Golden Knights take Game 1 with three-goal third period

The Stanley Cup Final is finally underway and the Vegas Golden Knights and Florida Panthers began their battle for their first Stanley Cup in their respective franchises’ histories on Saturday. But one team has been to the Cup Final more recently and it was that team that won out in the Game 1, as the Golden Knights won by a 5-2 score, largely thanks to a three-goal outburst in the third period.

It was fitting that the player who opened the scoring in the Cup Final was one of the few on either team who has won a Stanley Cup. A careless turnover from Vegas on the power play sent the puck back the other way and it resulted with Eric Staal scoring on a wraparound for a shorthanded goal to make it 1-0 for Florida.

But the Golden Knights managed to respond later in the period. And that redemption came on the power play, no less. Chandler Stephenson started skating behind the net and then made a nifty pass to sneak the puck to the front of the net where Jonathan Marchessault scored the easy goal to tie it.

The second period rolled around and Vegas continued to build on their momentum. Shea Theodore had some moves at the blueline, juking out Anthony Duclair and firing the puck at the net to beat Sergei Bobrovsky and give the Golden Knights the 2-1 lead.

However, Game 1 seemed to be the night of redemptions, as a late faceoff in the Vegas zone led to Duclair pulling the loose puck out of the scrum and surprising Adin Hill to tie it in the final 11 seconds of the frame.

But in the third period, the Golden Knights took care of business. Zach Whitecloud gave Vegas the lead seven minutes into the frame with a point shot. Mark Stone then capitalized on a careless turnover from the Panthers, batting the puck down out of midair before sniping it home to make it 4-2 with about six minutes left in the game (after a review to make sure it wasn’t a high-stick). To make matters worse, the Panthers saw their best player in Matthew Tkachuk get ejected from the game after a reckless play. The Golden Knights capped off Game 1 with an empty net goal from Reilly Smith to secure the 5-2 win and take a 1-0 lead in series.

Despite all the offense from Vegas, only two players had multiple points in the game, with Theodore registering an assist along with his goal and Jack Eichel logging two assists even with his goalless streak now reaching eight games. Hill was a key part of the win, stopping 33 of the 35 shots he faced for a .943 save percentage.