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 on Saturday held on to beat the Florida Panthers 3-2, 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.
Photo: AFP
“Obviously, that was a battle till the last second,” Vegas forward Nicolas Roy said. “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 tomorrow 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 was not 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.
However, their rally fell short and put Florida, eighth seed in the Eastern Conference and the 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.”
A scrum broke out in the final moments of the third that resulted in six penalties, including two unsportsmanlike penalties and two misconducts.
“I kind of felt my helmet get ripped off, and they had six guys on the ice, we had four, so get in there a bit and try and help out teammates,” said Vegas goaltender Adin Hill, who threw some punches as part of the melee. “I don’t know if there’s really a message to be sent. We’re just getting ready for [Game 5] Tuesday.”
That would be a last gasp chance for the Panthers, who would have to have to replicate their opening round comeback from down 3-1 to the Boston Bruins to keep Vegas from winning it all.
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