LAS VEGAS – Zach Whitecloud’s third period goal with seven minutes gone in the frame was the difference maker for the Golden Knights on Saturday night. 
Whitecloud shot from the blue line and the puck found a way to the net for a 3-2 lead to the Golden Knights, en route to a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
“‘Barbs’ (Ivan Barbashev) gave me the puck in a good spot,” Whitecloud said. “I was able to find a lane, and our forwards did a good job of creating a moving screen.”
Mark Stone then scored at 13:41 of the third to give the Golden Knights a 4-2 advantage.
The goal was challenged by the Panthers for a high stick ahead of the strike, but the goal was allowed after video review.
Stone had knocked the puck down to the ice out of the air on a steal.
Game 2 is set for Las Vegas on Monday night.
“We don’t change anything,” said Stone. “We stick to the program. We stick to what makes us successful. We don’t get rattled.”
Adin Hill made 33 saves for the Vegas win.
“It feels awesome,” Hill said. “We’re three away. Our job is not finished. You know Florida is going to have a push in Game 2. I thought we played a great game tonight, so it’s kind of rinse and repeat.”
The Panthers took a 1-0 lead in the first period on a shorthanded goal from from Eric Staal at 9:40.
Vegas tied it at 1-1 at 17:18 of the opening stanza on a power play marker from Jonathan Marchessault, his 10th of the playoffs.
“Winning one, it’s good for our group, but that’s nothing,” said Marchessault, one of six players remaining from that original run. “You have so much more. For our group, we’re focusing on Game 2. We have to keep that mentality and stay humble, and we didn’t do anything so far.”
Hill stopped the Panthers’ Nick Cousin with just 50 seconds gone in th4 second period to preserve the 1-1 tie, with a spectacular save.
“That’s definitely a momentum swinger for sure,” Stone said. “It got the bench energized. It kind of opens up your eyes a little bit too. Maybe we weren’t playing that great to start the second, but that save kind of turned it around for us, got us going in that period.”
Shea Theodore scored his first of the post season midway through the second period to give the Golden Knights a 2-1 lead.
“I was looking for one,” Theodore said, “and I guess tonight is a pretty good night to get the first one.”
At this point, the game was turning nasty, and it erupted in the third when Stone scored his challenged goal. A scrum below the Vegas goal line ensued with the usual pleasantries exchanged including cross checks and gloves to the chins of various combatants.
“We’ll look at some things that we did with the puck in some short areas that we can improve on,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “There’s a bunch of things we can get a little bit better at, but it’s going to be tight. It’s going to be tight like that.”
Anthony Duclair scored with 11 seconds left in the middle frame to tie the game, 2-2, 
headed to the third.
“The losing team talks about too many of something and the winning team talks about the fabulousness of all other things,” Maurice said. “Both teams make mistakes. We lost the first game in the Boston series (in the Eastern Conference First Round) and got a little better. Then we lost two more, got a little better. Everybody just [expletive] breathe.”
Duclair scored off a loose puck in the face off circle after a face off, he wristed the puck and it deflected off a Vegas defenseman for the tie.
“Yeah, we gave up a late goal, but I’d rather it then than at the start of the third to be honest,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We have time to regroup and sort of say, ‘Settle down and get back to work.’ It was a good shot. I think it hit Whitecloud on the way in. But they generated some good looks, so it wasn’t like we played this perfect period and it was demoralizing. For us, we do have a veteran group and I think it showed going into the third, and I think it showed late in the game when we were able to keep our discipline and get to the finish line.”
Reilly Smith hit an empty net at 18:15 of the third for the 5-2 final. The goal came off the power play.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 29 saves in the Game 1 loss.
“It’s a long series, lots of hockey ahead of us,” Bobrovsky said. “We play, we learn and we move on.”
 
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