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Mark Stone of the Vegas Golden Knights clinches the Stanley Cup after defeating the Florida Panthers to win the championship in game five of the 2023 Stanley Cup Finals at T-Mobile Arena June 13 in Las Vegas, Nevada .
CNN –
The Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 in just their sixth NHL season Tuesday night in Las Vegas to win the franchise’s first Stanley Cup in five games.
Vegas captain Mark Stone had a goal each season to lead the Golden Knights, who joined the NHL ahead of the 2017-2018 season.
According to the NHL, Stone, 31, is the first player since 1922 to score a hat-trick in a Stanley Cup win.
After the game, as is tradition, each player took turns lifting the famous trophy.
“Incredible,” Stone told TNT of the experience. “I just looked into the eyes of my teammates… One of the craziest feelings I’ve ever had. Just knowing that I did it with my 25, 30 best friends makes it extra special.”
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Mark Stone #61 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates after scoring a hat trick without an empty goal.
The Golden Knights’ offensive prowess was once again on display in full glory Tuesday night before a raucous crowd inside and outside the T-Mobile Arena. The Golden Knights became the seventh team in NHL history to score five or more goals in three or more games in the same Stanley Cup Finals series.
The championship is the city of Las Vegas’ second major title in two years. In 2022, the WNBA’s Las Vegas Aces captured the league crown with a 3-1 series win over the Connecticut Sun.
Vegas led 2-0 at the first break, then defeat began in the second period as the newly crowned champions scored four times to take a 6-1 lead in the final 20 minutes.
Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill conceded two goals but continued to thwart the Panthers in the third half with several great saves.
Jonathan Marchessault won the Conn Smythe Trophy for Best Player of the Postseason. But he didn’t take credit for the championship.
“You know, one night it’s one guy, one night it’s another,” he told TNT. “That’s the mentality we had this year. We’re a bunch of good teammates in this dressing room. … Everyone got up at different times.”
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Brayden McNabb #3 of the Vegas Golden Knights tries to clear the puck.
Stone gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead with 8:08 left in the first period with a man-man goal. Less than two minutes later, the puck landed under Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and Vegas’ Nicolas Hague shot it into the net to give them a 2-0 lead.
The Panthers were already facing a tough battle of the series and were without superstar Matthew Tkachuk in Game 5, who was out with a fractured sternum. Tkachuk had led the Panthers in the playoffs with 24 points and 11 goals, including multiple game winners.
But early in the second period, the Panthers reduced the deficit to one when Aaron Ekblad scored from a Nick Cousins assist. Ekblad’s second goal of the playoffs made it 2-1 with 17:45 left in the second game.
Alec Martinez restored the Golden Knights’ two-goal lead with a wrist shot that hit the top shelf over Bobrovsky’s right shoulder. 9:32 minutes before the end it was 3:1 for the Golden Knights.
Vegas extended the lead to three when Reilly Smith scored to his wide-open teammate after a skillful pass from William Karlsson. The score was 4-1 for Vegas with 7:47 left in the second period.
Vegas’ fifth goal came when Stone scored his second with 2:45 before the break after a skillful cross-ice pass from Brett Howden.
Disaster struck for the Panthers when Florida failed to get the puck out of the defending zone with just seconds left and Smith caught it at the blue line. He served Michael Amadio in front of the net and his rebound shot went under Bobrovsky’s leg.
In the third period, the Golden Knights’ Ivan Barbashev made it 7-1 before Florida’s Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett scored consolation goals.
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Ivan Barbashev #49 of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrates a goal with his teammates in the third period.
Stone capped his hat trick with an empty goal as Florida played with six fielders to make the score 8-3. Then, just over a minute before the end of the season, Nicolas Roy made it 9-3.
After reaching the Stanley Cup Finals in the franchise’s first season, the Golden Knights returned to the championship series for the second time in their young history.
“That pain was, it was hard. To be honest. It took me almost a few months or a full year to get over it because you’re so close, but so far,” said Marchessault, who has been with the team for all six seasons. He said his approach has changed and “look at where we are right now.” Our team has been incredible from the start. And we are winners.”
The win made the Golden Knights the second fastest franchise in the league’s modern era – since 1943–44 – to win a championship. The Edmonton Oilers won the Stanley Cup in their fifth NHL season.