The Vegas Golden Knights fought their way through the Winnipeg Jets, Edmonton Oilers and Dallas Stars to reach the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in six years. For the Florida Panthers, it was their first appearance since 1996; neither team had ever won a Cup.
But the eighth-seeded Panthers were on a Cinderella run after climbing back from a 3-1 deficit against the Boston Bruins, who put together the greatest regular season of all time and were considered heavy favorites to be the last team standing. Florida dispatched the Toronto Maple Leafs in five games and ousted the Carolina Hurricanes in four in the second and third rounds, respectively.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was playing the best hockey of his life. Matthew Tkachuk had three game-winning goals in the four-game series against Carolina alone, including the series-clincher with under five seconds remaining in the third period of Game 4.
Those two were the early Conn Smythe Trophy favorites for Florida. For Vegas, the conversation was much more open-ended, as at least four or five players were in serious contention, with Jack Eichel, Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Adin Hill leading the way.
The Panthers were coming off an extended break between rounds, but this matchup – the first postseason meeting between these teams – was otherwise expected to be much closer and more competitive than the standings indicated, setting up what many believed would be a lengthy, back-and-forth battle.
Game 1 – “The save”
Golden Knights 5, Panthers 2
Both teams scored one goal apiece in the first and second periods, making it a 2-2 game through 40 minutes. However, Vegas’ three unanswered goals in the third period ultimately tipped the scales in their favor as they tied the franchise record with their 13th victory of the postseason.
Both first-period goals came on Vegas power plays. The first, a shorthanded goal by Eric Staal, was the result of a disastrous shift for the Golden Knights. A broken stick, an errant pass and Hill overcommitting left Staal open on the wraparound to make it 1-0 with the opening goal of the series.
But the Vegas power play evened the score with under three minutes in the first period, as Marchessault scored his 10th of the playoffs.
Early in the second period, Hill made one of the greatest plays in Golden Knights history, coming up with an exceptionally timely stop that was remarkably similar to Braden Holtby’s save in Game 2 of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
Hill was completely out of the play but reached back in desperation and absolutely stoned Nick Cousins with a stunning paddle save. Alex Pietrangelo followed up the save of Hill’s career with a great stick check to rob Cousins yet again on the rebound.
That wasn’t the only memorable play of the night, however, as Shea Theodore finally broke through with his first of the playoffs. After undressing Anthony Duclair, who was hobbled after blocking a shot, Theodore launched a top-shelf laser past a Brett Howden screen and into the back of the net to give Vegas a 2-1 lead 10:54 into the second.
It was an absolutely filthy move, as Theodore skated backwards along the blue line, spun around with the puck, deked, faked and then skated into the high slot and beat Bobrovsky.
But with less than 11 seconds remaining in the period, Vegas lost a key draw in the defensive zone, and Duclair scored right off the faceoff to even things up just before intermission.
The Golden Knights regrouped in the locker room and came out with a strong three-goal third period.
The first goal came immediately after Bobrovsky shut down a 2-on-1 bid, but Vegas got the puck to the point, and Zach Whitecloud ripped one through traffic, finding twine with what proved to be the game-winning goal.
Vegas followed it up with yet another highlight-reel play, as Mark Stone knocked a clearing attempt out of the air before firing it past Bobrovsky. The goal was upheld after being reviewed for a high stick, and it gave Vegas the first two-goal lead of the series at 13:41.
Things began to unravel, and the referees handed out the first four misconducts of the series, sending Tkachuk, Chandler Stephenson, Sam Bennett and Radko Gudas to the locker room. The sequence set up a four-minute power play for Vegas, but the Panthers came close to scoring their second shorthanded tally of the night when Sam Reinhart came in on a breakaway. Hill thwarted Reinhart’s stuff attempt, and Reilly Smith followed it up with an empty-net goal to seal the win.
Neither team was at its best, but the Golden Knights beat Bobrovsky four times on 34 shots (.879 save percentage), handing him his first road loss of the postseason and snapping his five-game winning streak.
Five different players scored for Vegas, including former Panthers Marchessault and Smith, who were dumped by Florida in the expansion draft back in 2017.
Vegas leads series 1-0
Vegas goals: Marchessault (10-PPG), Theodore (1), Whitecloud (2), Stone (7), Smith (3-PPG)
Game-winning goal
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Game 2 – Misconducts galore
Golden Knights 7, Panthers 2
Another three-goal third period and a perfect night from the penalty kill helped the Golden Knights take a 2-0 series lead. Every line scored a 5-on-5 goal, and Hill finished the game with 29 saves on 31 shots (.935 SV%). Once again, he outplayed the frequently-screened Bobrovsky, who gave up four goals on 13 shots before being yanked.
