Stanley Cup Final Game Four: Sunset in Sunrise

The Florida Panthers enjoyed their first Stanley Cup Final game victory in franchise history on Thursday night, defeating the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2, in overtime. It wasn't easy, but they got the win, and this year's Final now has some "oomph" in it. Here's what the team could have faced entering Game Four. Had they lost that game, they could have faced getting swept in the Final on the exact anniversary of the other time they were swept in the Final. Instead, the Panthers made it a series, and they have a chance to even this thing and turn this battle for the Cup into a two-out-of-three series.

Unfortunately, the Panthers were going at this the wrong way.

It only took 99 seconds for Vegas to strike first. Chandler Stephenson netted his ninth of the playoffs (and first in this year's Final), and less than six minutes later, he netted his tenth. It was 2-0 after 20 minutes, and Stephenson became the third Golden Knight to reach 10 goals in this year's playoffs, joining Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson on that list. Speaking of Karlsson, he scored his 11th late in the 2nd period. It was 3-0 for the Golden Knights, and the life was pretty much sucked out of that crowd in Sunrise. They did get back in it five minutes after the Karlsson goal. Brandon Montour hatched Florida's goose egg at 16:09, and after 40 minutes, it was 3-1 for Vegas.

Now, if anyone could get out of a hole, it was the Panthers. They had done it quite a bit during their run. They just did so in Game Three. Could they do it again? Well, Aleksandar Barkov got the ball rolling. The Florida captain, who assisted on Montour's goal, received Montour's pass and put it in at just 3:50 into the third period. It was a one-goal game and Florida had plenty of time to at least tie this up, but no matter what they did, Vegas had an answer defensively. Sergei Bobrovsky was pulled with two minutes left, and when they finally called something on Vegas, it came with just under 30 seconds left. It was not enough time to get their 6-on-4 going, and Vegas ended up holding on (barely) for the victory.

This was the scene after the final horn; after the Panthers came very close to tying the game and forcing overtime. A lot of fight, but it came too late. The Vegas Golden Knights are one win away from their first Stanley Cup, and I would be happy for them...if the team wasn't arrogant and dirty and if the fanbase wasn't full of toxic assholes. The Golden Knights fanbase pounded their chests like they were beating on bongo drums after that debut season. They wanted to be crowned without winning so badly, and when they came up short, the excuses came out in droves. They always blamed the refs even though Vegas had nearly every call go their way. They blamed injuries even though I watched my Colorado Avalanche fight through injuries last year and win the Cup. They gave zero damns about Robin Lehner's mental health and viciously scapegoated him for losses that weren't his fault. And this team had a pretty easy road to what was supposed to be the most difficult run in all of sports.

So pardon me if I'm not too thrilled that the single-most entitled team in the National Hockey League is closing in on the Stanley Cup this year. If their attitude was a bit more adjusted (and yes, I'm using that phrase because I'm a Cena fan), I'd be happy for them. Now? I can't. Of course, I'm acting as if this thing is over. We all saw what happened the last time the Panthers were down 3-1. Can they do it again? Recency bias says they can and will, but what I saw in this game says...well...it may not be feasible.

Game Five is Tuesday in Vegas, and Lord Stanley will be in the building.

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