The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t give the Florida Panthers a chance to get back in the Stanley Cup Finals series. Golden Knights took care of the business in a dominant fashion, beating the Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 and lifting the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

What’s impressive is that the Golden Knights became NHL champions in their sixth year of existence. This was their second Stanley Cup Finals appearance, having also reached it during the franchise’s inaugural season in 2017-18.

Winning the Stanley Cup is a fitting end to an impressive campaign that the Golden Knights put on throughout the season. The Vegas team finished first in the Western Conference and then breezed through the playoffs before facing Panthers.

Many believed the Panthers would give Golden Knights a run for their money, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Instead, the Golden Knights got all of their four wins in a blowout fashion, and the only loss they had was in overtime.

Vegas’ veteran forward Jonathan Marchessault ended up capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup finals. Marchessault finished the postseason with the most goals (13) while being second in points (25). The 32-year-old player is just one of six players on the current Golden Knights’ roster that played in the first season.

“It’s one of those things you work all your life for, and right now, with what we accomplished with that team, I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” Marchessault said after the game. “We’ve battled through all year, and I’m so happy for them right now.”

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The Florida Panthers will play in this year’s Stanley Cup Finals after completing the sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes with a 4-3 win in a tightly contested Game 4 on Thursday night.

This will be the second Stanley Cup Finals appearance for the Panthers and the franchise’s first in 27 years. Florida team last made the finals in the 1995–96 season, when they lost 4-0 in the series against the Colorado Avalanche. 

The star of the Panthers’ win was All-Star forward Matthew Tkachuk, who scored two goals, including the winning goal, with less than five seconds left in the third period.

“We earned that thing and definitely didn’t do it the easy way. We earned it,” Tkachuk told reporters after the game.

Panthers’ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky also played an important role in Game 4, stopping 36 shots with a .923 save percentage.

“It’s amazing,” Bobrovsky said. “We showed the resilience … and we’re lucky to have Chucky on our side. He knows how to score big goals.”

Not a lot of people expected Florida Panthers to have this deep of a playoff run, especially since they finished the regular season with a 42-32-8 record and entered the postseason as a wild-card team. However, the Panthers showed amazing resilience, taking down Boston Bruins, the NHL’s best team in the regular season, in the first round and then beating Toronto Maple Leafs in five games before sweeping the Canes.

The Panthers will now wait for the winner of the Western Conference Finals matchup between the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights to find out who is standing in their way of winning the Stanley Cup.

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The Carolina Hurricanes are the first team in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs to secure a spot in the conference finals. The Hurricanes wrapped up their second-round series against the New Jersey Devils with a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday. 

The Hurricanes will now wait for the conclusion of the series between the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs to learn about their opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Devils, who were blown out in Game 4 in a 1-6 loss, showed signs of life on Thursday by holding the lead twice. However, the Canes were determined to end the series after five games and managed to get back both times to force overtime.

In overtime, it was Carolina who showed more mental toughness. Seven minutes into the period, Jesper Fast deflected a shot by Jesperi Kotkaniemi into the goal and secured the Canes’ return to the conference finals for the first time since 2018–19.

Speaking with the reporters after the game, head coach Rod Brind’Amour said that the team would take some time to enjoy the achievement before setting their focus on the next opponent.

“We’re stacking memories here, and they’re giving them to me, too. So it’s pretty special,” said Rod Brind’Amour.

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The Colorado Avalanche’s All-Star Nazem Kadri has been chasing an opportunity to show off his skills on the biggest stage for years. And when he finally got it, Kadri made sure to make it count.

Playing for the first time since thumb surgery in early June, Kadri scored an overtime goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals to give Avalanche a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kadri’s goal, which came in his career-first appearance in the Finals series, now has Colorado just one win away from lifting the Stanley Cup trophy.

“It was a rollercoaster of emotions,” Kadri said after the game. “Just thinking I was done and having a sliver of hope, and then sitting here right now is kind of surreal. I just was excited to join the team again and be in the dressing room. This is what I’ve been waiting for my entire life, so it certainly was exciting to get back into the lineup.”