A monster reverse hit by Ivan Barbashev knocked Gudas out of the game, which was a costly blow to the Panthers’ defensive efforts in Game 2. It also led to two undisciplined penalties, one of which – a cross-check to Marchessault’s face – helped set up Vegas’ first goal.
It was none other than Marchessault himself who skated in and beat Bobrovsky thanks to an excellent screen by Stone. It was Marchessault’s team-leading 11th goal of the postseason.
With just over two minutes left in the period, Vegas got its third goal from the blue line in the series after getting just three through the first three rounds. Alec Martinez netted his first of the postseason after using a Florida defenseman as a screen before beating Bobrovsky top-shelf.
After scoring on their final shot of the first period, the Golden Knights came out in the second and scored on their next two.
The first to strike was Nicolas Roy; this proved to be the game-winner.
Then, it was Howden’s turn to shine after failing to convert on several prime scoring chances in Game 1.
Howden was the beneficiary of an outstanding shift by Stone, who broke his stick in the defensive end, crushed Montour as he skated to get another one from the bench, collected Stephenson’s pass and then found a streaking Howden to set up the goal.
It gave Vegas a 4-0 lead 7:10 into the second period and chased Bobrovsky for the night.
Tkachuk later delivered a clean but potentially series-altering hit on Eichel, sending him to the locker room immediately. Eichel lost his footing prior to the hit, so he took most of it in the shoulder and neck area, then landed awkwardly on his leg.
But he was back on the bench to start the third, which is where he watched the Panthers score just 14 seconds in.
However, Eichel helped Vegas steal that momentum right back, making his presence felt on his very first shift of the frame after winning a puck battle along the boards and finding Marchessault all alone in the slot.
The Golden Knights added to their lead on a fantastic play by Karlsson, who set up Michael Amadio in front of a wide-open net to make it 6-1 with 9:27 remaining.
Tkachuk scored to make it 6-2 just 2:11 later, beating Hill on the rebound.
He came close to making it 6-3, but Theodore helped Hill keep it out of the net. Tkachuk then received his second misconduct of the game and third of the series, ending his night.
Howden scored his second of the game on a late power play to solidify the 7-2 win.
The Golden Knights set a new franchise record for most playoff wins with 14.
But Marchessault said after Game 2 that the Golden Knights were “still pretty far from our goal here.”
Vegas leads series 2-0
Vegas goals: Marchessault (11-PPG), Martinez (1), Roy (2), Howden (4), Marchessault (12), Amadio (4), Howden (5-PPG)
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Game 3 – Tkachuk in the clutch
Panthers 3, Golden Knights 2 (OT)
Vegas was 2:13 away from taking a commanding 3-0 lead in the series, but Tkachuk scored the equalizer late in the third period to force extra time. Carter Verhaeghe followed it up with the game-winner 4:27 into overtime, handing Vegas its first loss of the series and snapping a three-game winning streak.
Bobrovsky was a big part of Florida’s win, as he had his best performance of the series with 25 saves on 27 shots for a .926 save percentage.
The Panthers got on the board first thanks to a Brandon Montour tally 4:08 into the first period; Hill never saw the screened shot.
But yet again, there was a major hit with potentially drastic ramifications, as Keegan Kolesar delivered a clean but massive hit on Tkachuk. Tkachuk played one shift on a power play that came immediately afterwards, but he later returned to the locker room for the league’s concussion protocol. He cleared protocol but spent a lot of the game on the bench and wasn’t the same player. That didn’t stop him from eventually putting the team on his back to help secure the franchise’s first Stanley Cup Final win, however. It was later revealed that he suffered a broken sternum.
The Golden Knights struck on the power play with just under four minutes remaining in the period, and they were the only team to do so in a middle frame that saw both teams exchange power plays three times for a combined 9:24 of power-play action.
Vegas’ penalty kill went 3-for-3 in the second, 5-for-5 in the game and 12-for-12 through three games.
The power play also came through, as Marchessault scored on the man-advantage for the third game in a row, making it 2-1 with 5:01 remaining; it was his 13th goal in 13 games after scoring zero in the first seven. Eichel made a great pass to set up the one-timer.
Bobrovsky made a number of key saves in the third period to keep Florida within one. The Panthers had four shots for most of the frame, and Vegas seemed content to keep Florida to the perimeter. But when Bobrovsky was pulled, the Panthers made their move, rattling off three shots in eight seconds.
The third shot came off the stick of Tkachuk and found its way to the back of the net. His 11th of the playoffs made it a 2-2 game with 2:13 remaining.
