LAS VEGAS – Aaron Ekblad scored with 2:15 gone in the middle frame on Tuesday night to trim a 2-0 deficit in half, and give the Panthers a bit of life.
Golden Knights Celebrate – Photo by Jack Lima
The goal simply seemed to irritate the Golden Knights who rattled off four straight goals in the second period to take a 6-1 lead after 40 minutes of Game 5.
“Maybe we ran out of steam there a bit,” Ekblad said.
From there it was all downhill for the Knights who won their first Stanley Cup in year six of the franchise, 9-3.
“All of us, the Golden Knights, we’re all winners,” said forward Jonathan Marchessault, who was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. “It’s definitely the best feeling in the world.”
Vegas won the series 4-1.
“Depth all year,” Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. “We just used our depth to overwhelm people.”
Marchessault was selected as the Conn Smythe winner
Adin Hill made 32saves for thew win.
“When we got the third and fourth goal, that was pretty nuts,” Hill said. “It was pretty surreal. Our team showed that ability all year with our depth, the ability to take over a game. It doesn’t matter what line is out there, we can just dominate shifts like that. We did it back to back and scored on both. That changed the whole course of the game right there.”
Mark Stone opened the scoring at 11:32 of the first period on a shorthanded strike. It was his first of three for a hat trick in the win.
“Appropriate congratulations to Vegas, they earned it,” Florida coach Paul Maurice said. “They were outstanding. We didn’t have an answer for them.”
Stone picked up a loose puck at the Vegas blue line and went in for the unassisted score.
“The first goal is huge for us,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We didn’t start great. You could see a little bit of nerves and Florida was on us. What a great save from Hill and it led to a short-handed goal. It kind of let us breathe a little bit.”
Nicolas Hague scored at 13:41 to double the lead coming our of the fist period, 2-0.
“I remember Game 4 [in Florida] we wanted to bring it back home and get a chance to win it at home,” Marchessault said. “And we did. Our team delivered tonight. We were dominating the whole game. I was just so proud to do it in front of our fans. It’s a moment I’ll never forget.”
After Ekblad scored, Vegas scored twice in 1:45 with Alec Martinez and Reilly Smith putting the Golden Knights, 4-1.
Stone scored his double at 17:15 for a 5-1 lead, and Michael Amadio scored with 1.2 seconds left in the middle frame off a scramble at the net for the 6-1 advantage.
In the third, Vegas laid back early and waited for opportunities, and Ivan Barbashev put the Knights up 7-1 at 8:22.
The Panthers replied with two goals, with Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett scoring to make it 7-3.
Stone completed his hat trick at 14:06 with a rink long shot into an empty net for an 8-3 advantage.
Vegas; Nicolas Roy scored with 62 seconds left for the 9-3 final.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 22 saves in the Panthers loss.
Matthew Tkachuk was unable to play in Game 5 for the Panthers.
“He didn’t dress himself for the game,” Maurice said. “Somebody helped him get his gear on. Somebody tied his skates. Somebody put his sweater on for him. But the next day when he came in he was in significant pain, so it wasn’t really a question of whether he’d be able to play or not. The idea would be if we could let it calm, we might be able to get him to Game 7.”
Sam Bennett (right) checks Jack Eichel (9) into the boards – Photo by Jack Lima
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) stops a shot by William Karlsson (71) as Zac Dalpe (22) defends – Photo by Jack Lima
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a save during first period action – Photo by Jack Lima
Panthers goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) makes a kick save – Photo by Jack Lima
Nicolas Roy (center) collides with Carter Verhaeghe (right) – Photo by Jack Lima
Nicolas Hague (left) score the Golden Knights second goal in the middle of a scrum – Photo by Jack Lima
NHL Commisioner Gary Bettman awards the Stanley Cup to Golden Knights Captain Mark Stone
– Photo by Jack Lima
Mark Stone celebrates his first period goal – Photo by Jack Lima
Mark Stone (61) opens the scoring with a goal past goalie Sergei Bobrovsky (72) – Photo by Jack Lima
Keegan Kolesar (55) and Aleksander Barkov (16) fight fot the puck – Photo by Jack Lima
Jonathan Marchessault – Photo by Jack Lima
Jack Eichel – Photo by Jack Lima
Golden Knights Mascot Chance entertains the crowd – Photo by Jack Lima
Golden Knights Head Coach Bruce Cassidy hoists cup – Photo by Jack Lima
Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill stops a shot by Anton Lundell (15) – Photo by Jack Lima
Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill (33) stops a shot by Aleksander Barkov (16) – Photo by Jack Lima
Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill (33) makes a save as Michael Amadio (22) clears the rebound – Photo by Jack Lima
Golden Knights Celebrate – Photo by Jack Lima
Golden Knights Celebrate – Photo by Jack Lima
Golden Knights Captain Mark Stone raises the Stanley Cup – Photo by Jack Lima
Defenseman Brayden McNabb reaches for a loose puck – Photo by Jack Lima
Brandon Montour (62) and Brett Howden (21) follow the puck through the crease – Photo by Jack Lima
Alex Pietrangelo – Photo by Jack Lima
Alec Martinez (23) grabs Raadko Gudas (center) in the middle of a scrum – Photo by Jack Lima
Adin Hill gets his turn with the cup – Photo by Jack Lima
Jack Eichel’s face reflects in the Stanley Cup as he kisses it – Photo by Jack Lima
Ben Hutton’s face reflects in the Stanley Cup as he kisses it – Photo by Jack Lima
2023 Stanley Cup Champions the Vegas Golden Knights – Photo by Jack Lima
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