Stanley Cup Final Game Five: What Happens in Vegas...

Well, it happened.

The Vegas Golden Knights are the 2023 Stanley Cup Champions, and they did not mess around in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Final. The Florida Panthers were completely demoralized entering this game; they couldn't muster a comeback in Game Four on their home ice, and even worse, they had to play Game Five without their anchor, Matthew Tkachuk. Something told me that this would be it for the Panthers, and while I was right, I was not expecting the Panthers to completely phone it in.

Florida actually had a power play in the first period, but it would be Vegas who cashed in. Mark Stone scored shorthanded, and honestly, that did it. Vegas would add a second goal later in the frame, as Nicolas Hague scored to make it 2-0, which was the score after 20 minutes. The Panthers did score in the second to make it a one-goal game, but all that did was piss the Golden Knights off. Alec Martinez scored to make it 3-1, Reilly Smith scored 105 seconds later, Mark Stone scored his second, and Michael Amadio tallied one in the final seconds of the second period.

Vegas led 6-1 after 40 minutes. That was it. It was over. Honestly, it was over when it was 2-0, but Vegas decided to really twist the proverbial knife. After Ivan Barbashev made it 7-1, Florida's two Sams (Reinhart and Bennett) had goals to make the score look better. Even that didn't last long. The Panthers desperately pulled Sergei Bobrovsky hoping to score four goals in over six minutes, but all that happened was Stone getting his hat trick, and Nicolas Roy scoring very late because "why not?". The players stormed the ice with eight seconds left; they didn't want to wait any longer to celebrate their very first Stanley Cup.

The Golden Knights won Game Five by a whopping score of 9-3, wow! Regarding the prestigious Conn Smythe Trophy, that ended up going to Jonathan Marchessault, who had 25 points in this year's playoffs. 13 of Marchessault's 25 points were goals, which led the team in this playoff run. Marchessault ended up as one of four Knights players with 10+ goals, Chandler Stephenson finished with 10 goals, William Karlsson had 11, and Mark Stone's hat trick gave him 11 for this year's playoffs. Marchessault and Karlsson are two of the original players from that inaugural season, which saw them reach the Cup Final. The other four players: William Carrier, Reilly Smith, Shea Theodore, and Brayden McNabb, all of whom are enjoying their very first Stanley Cup.

The main story of this Cup is, of course, Jack Eichel. He had never even made the playoffs until this year, but when he got his taste, he feasted big time. 26 points, including eight assists in the Final. One has to wonder how Buffalo Sabres fans have to feel about this, but it's actually mixed. Eichel's "divorce," if you will, from the Sabres, wasn't an amicable one. We know the story; the Sabres didn't allow Eichel to get surgery on his neck that was career-saving, and that became a big thing that led Eichel to want out. It's been said that Eichel's attitude wasn't exactly gracious, but even so, this was a move that actually helped both teams. The Eichel trade made Vegas champs, and the Sabres are on the rise and could end their league-leading current playoff drought. So I doubt Sabres fans are that salty.

I can tell you two fanbases who are quite salty. The Oilers, for one. We have now seen two players from the top 10 of the 2015 NHL Draft win Cups. Mikko Rantanen won last year, and Jack Eichel won this year. You know who from that class hasn't won one yet? The #1 overall pick, Connor McDavid. Don't say "Mitch Marner," Oilers fans; we know ragging on the Leafs is basically your only go-to, but here's the thing: Marner wasn't the top pick, McDavid was. Also, Oilers only played one more playoff game than the Leafs this year. As a Simpsons fan, I'm reminded of the episode, "Bart vs Lisa vs the 3rd Grade," where Bart and Lisa end up in the same grade due to Bart being demoted and Lisa being promoted. In this case, the Oilers are Bart Simpson and the Leafs are Lisa Simpson. Eichel, the #2 overall pick in 2015, reached the playoffs for the first time this year, and won a Cup. Oilers fans, again, you need to free McDavid, because as long as he's in Edmonton, he's not winning Cups.

Another fanbase who has to be extremely salty: Bruins fans. This year's Final was a no-win situation for Bruins fans, as it featured the team who embarrassed them in the first round, and their former head coach who they just fired. Bruce Cassidy was one of the very few guys keeping that Bruins team afloat, he got the Bruins to the Final in 2019. Yet for some reason, the team fired him after that first round loss last year. I said firing Cassidy was a mistake. Of course, I was right. Look at the results. Even worse, and I said this as the game progress, Vegas was doing what Boston was supposed to have done in Round 1. The irony of this: Cassidy won with a pair of ex-Blues who beat the Bruins in 2019: Alex Pietrangelo and Ivan Barbashev. While those two hoisted the Cup for the second time, Jonathan Quick, Alec Martinez, and Phil Kessel each won their third Cups.

As for the Florida Panthers, boy, did they make these playoffs fun. I laughed at the Bruins for losing to this team, but I really should have spent that time praising the Panthers instead of belittling the Bruins. This team really showed us something. This run was absolutely amazing. And to think, this run happened a year after winning the Presidents' Trophy. They won 11 out of 12 games after falling behind 3-1 against Boston. They finally won a Stanley Cup Final game in their franchise history. They went 7-0 in OT in the 2023 playoffs. This run is one of the best Cinderella runs in NHL history, and it deserves a lot of pomp and circumstance.

Well, Vegas, you have your Cup. You've been proclaiming that you deserve the Cup, and you guys have made every excuse in the book when you came up short before. But now you've got it, so you can stop complaining. I had planned to really call out some interesting facts about this run. I wanted to say that Vegas should really thank the Seattle Kraken for getting the Avalanche out. I wanted to say that Vegas should thank Florida for getting ousting the East superpowers. I won't do that, though. Vegas went 16-6 in the 2023 playoffs. Never faced elimination, never needed a Game Seven. I referred to this run as a revenge tour for the Golden Knights. They say the best revenge is living well, and winning the Stanley Cup is definitely living well.

However, in closing, I do want to say this as an Avalanche fan: we are simply letting you borrow the Cup from us this year. Take good care of it, and shine it up real nice, because we'll be coming to take it back next year!

If you like this story, click the heart and the subscribe button, and feel free to comment below! Tips and pledges would be greatly appreciated, as they help support my writing, but only if you want to do so!