Nazem Kadri is having a career year in 2021-22 that saw him score 28 goals and dish 59 assists for a total of 87 points during the regular season. These were all Kadri’s career-highs and have brought him his first All-Star appearance. Kadri has been prolific in the postseason as well, contributing with six goals and eight assists before suffering a thumb injury midway through Western Conference Finals.

Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals is scheduled for Friday night. If Avalanche wins, they will get their first championship since 2001. On the other hand, the Bolts are trying to keep their three-peat dreams alive.

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The Colorado Avalanche have taken the lead in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals after a 4-3 win over the reigning champs Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the series. The Avalanche sealed the victory thanks to forward Andre Burakovsky’s goal in overtime.

The Avalanche had a furious start to Game 1, rushing to a 3-1 lead before the end of the first period thanks to goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, and Artturi Lehkonen. Nicholas Paul scored the lone goal for the Lightning.

At this point, it seemed that Colorado had an easy game ahead, but Tampa Bay showed once again why you should never write them off. The Lightning bounced back in the second period and tied the result by scoring two goals in less than a minute. Ondrej Palat scored with 12:51 left on the clock, and Mikhail Sergachev followed with another goal just 48 seconds later.

Neither team managed to score in the third, sending the game to overtime. It then took Burakovsky less than two minutes to get the puck into the back of the net and give his team an important lead in the series.

“I just saw [J.T.] Compher get the puck through the neutral zone and win battles,” said Burakovsky after the game. “And I tried to get out as quick as possible, and then obviously Val [Nichushkin] got the puck back in and made a great play to me and it was up to me to shoot it.”

The Avalanche is currently looking to get its third Stanley Cup and first since 2000-01. On the other hand, the Lightning are chasing a three-peat and fourth trophy in total.

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The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Edmonton Oilers in a 6-5 overtime win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday, thereby securing their place in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 2001.

Colorado was able to close two multigoal leads that were held by Edmonton, which included the Oilers leading 4-2 in the third period. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, along with teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, scored three unanswered goals before Zack Kassian leveled for the Oilers to send the game into overtime. Artturi Lehkonen needed just 1:19 to score the decider that would end Colorado’s 22-year Stanley Cup final drought.

“When I first got to Colorado, the team was dead last,” defenceman Erik Johnson recalled of his early days with the Avalanche. “Had some up-and-down years after that, and we’ve been knocking on the door here the last couple years. Just soaking it all in and trying to embrace the moment and just having a lot of fun.”

Victory for Colorado was all the more impressive considering the team’s injury. Avalanche was without Nazem Kadri, who suffered a broken thumb in Game 3 during a boarding incident with Evander Kane. Following surgery, it remains unclear whether Kadri will be available for the Stanley Cup finals.

Avalanche now waits to see who their opponent in the finals will be. Currently, the New York Rangers are leading the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals.

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Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, NHL successfully wrapped its 2019/20 season. And it was Tampa Bay Lightning who emerged as the team that managed the unusual situation the best, as the captured the elusive Stanley Cup on Monday night.

Lightning secured the trophy with a 2-0 win over Dallas Stars in Game 6, with Brayden Point and Blake Coleman getting on the scoreboard in the first and second periods respectively.  This was Tampa Bay’s second championship in franchise history and first since 2004.

Besides Stanley Cup, Lightning’s defenseman Victor Hedman ended up lifting the Conn Smythe Trophy as well, being crowned the playoff MVP.

“It takes a lot to be in a bubble for 80 days or whatever long it was,” said Hedman after the game. “But it’s all worth it now. We’re coming home with the Cup.”

While Hedman carried the load for Tampa Bay on the defensive end, Brayden Point was the man in charge of the offense. Point finished the postseason with playoffs-high 14 goals, while also adding 19 assists.

“The beauty of our team is everyone was chipping in,” said Point. “We got tremendous depth. We got contributions from anyone and everyone at different times, and that’s what makes this win so special.”