The Panthers were surging for the next two minutes, but a bad call set up Vegas’ sixth power play of the game, which carried over into an overtime period that could make or break the Panthers’ season. Florida’s kill was successful; not long after, yet another Golden Knights overtime game was decided quickly (4:27). The undefeated-in-overtime Panthers extended that streak to 7-0 when Verhaeghe’s laser from the point found twine to take Game 3.
“The gutsiest win I’ve ever been a part of,” Tkachuk said after the game. “I’m very proud of the team, and … we’re not done yet.”
Vegas leads series 2-1
Vegas goals: Stone (8-PPG), Marchessault (13-PPG)
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Game 4 – One win away from 16
Golden Knights 3, Panthers 2
In the first and only regulation period through four games in which penalties were not assessed, it took Stephenson 99 seconds to light the lamp after Vegas capitalized on a sloppy Panthers change. Whitecloud made an excellent pass from the neutral zone to spring Stephenson, who beat Bobrovsky five-hole.
Vegas had one of its best periods of the series in the middle frame, managing a 16-4 edge in scoring chances and a 4-1 lead in high-danger chances while earning 70.86 percent of the expected goal share at 5-on-5. If not for the play of Bobrovsky, the Golden Knights could have run away with it. Even so, Vegas scored two goals in under four minutes to take a 3-0 lead.
Stephenson scored his second of the game on a one-timer from the slot at 7:28.
The Golden Knights continued to push, and their unrelenting forecheck led to Karlsson’s first goal (and second point) of the series just 3:36 later.
The Panthers got on the board in the final four minutes of the frame when Montour’s shot deflected off two Vegas skates.
Aleksander Barkov followed it up with a goal 3:50 into the third period to make it 3-2.
Despite not having a healthy Tkachuk, the Panthers fought until the very end but were unable to penetrate Vegas’ defensive structure and the play of Hill, who stopped the other 11 shots he faced. Pietrangelo made things interesting by taking Vegas’ first penalty of the game with 17.4 seconds remaining, but Hill and the defense closed out the game. Through four games, Hill stopped 111 of 120 shots (.925 SV%).
He also got involved at the end of the night when additional misconducts were doled out (Tkachuk got his fourth in four games).
It was Florida’s attempt to set the tone for what was sure to be an intense Game 5 in Las Vegas, with the Panthers facing elimination for the first time since the first round.
“Closing a series, it’s the hardest thing to do,” Marchessault said. “Our best game has yet to come.”
Marchessault was right about that.
Vegas leads series 3-1
Vegas goals: Stephenson (9), Stephenson (10), Karlsson (11)
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Game 5 – For all the marbles
Golden Knights 9, Panthers 3
For the second time in six seasons, the Golden Knights entered a Game 5 elimination game at T-Mobile Arena with the Stanley Cup in the building. But Vegas came out with laser focus and proceeded to carry out its game plan to perfection.
Florida was without superstar Tkachuk, but the Golden Knights were hungrier than ever before. In the end, they delivered an absolute thrashing, with the captain leading the charge in the 9-3 Cup-clinching victory.
It began with a coaching decision before the game. In his first season as bench boss of the Golden Knights, Bruce Cassidy elected to reunite the Misfit Line and put five original Golden Misfits on the ice to start the game. The gesture earned an eruption from the fans, and his decision set the tone before the puck was even dropped.
Even so, it took the Golden Knights a little while to settle in. Hill made some key stops early until Vegas got on the board first for the third time in the series.
Stone opened the scoring with Vegas’ first shorthanded goal of the postseason, collecting a giveaway just inside the Vegas blue line and skating down the ice on a 2-on-1. He headed straight towards the crease, delayed and waited for Bobrovsky to go down before lifting the puck into the top-right corner to give Vegas a 1-0 lead.
The Golden Knights doubled that lead less than two minutes later.
Eichel started the play, using a curl-and-drag to get around Montour before firing a backhand shot at Bobrovsky, which led to a scramble in the crease. Nicolas Hague came swooping in and shoved the puck into the net to make it 2-0 at 13:41.
With the secondary assist on the play, Marchessault extended his point streak to 10 games; he finished the series with eight points in five games.
The Panthers pulled within one early in the second period when an Aaron Ekblad floater from the point beat a screened Hill.
For the second period in a row, the Panthers were the better team early, but the momentum shifted dramatically midway through the frame.
It never shifted back.
The Golden Knights completely took over the game, series and season with the second period of all second periods.
Vegas scored four unanswered goals in the span of 9:30, with three of them coming in less than seven minutes.
An epic, sustained and relentless multi-line shift is what turned the tide. Eventually, the puck made its way onto Martinez’s stick in the slot. Martinez beat Bobrovsky cleanly, firing a top-shelf laser to the far-side corner to restore Vegas’ two-goal lead at 10:28.
