The Vegas Golden Knights captivated fans and conquered the Stanley Cup
The Vegas Golden Knights, in only their sixth year, won the Stanley Cup on Tuesday night by defeating the Florida Panthers by 9-3 and hoisting it to the ceiling for the first time in franchise history. With brilliant passes, a hat trick from Mark Stone, and wild goal celebrations, the Golden Knights gave Vegas a taste of what it's like to celebrate a Stanley Cup victory.
Read on for the most memorable moments from Game 5 and learn how the Knights secured their win.
Knights go from expansion franchise to Stanley Cup glory
The Knights' success in their inaugural season and the playoffs ever since has set the bar for what an expansion franchise should achieve. Head coach Bruce Cassidy honored the short history of the Knights by starting five of the first Vegas players, the Misfits, and placing the sixth on the subsequent shift.
He seemed to be convinced that his side would perform well, and sure enough, they did, scoring six unanswered goals in the second period to take a commanding 6-1 halftime lead. The Vegas Golden Knights secured their victory in five games in front of a franchise-record crowd of 19,058 at T-Mobile Arena. The crowd was so loud that they drowned out the opening statements of forward Jonathan Marchessault and goaltender Adin Hill before the game began.
Star player Matthew Tkachuk was missing
Despite being the team's leading scorer in both the regular season and playoffs, the Panthers were missing standout forward Matthew Tkachuk due to a broken sternum. Tkachuk played exceptionally well in the playoffs, even if penalties and injuries hindered him in the Stanley Cup Final.
The Panthers could have used Tkachuk's scoring spark, along with improved defense and just about everything else, in their playoff elimination game on Tuesday. Tkachuk is one of four Panthers who suffered bone fractures during the team's playoff run, according to first-year head coach Paul Maurice.
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