San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
GOLDEN KNIGHTS HOLD ON, MOVE WIN FROM CUP
With no time left on the clock in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, helmets, gloves, sticks and plastic rats littered the ice, the result of a fracas started in the final seconds of an emotional showdown.
For all the punches, pushes and shoves that accumulated in the melee, none of them changed the result: The Vegas Golden Knights are on the verge of winning their first Stanley Cup title.
Vegas held on to beat the Florida Panthers 3-2 on Saturday night, staving off a rally that culminated with one final shot block and a big save at the end to take a 3-1 series lead in the Cup final.
“Obviously, that was a battle till the last second,” Vegas forward Nicolas Roy. “They pushed back there. We knew they would. They’ve been doing it all series. But it’s nice to get that one, for sure.”
The Golden Knights can win the NHL championship on home ice Tuesday night.
“We’ve played really well at home here in the playoffs, so you’ve got to feel pretty good going home with a 3-1 lead,” defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said.
Getting to this point wasn’t easy.
Chandler Stephenson scored twice for the Golden Knights, and William Karlsson broke through to end his series-long goal drought to build a 3-0 lead. The Panthers scored twice — Brandon Montour on a pinball goal late in the second period, and Aleksander Barkov’s first of the series early in the third — to claw back into it.
But their rally fell short and put Florida, eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and final team to qualify for the playoffs, on the brink of this improbable run coming to an end.
“We’ve earned the right to play our best hockey,” Panthers coach Paul Maurice said. “Where we’ve been at our strongest is at the most critical time. I think you’ll see that.”
Down 2-1 in the series, Sergei Bobrovsky again almost kept the Panthers afloat, stopping 28 of the 31 shots he faced and giving up goals when teammates left him out to dry. At the other end of the ice, journeyman goaltender Adin Hill made 29 saves for his 10th win since stepping in during the middle of the second round.
“It’s a credit to him for being prepared when he did come in there a few series ago,” Pietrangelo said. “You’ve got to be happy for him.”
The Golden Knights need only win one more game to deliver a championship to Las Vegas in just their sixth year of existence, making good on owner Bill Foley’s goal to win the Stanley Cup in that period of time. They reached the final in their inaugural season in 2017-18 before losing to Washington in five games.