After a convincing victory on Saturday night, the Golden Knights were back in front of their home fans tonight to welcome the Panthers for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Knights made no changes to their line-up. As for the Panthers, with Radko Gudas banged up, the club preferred to dress Casey Fitzgerald to have seven defensemen in uniform. Zac Dalpe was left out.
With Gudas hurting, FLA goes 11-7. Fitzgerald in for Dalpe
– Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) June 6, 2023
Early in the game, both teams tried to set the tone. In the end, however, it was the home side that really caught the eye, thanks in particular to Ivan Barbashev’s big check.
The victim? Poor Radko Gudas, who was already a little banged up. He retired to the dressing room and didn’t return to the game afterwards.
Barbashev with a huge hit on Gudas😮💨😵
– Everything Hockey (@EHClothing) June 6, 2023
The Golden Knights then found themselves on the power play soon after, and they took advantage of it to make their opponents pay. Once again, it was Jonathan Marchessault who threaded the needle with a major league shot.
Sergei Bobrovsky saw little of the sequence.
a Las Vegas superstar since 2017 😌 pic.twitter.com/tzTgJOXKgz
– z – Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 6, 2023
The Knights kept their foot on the pedal after that, and it paid off once again. This time, it was Alec Martinez’s turn to hit the target with a precise shot.
And this time, Bobrovsky didn’t have much traffic to deal with.
ALEC MARTINEZ!
VEGAS DOUBLES THEIR LEAD IN THE 1ST 🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/iY9aKEmqDx
– Gino Hard (@GinoHard_) June 6, 2023
After 20 minutes, therefore, the hosts were in control with a fine 2-0 lead.
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And clearly, the Western champions still had some nasty stuff to come out. In the second period, Nicolas Roy and Brett Howden threaded the needle.
And after those four goals, Bobrovsky was thrown out of the game.
ROY, YOU KING! 👑 pic.twitter.com/p2JtIQk4fO
– z – Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 6, 2023
PURRRRFECTION 😻 pic.twitter.com/rDlDsQvb6M
– z – Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 6, 2023
So it was Alex Lyon who defended the Panthers’ net for the rest of the game.
Clearly, the Panthers seemed to be a little sleepy, and Matthew Tkachuk probably wanted to wake up his teammates. So he served up a violent body check to Jack Eichel, a legal but fairly ordinary gesture.
He was given a 10-minute misconduct.
The gesture seems legal, but… → https://t.co/CvQLHuYjdg
– DansLesCoulisses (@DLCoulisses) June 6, 2023
Eichel had to retreat to the dressing room before the end of the second period. Even so, the home side had a 4-0 lead thanks to a fine performance from goaltender Adin Hill.
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Early in the third, Eichel was back on the bench. But the Panthers finally showed signs of life, as Anton Lundell took advantage of some confusion to put his team on the scoreboard.
Anton Lundell’s shot banks into the net off of Martinez, getting Florida on the board in the third! #TimeToHunt | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/3JHwmCqwWT
– Field hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) June 6, 2023
That said, the Knights made sure to put the brakes on any hopes of a comeback. Marchessault(again ) took advantage of a clever pass from Eichel to score his team’s fifth goal.
Michael Amadio followed suit to give the Golden Knights a five-goal lead.
you can’t stop him, you can only hope to contain him 😤 pic.twitter.com/tWQoSa2j4w
– z – Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 6, 2023
Michael Amadio finishes off William Karlsson’s terrific setup for another Vegas goal! #VegasBorn | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/HBiCo5gIKd
– Field hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) June 6, 2023
On his return to the ice, Tkachuk also scored.
It was a lost cause, but at least he showed a sign of life.
Matthew Tkachuk has his first of the #StanleyCup Final! pic.twitter.com/2cMOCsrHXX
– Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) June 6, 2023
The problem was that he received another 10-minute misconduct afterwards, so he was ejected from the game. Three misconducts in two games is not ideal.
Brett Howden then scored his second of the game to make it 7-2. That was the final score of the match.
Brett Howden zips Amadio’s touch pass past Lyon for his second goal of the night, 7-2 Vegas! #VegasBorn | #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/9UNFbrPziw
– Field hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) June 6, 2023
The next game takes place on Thursday evening in Florida. The Panthers will have to hope their fans make the difference, because they’re really not pulling their weight right now.
Extension
After his second goal of the game, the Golden Knights reminded fans via their Twitter account that the Panthers allowed them to select Jonathan Marchessault in the expansion draft. Clearly, he’s making his former club pay.
I love it.
FROM THE FLORIDA PANTHERS, THE VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS SELECT JONATHAN MARCHESSAULT
– z – Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 6, 2023