Tampa Bay Lightning demonstrated a dominant performance throughout the postseason, losing just one game in each of their first two rounds. They had to push to six games in Conference Finals against New York Islanders but were dominant in that series as well.

Lighting’s win gets more impressive when you realize that the team played almost the entire playoffs without their captain and one of the key players in Steven Stamkos.

“These last six weeks have been really emotional for my family and I, not only on the ice but off the ice,” said Stamkos. “I just want to say to my family: I love you guys so much. To all the friends and everyone who supported us along the way: We love you. We can’t wait to celebrate with you.”

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Tampa Bay Lightning’s captain Steven Stamkos hasn’t stepped on the ice in an official NHL game since February before making an appearance against the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. But it didn’t make any difference, as Stamkos immediately made an impact, scoring on his first shot and fueling Tampa Bay to a 5-2 win.

Stamkos underwent a core muscle surgery in March and then had another injury during training camp that further postponed his return. The 30-year-old ended up playing just three minutes against Stars, but even that was enough to count as a successful comeback.

”Just to be able to get out into a game and have an impact on a game, which a month ago may have never been possible’,’ said Stamkos after the game. ”It’s been such a long time. At this time of the year, you want to do anything you can to help your team win. I’ve watched these guys be so committed to what our end goal is, and to be part of it tonight, it was a dream come true.”

Stamkos’ goal gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead in the first quarter, while Stars cut it in half thanks to Jason Dickinson. However, inspired by their captain’s return, Tampa Bay had an even more dominant performance in the second period, scoring three goals to make it 5-1.

In the third quarter, Stars only managed to make the defeat more bearable as Miro Heiskanen set the final score of 5-2.  

With this win, Lightning took the 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is scheduled to take place on Friday.

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The Vegas Golden Knights didn’t give the Florida Panthers a chance to get back in the Stanley Cup Finals series. Golden Knights took care of the business in a dominant fashion, beating the Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 and lifting the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.

What’s impressive is that the Golden Knights became NHL champions in their sixth year of existence. This was their second Stanley Cup Finals appearance, having also reached it during the franchise’s inaugural season in 2017-18.

Winning the Stanley Cup is a fitting end to an impressive campaign that the Golden Knights put on throughout the season. The Vegas team finished first in the Western Conference and then breezed through the playoffs before facing Panthers.

Many believed the Panthers would give Golden Knights a run for their money, but that didn’t turn out to be the case. Instead, the Golden Knights got all of their four wins in a blowout fashion, and the only loss they had was in overtime.

Vegas’ veteran forward Jonathan Marchessault ended up capturing the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup finals. Marchessault finished the postseason with the most goals (13) while being second in points (25). The 32-year-old player is just one of six players on the current Golden Knights’ roster that played in the first season.

“It’s one of those things you work all your life for, and right now, with what we accomplished with that team, I couldn’t be more proud of our team,” Marchessault said after the game. “We’ve battled through all year, and I’m so happy for them right now.”

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The Florida Panthers will play in this year’s Stanley Cup Finals after completing the sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes with a 4-3 win in a tightly contested Game 4 on Thursday night.

This will be the second Stanley Cup Finals appearance for the Panthers and the franchise’s first in 27 years. Florida team last made the finals in the 1995–96 season, when they lost 4-0 in the series against the Colorado Avalanche. 

The star of the Panthers’ win was All-Star forward Matthew Tkachuk, who scored two goals, including the winning goal, with less than five seconds left in the third period.

“We earned that thing and definitely didn’t do it the easy way. We earned it,” Tkachuk told reporters after the game.

Panthers’ goalie Sergei Bobrovsky also played an important role in Game 4, stopping 36 shots with a .923 save percentage.

“It’s amazing,” Bobrovsky said. “We showed the resilience … and we’re lucky to have Chucky on our side. He knows how to score big goals.”

Not a lot of people expected Florida Panthers to have this deep of a playoff run, especially since they finished the regular season with a 42-32-8 record and entered the postseason as a wild-card team. However, the Panthers showed amazing resilience, taking down Boston Bruins, the NHL’s best team in the regular season, in the first round and then beating Toronto Maple Leafs in five games before sweeping the Canes.

