Vegas Golden Knights capture first Stanley Cup, top Florida Panthers in Game 5

LAS VEGAS — The Vegas Golden Knights scored early and often Tuesday, earning their first Stanley Cup with a 9-3 victory against the Florida Panthers in Game 5.

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Mark Stone had a hat trick, scoring one goal in each period as the Golden Knights won the best-of-seven series 4-1.

It was the second night in a row that a South Florida team had been eliminated in a championship series. On Monday night, the Denver Nuggets defeated the Miami Heat 94-89 in Game 5 to clinch their first NBA title, also by a 4-1 series margin.

For the second time in their six-year existence, the Golden Knights reached the Stanley Cup Final. But unlike 2018, when Vegas lost in five games to the Washington Capitals, the Golden Knights dominated early Tuesday, taking leads of 2-0 and 6-1 after the first two periods.

Stone opened the scoring midway through the first period before a raucous crowd at T-Mobile Arena with an unassisted goal. His second goal with less than three minutes left in the second period gave Vegas a 5-1 lead. Stone added his third goal with just under six minutes left in the game to give Vegas an 8-3 lead.

Stone has scored 11 goals and added 13 assists during the postseason.

Michael Amadio scored with two seconds left in the second period to give the Golden Knights an insurmountable 6-1 lead.

By then, it was only a formality, as the Vegas players will get to etch their names on Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Ivan Barbashev and Nicolas Roy also scored goals in the third period for the Golden Knights.

Also scoring for Vegas were Nicolas Hague, Alex Martinez and Reilly Smith.

Aaron Ekblad scored for the Panthers 2:15 into the second period. Sam Reinhart and Sam Bennett scored during the third period for Florida’s other goals.

Florida played Game 5 without leading scorer Matthew Tkachuk, who was injured during Game 3.

The star forward had been tied with Roope Hintz of Dallas and the Knights’ Jonathan Marchessault with a league-best 24 points in the playoffs, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.