Mark Stone scored a hat trick and the Vegas Golden Knights captured the organization’s first Stanley Cup with a 9-3 romp over the Florida Panthers on Tuesday night.
Vegas closed out the series in five games.
Stone’s hat trick — with the third into an empty net with 5:54 left — was the first in a Stanley Cup Final since Colorado’s Peter Forsberg in 1996, also against the Panthers.
The Knights got the rest of their scoring from Nic Hague, Alec Martinez, Reilly Smith, Michael Amadio, Ivan Barbashev and Nicolas Roy. Martinez’s goal in the second period came nine years to the day after he delivered the double-overtime goal in Game 5 to give the Los Angeles Kings’ the cup.
The Panthers did not have the same firepower up front without Matthew Tkachuk in the lineup.
Tkachuk was ruled out for Game 5 with what was deemed to be an “upper-body injury,” but according to multiple reports following Florida’s loss, the Panthers star forward had suffered a broken sternum.
The Vegas Golden Knights notched their first ever Stanley Cup after demolishing the Florida Panthers, 9-3, in Game 5 last night. Here’s a quick montage of Golden Knight star Mark Stone’s hat trick (3 goals in one game).