The Panthers will now wait for the winner of the Western Conference Finals matchup between the Dallas Stars and the Vegas Golden Knights to find out who is standing in their way of winning the Stanley Cup.

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The Carolina Hurricanes are the first team in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs to secure a spot in the conference finals. The Hurricanes wrapped up their second-round series against the New Jersey Devils with a 3-2 overtime win on Thursday. 

The Hurricanes will now wait for the conclusion of the series between the Florida Panthers and the Toronto Maple Leafs to learn about their opponent in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Devils, who were blown out in Game 4 in a 1-6 loss, showed signs of life on Thursday by holding the lead twice. However, the Canes were determined to end the series after five games and managed to get back both times to force overtime.

In overtime, it was Carolina who showed more mental toughness. Seven minutes into the period, Jesper Fast deflected a shot by Jesperi Kotkaniemi into the goal and secured the Canes’ return to the conference finals for the first time since 2018–19.

Speaking with the reporters after the game, head coach Rod Brind’Amour said that the team would take some time to enjoy the achievement before setting their focus on the next opponent.

“We’re stacking memories here, and they’re giving them to me, too. So it’s pretty special,” said Rod Brind’Amour.

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The Colorado Avalanche’s All-Star Nazem Kadri has been chasing an opportunity to show off his skills on the biggest stage for years. And when he finally got it, Kadri made sure to make it count.

Playing for the first time since thumb surgery in early June, Kadri scored an overtime goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals to give Avalanche a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. Kadri’s goal, which came in his career-first appearance in the Finals series, now has Colorado just one win away from lifting the Stanley Cup trophy.

“It was a rollercoaster of emotions,” Kadri said after the game. “Just thinking I was done and having a sliver of hope, and then sitting here right now is kind of surreal. I just was excited to join the team again and be in the dressing room. This is what I’ve been waiting for my entire life, so it certainly was exciting to get back into the lineup.”

Nazem Kadri is having a career year in 2021-22 that saw him score 28 goals and dish 59 assists for a total of 87 points during the regular season. These were all Kadri’s career-highs and have brought him his first All-Star appearance. Kadri has been prolific in the postseason as well, contributing with six goals and eight assists before suffering a thumb injury midway through Western Conference Finals.

Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals is scheduled for Friday night. If Avalanche wins, they will get their first championship since 2001. On the other hand, the Bolts are trying to keep their three-peat dreams alive.

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The Colorado Avalanche have taken the lead in the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals after a 4-3 win over the reigning champs Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the series. The Avalanche sealed the victory thanks to forward Andre Burakovsky’s goal in overtime.

The Avalanche had a furious start to Game 1, rushing to a 3-1 lead before the end of the first period thanks to goals from Gabriel Landeskog, Valeri Nichushkin, and Artturi Lehkonen. Nicholas Paul scored the lone goal for the Lightning.

At this point, it seemed that Colorado had an easy game ahead, but Tampa Bay showed once again why you should never write them off. The Lightning bounced back in the second period and tied the result by scoring two goals in less than a minute. Ondrej Palat scored with 12:51 left on the clock, and Mikhail Sergachev followed with another goal just 48 seconds later.

Neither team managed to score in the third, sending the game to overtime. It then took Burakovsky less than two minutes to get the puck into the back of the net and give his team an important lead in the series.

“I just saw [J.T.] Compher get the puck through the neutral zone and win battles,” said Burakovsky after the game. “And I tried to get out as quick as possible, and then obviously Val [Nichushkin] got the puck back in and made a great play to me and it was up to me to shoot it.”

The Avalanche is currently looking to get its third Stanley Cup and first since 2000-01. On the other hand, the Lightning are chasing a three-peat and fourth trophy in total.

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The Colorado Avalanche defeated the Edmonton Oilers in a 6-5 overtime win in Game 4 of the Western Conference Finals on Monday, thereby securing their place in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since 2001.

