The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers in five games to win the Stanley Cup. After missing the playoffs last year they weren’t going to be beat this year. Becoming the fastest expansion team to win after just six seasons. I have mixed feelings about this VGK squad. I used to write about Vegas all the time. I thought for sure Marc-Andre Fleury was going to win a cup with Vegas and in that moment while holding the cup announce his retirement. Ever since Flower was told he was the face of the franchise and would retire in Vegas. Flower announced he will return next season with the Wild in what could be his last. Could he get traded and come back to Vegas to make one last run? Or will Vegas and Minnesota be a first round matchup in the playoffs?
In a year where Vegas didn’t really have a consistent starting goalie. I kept asking myself can Vegas win the West? Laurent Brossoit took down the Jets in the first round and looked pretty good too. Game two against the Oilers was the first playoff game for Adin Hill stopping all four shots he faced after Brossoit was pulled. The Oilers won game two and the series was tied. I really thought the Oilers were going to win this series. After splitting the first two games they go back and forth until we get a game seven where Connor McDavid scores the game winner in the third overtime. I mean that’s how the hockey gods wrote the script. Except Brossoit would get hurt in game three and this is where Adin Hill takes over. Game four was the only hiccup for Hill in a game where Vegas looked like they were sleeping the whole time. This series in the second round against Edmonton was the biggest test for Vegas. After beating the Oilers in six games I should have known they would take care Dallas.
The Stanley Cup didn’t even really feel like the Stanley Cup until maybe the third game which at that point might have been too late for the Florida Panthers. It almost felt like sweeping the Hurricanes worked against them. Was Florida tested enough in the first three rounds? Some might say Vegas had the toughest road to get to the cup. The Stars got worn down by the Kraken in seven games and this might have been the best series of the whole playoffs. The Stars managed to win two games in this series because they aren’t the Hurricanes. Florida’s biggest test came in the first round after being down 3-1 in the series against Boston.
Vegas winning the cup shouldn’t surprise anybody, even the haters. They earned it this year and I am happy for many of these guys especially the three original Golden Knights: Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, and Reilly Smith. The King of the Hill took over as the goalie controversy continued to roll into the playoffs. Keegan Kolesar didn’t have six goals but Vegas did clinch the cup after scoring nine times.
The Morning Skate 