 11:52 after forcing a turnover at the blue line, stopping near the crease and beating Sergei Bobrovsky for his ninth goal of the playoffs.
Hague scored his second of the playoffs at 13:41 off a scramble in front after Jack Eichel's rebound attempt was saved by Bobrovsky. The puck got behind Bobrovsky and Hague was there for the rebound.
It is a madhouse on Las Vegas Boulevard at the moment.
Matthew Tkachuk out for Panthers
If the Panthers want to keep their season alive, they'll have to do it without their MVP.
Tkachuk did not take part in warmups and has been ruled out in Florida's must-win game.
Florida's Hart Trophy candidate leads the Panthers with 24 points in 20 games these playoffs. He played just 16:40 in Game 4 following a hit from Vegas' Keegan Kolesar that forced the NHL's concussion spotters to clear him.
Tkachuk has just three points in this series.
Vegas is keeping its lineup the same as it tries to win the first Stanley Cup in team history.
Golden Knights looking to win Cup in high-energy home environment
The Golden Knights have two games to play tonight.
The first is against the Florida Panthers in which the Golden Knights will try to win their first Stanley Cup championship in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena.
The second is against human nature.
Trying to play the hockey game might be the easier of the two. The Golden Knights have won three games already in this series against the Panthers, and a fourth win would cement a championship in the sixth year that the team has called Las Vegas home.
But what about channeling the emotion that will come from inside T-Mobile Arena? What of the palpable buzz that will be felt for approximately three hours, culminating in what the Golden Knights hope will be a Stanley Cup celebration on home ice?
“We’re aware of what’s at stake and how big of a game this is for guys as individuals, the organization, the city, all these things,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “But it’s what we play for, so we’re ready for it.”
Winning a championship at home is the ultimate bonding experience between the team and fans. Those in attendance get to celebrate with their team, the culmination of an eight-month journey that is the ultimate roller coaster of emotions.
The Golden Knights had a chance to experience that feeling at home in the Western Conference Final against the Dallas Stars, but squandered that opportunity by losing Game 5. Vegas went on to win Game 6 in Dallas, 6-0, to get to this point.
Cassidy said when the opportunity arises to close out a series at home, there’s a sense of obligation to win in front of the sold-out crowd.
Defenseman Alec Martinez has experienced it twice when he won the Stanley Cup with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014. The 2012 team was the No. 8-seeded Kings shocking the world and winning it in Game 6 at home against New Jersey.
Two years later, Martinez scored the Cup-clinching goal in double overtime of Game 5 against the New York Rangers. The sudden crescendo of fans erupting is a moment that will forever be relived on YouTube.
Martinez, 35, doesn’t think about those moments too often anymore. But he yearns to do it again.
“I think it’s only human nature for your mind to wander to know what’s at stake, but you’ve got to fight it,” Martinez said. “It’s just trying to maintain that balance of approaching it like every other game and getting to your game as fast as possible.”
There may not be a more perfect moment for the Golden Knights to end this. The Panthers are going into Game 5 heavily banged up. Star forward Matthew Tkachuk, who had a visit with the league’s concussion spotters in Game 4 but later returned to the 3-2 Vegas win, is a game-time decision in the must-win game.
If Tkachuk can’t go — which would be a shock given the situation — it becomes an even steeper hill for the Panthers to climb. They’ve come back from 3-1 already this postseason, in the first round against the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Boston Bruins.
Cassidy said it’s paramount for the Golden Knights to continue playing the way that’s worked to give them a 3-1 series lead. The series is certainly not over until that fourth win.
Walk around T-Mobile Arena for five minutes, and it’s hard not to think that it could be by the end of the night.
Golden Knights projected lineup
Ivan Barbashev – Jack Eichel – Jonathan Marchessault
Reilly Smith – William Karlsson – Michael Amadio
Brett Howden – Chandler Stephenson – Mark Stone
William Carrier – Nicolas Roy – Keegan Kolesar
Alec Martinez – Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb – Shea Theodore
Nic Hague – Zach Whitecloud
Adin Hill
Golden Knights-Panthers Game 5, Stanley Cup Final
Time: 5 p.m.
TV: TNT
Radio: Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM
Odds: Golden Knights -200, Panthers +175; O/U 6 (Westgate SuperBook)
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