Colorado was able to close two multigoal leads that were held by Edmonton, which included the Oilers leading 4-2 in the third period. Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog, along with teammates Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, scored three unanswered goals before Zack Kassian leveled for the Oilers to send the game into overtime. Artturi Lehkonen needed just 1:19 to score the decider that would end Colorado’s 22-year Stanley Cup final drought.

“When I first got to Colorado, the team was dead last,” defenceman Erik Johnson recalled of his early days with the Avalanche. “Had some up-and-down years after that, and we’ve been knocking on the door here the last couple years. Just soaking it all in and trying to embrace the moment and just having a lot of fun.”

Victory for Colorado was all the more impressive considering the team’s injury. Avalanche was without Nazem Kadri, who suffered a broken thumb in Game 3 during a boarding incident with Evander Kane. Following surgery, it remains unclear whether Kadri will be available for the Stanley Cup finals.

Avalanche now waits to see who their opponent in the finals will be. Currently, the New York Rangers are leading the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in the Eastern Conference finals.

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Despite the challenges posed by COVID-19, NHL successfully wrapped its 2019/20 season. And it was Tampa Bay Lightning who emerged as the team that managed the unusual situation the best, as the captured the elusive Stanley Cup on Monday night.

Lightning secured the trophy with a 2-0 win over Dallas Stars in Game 6, with Brayden Point and Blake Coleman getting on the scoreboard in the first and second periods respectively.  This was Tampa Bay’s second championship in franchise history and first since 2004.

Besides Stanley Cup, Lightning’s defenseman Victor Hedman ended up lifting the Conn Smythe Trophy as well, being crowned the playoff MVP.

“It takes a lot to be in a bubble for 80 days or whatever long it was,” said Hedman after the game. “But it’s all worth it now. We’re coming home with the Cup.”

While Hedman carried the load for Tampa Bay on the defensive end, Brayden Point was the man in charge of the offense. Point finished the postseason with playoffs-high 14 goals, while also adding 19 assists.

“The beauty of our team is everyone was chipping in,” said Point. “We got tremendous depth. We got contributions from anyone and everyone at different times, and that’s what makes this win so special.”

Tampa Bay Lightning demonstrated a dominant performance throughout the postseason, losing just one game in each of their first two rounds. They had to push to six games in Conference Finals against New York Islanders but were dominant in that series as well.

Lighting’s win gets more impressive when you realize that the team played almost the entire playoffs without their captain and one of the key players in Steven Stamkos.

“These last six weeks have been really emotional for my family and I, not only on the ice but off the ice,” said Stamkos. “I just want to say to my family: I love you guys so much. To all the friends and everyone who supported us along the way: We love you. We can’t wait to celebrate with you.”

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Tampa Bay Lightning’s captain Steven Stamkos hasn’t stepped on the ice in an official NHL game since February before making an appearance against the Dallas Stars in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals. But it didn’t make any difference, as Stamkos immediately made an impact, scoring on his first shot and fueling Tampa Bay to a 5-2 win.

Stamkos underwent a core muscle surgery in March and then had another injury during training camp that further postponed his return. The 30-year-old ended up playing just three minutes against Stars, but even that was enough to count as a successful comeback.

”Just to be able to get out into a game and have an impact on a game, which a month ago may have never been possible’,’ said Stamkos after the game. ”It’s been such a long time. At this time of the year, you want to do anything you can to help your team win. I’ve watched these guys be so committed to what our end goal is, and to be part of it tonight, it was a dream come true.”

Stamkos’ goal gave the Lightning a 2-0 lead in the first quarter, while Stars cut it in half thanks to Jason Dickinson. However, inspired by their captain’s return, Tampa Bay had an even more dominant performance in the second period, scoring three goals to make it 5-1.

In the third quarter, Stars only managed to make the defeat more bearable as Miro Heiskanen set the final score of 5-2.  

With this win, Lightning took the 2-1 lead in the series. Game 4 is scheduled to take place on Friday.

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