Golden Knights tame Panthers to capture 1st Stanley Cup in just 6th year of existence
CBC
The Vegas Golden Knights captured the franchise's first Stanley Cup in just its sixth season of existence on Tuesday after closing out the Florida Panthers at home with a 9-3 win in Game 5 of the finals.
"Unbelievable," said Stone. "The look in my teammates eyes when I got [the Stanley Cup], one of the craziest feelings I've ever had. I can't even describe the feelings in my stomach right now. It's everything you can imagine. The grind of an 82-game season, four playoff rounds. You grind and you grind and you grind."
Stone got Vegas going halfway through the first period on the penalty kill, patiently waiting out Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky before roofing his ninth goal of the playoffs, capitalizing on a miscommunication between Panthers forwards Sam Bennett and Carter Verhaeghe.
WATCH | VGK captain Stone leads by example, pots hat trick in Cup-clinching win:
Nearly two minutes later, another one of Vegas' prized trade acquisitions, Jack Eichel, helped orchestrate the team's next goal after directing a backhand on net, which defenceman Nicolas Hague converted in close.
Jonathan Marchessault recorded his 25th point of the playoffs on Hague's goal, temporarily moving him past star Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk — who missed the game with an undisclosed injury — for sole possession of top spot in playoff scoring.
WATCH | Golden Knights raise 1st Stanley Cup in franchise history:
Marchessault, previously a member of the Panthers — who left him exposed for selection in the 2017 expansion draft where Vegas acquired him, was awarded with the Conn Smythe Trophy, given annually to the most valuable player to his team during the Stanley Cup playoffs.
"I couldn't be more proud of our team, our organization," said Marchessault, whose 13 goals tied Edmonton Oilers' centre Leon Draisaitl for the most of the 2023 playoffs. "Everybody stepped up at different times and that's why we're winners."
The Panthers then responded when defenceman Aaron Ekblad found the back of the net from the point just over two minutes into the second period.
Eichel later tied Marchessault atop the scoring leaderboard after setting up trailing defenceman Alec Martinez off the rush, who fired a shot past Bobrovsky to reclaim Vegas' two-goal lead. A third-period assist later gave Eichel his 26th playoff point (6 goals, 20 assists), permanently surpassing Marchessault's 25 (13 goals, 12 assists).
The excellent playoff run was particularly sweet for Eichel, who was less than two years removed from neck surgery that sidelined him for a significant period of time.
"This is what everyone dreams of," said Eichel, who played in the post-season for the first time of his career in his eighth NHL campaign. "You come to an organization like this and the expectation is to win this thing. It's a special place to play. I can't give everyone enough credit for putting us in this position.
"They call 'em the misfits, those are the guys, they built this. They built this culture. So proud to be a part of it."
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