FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Panthers - Game 2 - 2023

FSM Essential Recap: Golden Knights vs Panthers – Game 2 – 2023

Franchise Sports Media

Vegas Golden Knights (14-5) vs Florida Panthers  (12-6)

 

The Vegas Golden Knights take a 2-0 series lead in Stanley Cup Final with a 7-2 win over the Florida Panthers.   

It is game 2of the Golden Knights vs Panthers series. 

The Vegas Golden Knights have been men on a mission so far in the Stanley Cup Final. That mission may be completed within four games if they remain red hot. Game Two was nothing but dominance as Vegas extended their series lead with a 7-2 win over the Florida Panthers.

Just like in Game One, the Golden Knights showed the same amount of team effort in Game Two.

Jonathan Marchessault’s performance may earn him the Conn Smythe (Playoff MVP), having a three-point night, scoring two goals and one assist. He leads the team with 12 goals in the playoffs so far.

“He’s coming up big,” Vegas defenseman Alec Martinez said of Marchessault. “And it’s not just scoring goals, but scoring big goals in big situations.”

The Golden Knights have scored 12 goals in the series from nine players, the most goal-scorers by any team through the first two games of a Stanley Cup Final. Three goals have come from defensemen (Theodore, Zach Whitecloud, and Martinez).

“I think our depth has been a strength all year,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said, “and it is the biggest reason why we’re still here, why we beat Winnipeg, Edmonton, Dallas, and why we’re ahead against Florida. I just feel that we have the best team from player one through 20.”

Anton Lundell and Matthew Tkachuck scored for the Panthers. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky got pulled in the second period after allowing four goals in 13 shots. Backup goalie Alex Lyon came in and finished the night with 12 saves.

The Florida Panthers have lost back-to-back games for the first time since losing twice in a row in the first round against the Boston Bruins.

End of the first period in the Golden Knights vs Panthers series

The Golden Knights did not hesitate to shift the momentum by scoring two quick goals to take a 2-0 lead in the first period.

The start of periods 2 and 3 in the Golden Knights vs Panthers series.

The entire game became a scoring frenzy for the Golden Knights, setting a tone for a tough series if you’re a Panther fan.

“You know what?” Marchessault said. “They wanted to set the tone with being undisciplined like Game 1, and we set the tone back with scoring that first goal there.”

Nicolas Roy to extend the lead 3-0, but after Brett Howden scored for a 4-0 lead Sergei Bobrovsky was replaced by backup goalie Alex Lyon, but that did not stop Vegas from scoring.

Late into the second period, Vegas had a little scare when Jack Eichel received a big hit on the right shoulder from Matthew Tkachuk.

The Panthers finally got one board 4-1 after a goal from Anton Lundell in the early seconds of the third period. The hit on Eichel did put him out briefly in the second period, but he would return later in the third period helping set up a goal for Jonathan Marchessault for a 5-1 lead.

“I just came in here and regrouped,” Eichel said. “It was definitely a big collision. I got my wits back about me, realized I was fine, and just moved on from there.”

Vegas being up 5-1 was not enough, Michael Amadio extended the lead to 6-1 in the third, but despite a goal from Tkachuk to cut the score 6-2, it was still not enough for the Panthers to come back.

With just three minutes left in the game, Michael Amadio scored a power-play goal to put the game away for a 7-2 final victory for the Golden Knights.

The Panthers being down two games in the series must now rally back as the series heads to Sunrise, Florida, for games three and four. Florida may still have a chance, but the odds are definitely in the favor of Vegas.

Teams that take a 2-0 lead in a best-of-7 Cup Final have won the series 90 percent of the time (48-5), including 92.7 percent when they win the first two games at home (38-3).

“They’re halfway there, and hopefully, they’re thinking about that a little bit as they’re coming to Florida,” Tkachuk said. “I think that could work in our favor, but we definitely have to prepare and give everything in this next one and just get a little bit of momentum back.”

The final score in game 2 of the Golden Knights vs Panthers series was 7-2, Vegas.

On Thursday, the Golden Knights will play the Florida Panthers in Game Three of the Stanley Cup Final at FLA Live  Arena. The puck drop is at 5:00 PM. The game can be seen on AT&T SportsNet (channel 313 on Cox Cable) and TNT (channel 18 on Cox cable) or heard on 98.9 FM, FOX Sports Las Vegas 1340 AM.