Golden Knights pick up Game 1 victory

The Vegas Golden Knights took Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final with a 5-2 victory over the Florida Panthers on Saturday at T-Mobile Arena.

Jonathan Marchessault, Shea Theodore, Zach Whitecloud, Mark Stone and Reilly Smith all scored. Jack Eichel had two assists, while Adin Hill made 32 saves.

Marchessault tied William Karlsson for the franchise record for most goals in a single Stanley Cup Playoff with 10.

“We just wanted to play the right way and be disciplined, and tonight we were able to be the better team,” Marchessault said. “It feels good. I remember I was there (five) years ago. But there's so much more work to be done. The best game is yet to come, and for us we're going to focus on that.”

It didn’t look good early for the Golden Knights, as their sub-optimal power play gave up a shorthanded goal to Eric Staal in the first period.

But as he did in numerous games before, Marchessault scored to tie the game to tilt the ice back in Vegas’s favor.

The Golden Knights seemed faster to the puck. They seemed to win stick battles and board battles. They were doing the things that they’ve done all year.

Theodore rewarded the Golden Knights with a goal at 10:54 of the second period. It was his first goal of the playoffs.

“I was looking for one,” he said. “I guess tonight’s a pretty good night to get the first one.”

The Panthers tied the game at 19:49 when Anthony Duclair scored off a faceoff win.

Whitecloud broke the tie at 6:59 with a shot from the point. Stone added the fourth goal at 13:41.

That’s when Florida started to try and get into Vegas’s head by upping their physical play and post-whistle physicality. Matthew Tkachuk and Sam Bennett were dealt 10-minute misconduct penalties at 15:36 – along with Golden Knight forward Chandler Stephenson.

“We knew that's how they wanted to play and we're just trying not to play into it,” Theodore said. “We're going to try and take the power plays when we can and to try and capitalize.”

Smith scored an empty-net goal on the ensuing power play to seal the 5-2 Vegas victory.

“We’re three away, our job is not finished,” Hill said. “You know Florida is going to have a push in Game 2 here. I thought we played a great game tonight, so it’s kind of rinse and repeat.”

We should start calling this the King of the Hill of the Game, as Hill was once again, amazing in the net for the Golden Knights.

He made an incredible save in the first minute of the second period, barely getting his stick on a Nick Cousins shot. He later made another save on Sam Reinhart to keep it a two-goal game.

“Well I was on the ice, so he bailed me out. I mean, I’m sure we’ll be seeing that on the highlight reel for a long time, right? It’s a pretty incredible save,” Eichel said. “It’s a big moment in the game. He was great all night. He makes a huge save at the end of the game too on a breakaway. Lot of credit to him.”

Hill is making a case for the Conn Smythe Trophy with his play, and it will be hard to deny his case if he continues to play at this level in the Final.

“You need to those saves at key moments. We didn't play our best game in front of him. I'm the first to admit that and sometimes, Game 1s go like that,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We eventually found a rhythm and were able to score some goals for him, so he didn't have to be perfect by any means."

The Golden Knights and Panthers will meet for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on Monday.

Vegas leads the best-of-seven series 1-0.

“We're not even close to being done here. We have three more wins to go,” Theodore said. “We're going to be focused on next game and just go from there.”