Vegas Golden Knights Thrash Florida Panthers in Game 5 to Win First Stanley Cup

• The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final
• The Golden Knights captured their first-ever championship with Tuesday’s victory
• Vegas's Jonathan Marchessault was named the MVP of the Stanley Cup Playoffs

The long wait is finally over for the Vegas Golden Knights.

They won their first-ever NHL championship on Tuesday night, crushing the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Seven different players scored goals for the Golden Knights, who won the championship series by a score of four games to one.

Stone opens scoring for Vegas

Captain, Mark Stone starred for the Golden Knights, recording a hat-trick in the series clincher. He opened the scoring for Vegas with a short-handed marker in the opening period.

Stone looked off Jonathan Marchessault before stopping right in front of Florida goaltender, Sergei Bobrovsky. He then roofed his shot attempt to give Vegas a 1-0 lead, per Yahoo! Sports.

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Nicolas Hague doubled the Golden Knights’ advantage just two minutes later to send the home fans into a frenzy.

Aaron Ekblad gave Florida life, blasting a wrist shot from the point to cut Vegas’ lead to 2-1 in the opening stages of the second period.

Vegas erupts in second period

That was the closest the Panthers got as the Golden Knights wreaked havoc in the second period. They scored four unanswered goals to build a commanding 6-1 lead entering the third period.

Alec Martinez, Reilly Smith, Michael Amadio, and Stone each scored for Vegas during that stretch. Vegas didn’t let up in the third period, scoring three more goals to secure the victory.

Ivan Barbashev gave Vegas a 7-1 advantage at the 8:22 mark of the third period. Stone completed his hat trick at the 14:06 mark with an empty net goal after Florida scored back-to-back goals courtesy of Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett.

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Nicolas Roy completed the scoring with a goal in the final minute.

Vegas makes history

It was a historic victory for the Golden Knights, who became just the second franchise in the NHL’s modern era to win a Stanley Cup title within their first six seasons, per ESPN. Vegas joined the Edmonton Oilers in the exclusive list.

The Golden Knights won it all in their sixth season while the Oilers lifted the Stanley Cup in just their fifth season.

Marchessault was named the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs and was awarded the 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy.

Denver wins coveted NBA championship

Sports Brief recently reported on the Nuggets' win over the Heat in Game 5.

Nikola Jokic scored 28 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Denver to a 94-89 win.

He was named the Finals MVP as he continues to experience the form of his life.