LAS VEGAS – On Monday night the Golden Knights put up two goals in the opening stanza of Game 2 to set the tone for the night in a 7-2 thrashing of the Florida Panthers, for a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
Johnathan Marchessault scored off the power play at 7:05 of the first to stake the the Knights to a 1-0 lead.
Marchessault and Brett Howden hit for doubles in the win.
“He’s coming up big,” Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez said of Marchessault. “And it’s not just scoring goals, but scoring big goals in big situations.”
Adin Hill made 29 saves for the win.
“It’s probably been the most fun I’ve ever had playing hockey,” Hill said after making 29 saves in the Golden Knights’ 7-2 win Monday. “Just enjoying it, cherishing every day.”
Game 3 is set for Sunrise on Thursday.
“I think our depth has been a strength all year,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said, “and it is the biggest reason why we’re still here, why we beat Winnipeg, Edmonton, Dallas and why we’re ahead against Florida. I just feel that we have the best team from player one through 20.”Martinez scored his first of the post season at 17:59 for a 2-0 advantage headed to the middle frame.
At 2:59 of the second Nicolas Roy came out of the left corner and skated to the slot, unimpeded, and wristed the puck home for a 3-0 lead to Vegas.
At this point, the chippy play reared its ugly.
Howden helped the chippy chippiness to bubble up a little faster when he scored at 7:10 to extend the Golden Knights lead to 4-0.
With 2:07 left in the second period, Matthew Tkachuk laid out Vegas’ Jack Eichel at the Knights blue line with a clean hit, but exceptions were taken and the ensuing festivities results in a series of penalties and 10-minute misconducts.
“Honestly, I’m going to have to look at the hit again, but when I saw it briefly between periods, talking with the guys, it probably is a clean hit,” Eichel said. “It’s a big collision, and this is hockey.”
Eichel skated t the dressing room for the rest of the second period, he did ice for the third.
“It doesn’t matter who you are,” Tkachuk said. “You shouldn’t be going through the middle with your head down. You’re going to get hit. I mean, I would get hit too if I had my head down in the middle.
“It’s nothing. It’s not a big deal. He’s a really good player, and really good players can get hit too.”
The Panthers were assessed a total of 84 penalty minutes on the night including two 10-minute misconducts to Tkachuk.
“You know what?” Marchessault said. “They wanted to set the tone with being undisciplined like Game 1, and we set the tone back with scoring that first goal there.
The animosity grew as the game progressed, but the Golden Knights kept a far more level headed approach to the contest.
“You know what?” Marchessault said. “They wanted to set the tone with being undisciplined like Game 1, and we set the tone back with scoring that first goal there.
The third period opened with the Panthers’ Anton Lundell was credited with potting a goal with just 14 seconds of fresh ice used in the period.
The puck deflected off a Vegas player to Lundell in the low slot, his shot ping-ponged off a Golden Knights defenseman, eluded Hill, and into the net for a 4-1 score.
Less than two minutes later, Marchessault scored his second of the night for a 5-1 lead, and that made things tense for the remained of the period.
By the end, the Panthers were left with eight skaters due to the misconducts.
At 10:33 of the third, Michael Amadio was left unmarked and William Karlsson feathered a back pass to him on the left side of the slot for a wrist shot and a 6-1 lead.
“I just came in here and regrouped,” Eichel said. “It was definitely a big collision. I got my wits back about me and realized I was fine, and just kind of moved on from there.”
Tkachuk scored at 12:44 to make it 6-2. Less than two minutes later he was assessed his second misconduct at 14:01.
“They’re halfway there and hopefully they’re thinking about that a little bit as they’re coming to Florida,” Tkachuk said. “I think that could work in our favor, but we definitely have to prepare and give everything in this next one and just get a little bit of momentum back.”
Howden scored his double at 17:52 of the third off the power play for the 7-2 final;.
For when you can’t quite keep it close enough.
Sergei Bobrovsky got the start for the Panthers, but was given the hook after the Golden Knights took the 4-0 lead in the second frame. He made nine saves t that point.
“He’s really important,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “He’s a force, but he’s also a much better hockey player. He makes the highlight film because he’s such a physical guy, but the quality of his play is very, very high. So, you miss a guy like that when he goes out.”
Alex Lyon made 12 saves in a mop up role, surrendering three goals in the third period.
“We can be a little better in front of our goaltender,” Maurice said. “He’s been unbelievable for us, so I got him out to keep him rested.”
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