Stone tallies hat trick as Vegas wins Stanley Cup

CAPTAIN Mark Stone tallied a hat trick, as the Vegas Golden Knights captured their first Stanley Cup in their sixth year as a National Hockey League (NHL) team.

The NHL's second-newest team dismantled the Florida Panthers in five games, after a 9-3 victory on Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Stone scored the game's first goal while shorthanded in the first period, followed by another goal from defenseman Nicolas Hague.

Two minutes and 15 seconds into the second period, Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad answered with a goal, but Vegas scored four unanswered goals, with defenseman Alec Martinez, forwards Reilly Smith, Stone and Michael Amadio gave the home team a 6-1 lead.

After Vegas forward Ivan Barbashev scored in the third period, Florida forwards Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett retaliated to put the Panthers within four, 3-7.

At the 14-minute mark, however, Stone scored on the empty net to complete his hat trick and over a minute before the end of the game, forward Nicolas Roy sealed the deal for Vegas as the Golden Knights hoisted their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

Forward Jack Eichel, who was acquired by the Golden Knights last season in a trade with the Buffalo Sabres, who selected him second overall in 2015, had three assists.

Goaltender Adin Hill stopped 31 of 34 shots and had a.914 save percentage.

Forward Jonathan Marchessault, a member of the inaugural Vegas team that also made the Stanley Cup finals in 2018, received the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player of the NHL playoffs this year. He finished with 13 goals and 12 assists in 22 playoff games.

Marchessault was selected at the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft from the Panthers, with Smith going with him via trade.

Apart from Smith and Marchessault, other members of the inaugural Vegas team who are part of the 2023 championship team included forwards William Karlsson and William Carrier, and defensemen Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb.

“We waited a long time for that moment to come back, and we want to make sure that we cash in on time and I couldn't be more proud of our team, our organization… We've been grinding for a few years, it's just an unbelievable feeling right now,” Marchessault told TNT sports reporter Jackie Redmond.

Multiple members of the Golden Knights have won more than one Stanley Cup, including goaltender Jonathan Quick and Martinez, and forward Phil Kessel, all of whom are now three-time Stanley Cup champions, despite Kessel not playing a single game in the finals. Quick and Martinez won with the Los Angeles Kings in 2012 and 2014, while Kessel won with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017.

In addition, defenseman Alex Pietrangelo and forward Ivan Barbashev, who previously won the Cup in 2019 with the St. Louis Blues, have won their second Stanley Cup with Vegas.

Forward Chandler Stephenson, who won with the Capitals in 2018 after hoisting it in Vegas, would win his second Stanley Cup.

Head coach Bruce Cassidy would also win his first Stanley Cup after narrowly losing to Pietrangelo and Barbashev's Blues in 2019.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman gave the Stanley Cup to Stone and passed it to his teammates, beginning with the original members of the Golden Knights.

“What has happened here has been simply incredible,” Bettman said before the Cup presentation. “Not only is Vegas a hockey town, it's a championship town.”

Vegas had a regular season record of 51 wins, 22 losses and nine overtime losses before their Stanley Cup run.