The Vegas Golden Knights, known for their flashy style on and off the ice, delivered a spectacular performance to secure their first Stanley Cup title. They dominated the Florida Panthers with a 9-3 victory in Game 5 on Tuesday night, showcasing the team’s signature Vegas flair.
Mark Stone led the charge with a hat trick, supported by dazzling passes and emphatic goal celebrations. The young franchise captured the title grandly, true to their Las Vegas roots.
Acknowledging the team’s brief history, Coach Bruce Cassidy started five of the original Vegas players, the Misfits, and included the sixth on the second shift. Confident in his team’s preparation, Cassidy saw them turn a tight game into a commanding lead, blowing it open in the second period to go up 6-1. The nine goals tied the record for the most in a Stanley Cup Final game.
“Vegas, you certainly know how to throw a party,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman told the ecstatic crowd. “What’s going on inside this arena and outside is incredible and a testament to what a great hockey market this is.”
Vegas clinched the series in five games before a record crowd of 19,058 at T-Mobile Arena. The noise drowned out the pregame introductions of forward Jonathan Marchessault and goalie Adin Hill and continued through the final buzzer.
After ending the postseason with a 10-game point streak, Marchessault received the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
“I couldn’t be more proud of our team, our organization,” Marchessault said. “Everybody stepped up at different times, and that’s why we’re winners.”
Stone’s hat trick, with the third goal into an empty net, was the first in a Stanley Cup Final since Colorado’s Peter Forsberg in 1996, also against the Panthers.
Other Knights’ goals came from Nic Hague, Alec Martinez, Reilly Smith, Michael Amadio, Ivan Barbashev, and Nicolas Roy. Martinez’s goal in the second period came nine years to the day after he scored the double-overtime goal in Game 5 to win the cup for the Los Angeles Kings.
Hill continued his stellar playoff performance with 31 saves, earning “MVP! MVP!” chants from the crowd. Jack Eichel, in his first postseason, had three assists.
“This is what everyone dreams of,” Eichel said. “You come to an organization like this and expect to win this thing. It’s a special place to play.”
As captain, Stone was the first to lift the cup, followed by the six Misfits, who each took a turn skating with the trophy before passing it down the line.
“Unbelievable,” Stone said. “The look in my teammates’ eyes when I got it was 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.”
For Florida, Aaron Ekblad, Sam Reinhart, and Sam Bennett scored. Sergei Bobrovsky faced another tough outing, allowing eight goals on 30 shots. Missing from the lineup was star forward Matthew Tkachuk, who played injured in Game 4.
“It was a privilege for me to play with them and fight with them,” Bobrovsky said. “It’s tough to lose and end the season that way. But we have done a fantastic job, and I want to stick to that.”
The Knights have set the standard for expansion franchises, making the Cup Final in their first season and the playoffs in only one year. Six players from the 2017-18 team lost in the final to the Washington Capitals.
Watching the Capitals lift the Stanley Cup five years ago motivated the Knights, and they fulfilled owner Bill Foley’s vision of winning the championship in the team’s sixth year.
“We waited a long time for that moment to come back,” Marchessault said. “We wanted to make sure we cash in this time.”
By establishing high expectations early, the Knights played with a determination to achieve their goal finally. They reached at least the NHL semifinals four times before their decisive Game 5 win against the Panthers.
This victory marks Las Vegas’ second professional title in nine months, following the Aces’ WNBA championship in September. It further establishes the city as a burgeoning sports market.
The Knights’ connection to Las Vegas was cemented after the October 1, 2017 shooting, when they helped the city heal by winning big on the ice and engaging with the community.
Beating Florida validated the Knights’ management decisions to build a championship roster, with notable acquisitions like Stone, Eichel, and Alex Pietrangelo.
Cassidy, hired after being fired by the Boston Bruins, was the right coach to guide the team to victory.
“He came in, brought an intensity to our locker room that maybe we needed,” Stone said. “He wanted to win as badly as anybody else in that locker room.”
Cassidy’s strategic decisions and leadership helped Vegas become the Western Conference’s top seed and, ultimately, the NHL champion.
“It’s a great story — very, very grateful to get another opportunity,” Cassidy said. “I’m just here to do my job, and it worked out well.”
The Knights also triumphed with Hill, an unexpected star in goal. He stepped in after Laurent Brossoit’s injury in the second-round series against Edmonton and seized his chance.
“You dream about it every day growing up as a child,” Hill said. “To be here with this group of guys, in this city, in this building, is a dream come true.”
