NHL: Vegas Golden Knights thrash Florida Panthers to lift Stanley Cup

Vegas Golden Knights thrashed Florida Panthers by 9-3 to lift Stanley Cup for the first time.
Vegas captain Mark Stone hit a hat trick and dominated the game from the second period. It was the first hat trick in the final after Peter Forsberg of the Colorado Avalanche made this feat in 1996.

Stone took advantage of a break with Chandler Stephenson, made a move in front of the net, and shot the puck past Panther’s goalie Sergei Bobrovsky. Vegas got another break in just two minutes and defenseman Nicolas Hague shot the puck into the net.


Florida defenseman Aaron Ekblad shined in the second period, fired the puck into the net, and thus reduced the deficit to 2-1. Golden Nights defenseman Alec Martinez was quick to score two goals. He achieved this feat after he scored the cup-clinching goal for Los Angeles Kings in 2014.

Shea Theodore and William Carlsson scored the third and fourth goals for the Golden Nights while Stone made it 5-1. In the second period itself, Michael Amadio added one more goal.

Florida tried to fight valiantly in the third period, Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennet scored a goal each. But Golden Knight’s Ivan Barbashev hit back to make it 7-1.

Stone completed his hat-trick by hitting the puck into an empty net. Nicolas Ray scored the last goal with just one minute to play.

Though Florida lost the final miserably, their goalie shined and got the attention and praise of all, including the adversaries. He stopped Anton Lindell, made the save on Barkov, and denied Anthony Duclair an opportunity to score a goal in the third period.

Florida deployed him after Laurant Brossoit got injured in the second round. With his 13 goals and 25 points, Jonathan Marchessault emerged as the MVP and won Conn Smythe Trophy.

FAQs:

Who scored a hat-trick in the NHL Final?
Vegas captain Mark Stone hit a hat-trick in the NHL Finals against the Florida Panthers.

Who won the Conn Smythe Trophy?
Jonathan Marchessault emerged as the MVP and won Conn Smythe Trophy.