Relentless Golden Knights draw first blood in Stanley Cup showdown as they rout underdogs the Florida Panthers 5-2 in Game 1
The Vegas Golden Knights took a 1-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers Saturday night in their quest for the Stanley Cup.
The Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Adin Hill made perhaps the save of the playoffs as he reached back and extended his stick to keep Florida´s Nick Cousin from scoring.
Zach Whitecloud scored from long range with just over 13 minutes left to put Vegas ahead, a crucial penalty kill followed and captain Mark Stone scored an insurance goal that was reviewed for a high stick and confirmed.
That combination, plus Hill’s 31 saves, gave Vegas the lead in the series after a feisty opener between Sun Belt teams who wasted little time getting acquainted with big hits during play and plenty of post-whistle pushing and shoving.
Original Knights players Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore also scored on Florida’s two-time Vezina winner Sergei Bobrovsky.
Back in the final, they’ll now try to avoid the same result as in 2018, when Vegas beat Washington in Game 1 and lost the next four to fall short of hoisting the Cup in its inaugural season.
The Golden Knights will look to extend their series lead in Game 2 in Sin City on Monday.
More to follow.
The Vegas Golden Knights took a 1-0 series lead over the Florida Panthers Saturday
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