The Golden Knights seized the moment and found another gear. Less than two minutes later, three Original Misfits teamed up to blow the roof off T-Mobile Arena.
Karlsson’s between-the-legs pass set up Smith’s one-timer, which beat Bobrovsky to the far post to make it a 4-1 game at 12:13 of the second. That proved to be the Cup-clinching goal.
But the Golden Knights weren’t finished.
It took a little over five minutes, but Vegas further extended its lead when Stone scored his second of the game. His one-timer got through a fatigued Bobrovsky to give the Golden Knights a commanding four-goal lead at 17:15.
The Golden Knights scored the true dagger with just two seconds left on the clock, as Amadio deflected a puck in front and then shoved it under Bobrovsky, who was down in the crease.
Hill continued to come up with spectacular saves in the third period as the Golden Knights fought to hold on to their sizeable lead and close out the championship.
Perhaps his most remarkable stop was a glove save on Duclair at the side of the net.
Barbashev then netted his seventh of the playoffs 8:22 into the third to give Vegas a 7-1 lead, but the Panthers responded with a Sam Reinhart tally just 25 seconds later.
The Panthers scored the next goal just under three minutes after that, making it a 7-3 game at 11:39.
Florida pulled Bobrovsky with over six minutes to go, leading to three hat trick bids by Stone. The first attempt hit the post, and the second missed wide; the third, however, was just right. Stone hit the empty cage for his third goal of the game and 11th of the postseason to make it 8-3 at 14:06.
It was the first hat trick in the Stanley Cup Final since Peter Forsberg scored three goals in 1996 against, ironically, the Florida Panthers.
With 62 seconds left in the third, Roy found the back of the net to put a final stamp on the Golden Knights’ 16th win of the playoffs. Both Theodore and Brayden McNabb assisted on the last goal of the season to secure the 9-3 win.
Hill delivered one last tremendous performance, turning aside 31 of 34 shots for a .912 save percentage to backstop the Golden Knights to their first championship.
Stone scored a hat trick, Eichel and Theodore recorded three assists each, every member of the Misfit Line recorded at least a point, all four lines scored at least a goal and fifteen different members of the Golden Knights found the scoresheet in an all-around team effort for the ages.
Marchessault was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs; he finished second in scoring with 25 points and tied for first in goals with 13.
As had been the case in Vegas’ previous series-clinching elimination games, the Golden Knights were surgical in their execution in Game 5, and they played with the same killer instinct that helped them advance through each round of the playoffs.
The Golden Knights clinched the first Stanley Cup in franchise history in front of a record-setting crowd of 19,058, the most fans to attend a Golden Knights game in history.
It was a fitting atmosphere for the type of game Vegas played.
Game 5 was the best game the Golden Knights ever played, and not just because of the result. It was the statement win of statement wins, and it was the culmination of a year’s worth of dedication, diligence and steadfastness by a team that simply refused to lose.
Vegas wins series 4-1
Vegas goals: Stone (9-SHG), Hague (2), Martinez (2), Smith (4), Stone (10), Amadio (5), Barbashev (7), Stone (11), Roy (3)
Cup-clinching goal
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Round 4 – By the numbers
Leading scorers: Stone (5-4–9), Marchessault (4-4–8), Eichel (0-8–8), Stephenson (2-4–6), Theodore (1-5–6)
Goalie stats: Hill (5 starts): 4-1, 2.36 GAA, .923 SV%
Power play: 31.6 percent (rank: 1/2)
Penalty kill: 100 percent (rank: 1/2)
Record split: 3-0 at home, 1-1 on the road
The after-party
“We are the champions”
The six Original Misfits were the first six players to skate with the Cup after Stone; those six players combined for eight points in the Cup-clincher, including the game-winner.
Parade highlights
Final thoughts
After a disappointing end to a magical inaugural campaign, it took the Golden Knights five years to return to the Stanley Cup Final. But the Golden Knights came out on top the second time around, and there was no shortage of magic throughout their thrilling run.
Hill finished the playoffs with an 11-4 record, a 2.17 goals-against average, a .932 save percentage and two shutouts.
The fact that at least five players were worthy of consideration for the Conn Smythe is a perfect microcosm of how the Golden Knights played as a team and won as a team all year, and there was no exception in the 22-game postseason run.
Four players finished with 20-plus points and four scored 10-plus goals. But the contributions from up and down the lineup also came on the defensive side of things, as the Golden Knights blocked 123 shots against the Panthers, including 87 in the final three games alone. Vegas finished the series 14-for-14 on the penalty kill.
“It hurts to win” was a team motto throughout the postseason, and the Golden Knights – to a man – left it all on the ice.
Statistics courtesy of NHL.com and Natural Stat Trick.