Golden Knights crowned Stanley Cup champions after thrashing Panthers

Panthers @ Golden Knights; Game 5, 6/13 | NHL Playoffs 2023 | Stanley Cup Final

The Vegas Golden Knights have bagged their first-ever Stanley Cup after only six seasons in the league, beating the Florida Panthers with a score of 9-3 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Tuesday.

With this Game 5 win, the top-seeded Golden Knights sealed the best-of-seven series at 4-1. Vegas captain Mark Stone scored three goals, while Alec Martinez, Nicolas Hague, Reilly Smith, Ivan Barbashev, Michael Amadio and Nicolas Roy each added a goal.

Stone’s hat trick, which includes an empty-net goal with 5:54 remaining, was the first in a Stanley Cup Final since Peter Forsberg from Colorado Avalanche in 1996, also against the Panthers. Meanwhile, Martinez’s goal in the second period came nine years after he scored a double-overtime goal to win the Stanley Cup for the Los Angeles Kings.

“I can’t even describe the feelings in my stomach right now. Everything you can imagine,” said Stone.

“The grind of an 82-game season, four playoff rounds, you grind and you grind and you grind. At the end of the day, we’re the last team standing. It’s incredible.”

Vegas goaltender Adin Hill stood tall with 31 saves, which earned him MVP chants from the crowd in the third period.

Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the season’s playoffs after scoring 25 points in the postseason. Coach Bruce Cassidy brought him and four other original Golden Knights to start the game.

The Golden Knights have set a high bar for expansion franchises. So far, the team has reached the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season and the playoffs every year except for 2020-21.

The end of Florida’s playoff run

Despite entering the playoffs as the final wildcard in the Eastern Conference, Florida managed to eliminate three of the NHL’s top four teams, reaching its first Stanley Cup Final since 1996.

Aaron Ekblad scored an early goal for the Panthers, but Vegas quickly retaliated with four goals in just nine and a half minutes. Martinez, Smith, Stone and Amadio propelled the hosts to a 6-1 lead.

Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett also managed to score goals, but teammate Sergei Bobrovsky struggled again in a challenging performance against Vegas. Meanwhile, Matthew Tkachuk, known for his game-winning shots, was absent from the lineup following a shoulder injury inflicted by Vegas’ Keegan Kolesar in Game 3.