The Official National Hockey League Appreciation Thread

[sensei8]

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals is on the books. In OT the Panthers won with a final score of 3-2 at just a tad over 4 minutes by Verhaeghe, which gave the Panthers a 7-0 record in playoff OT for the 'W'.

Knights still lead the Cup 2-1; a now tight race.

Panthers Tkachuk was the saving grace for the Panthers. He is now tied for the League lead with 24 points this postseason. Knights have to keep the Panthers OUT of the OT if they want to win the Cup.

Marchessault extends his scoring stretch. He's 13 goals during the 2023 postseason. All of that with what he did in Game 3, he's not cooling down for quite some time.

Panthers needed the big 'W' like their life depended on it...and it most assuredly did. Otherwise, going into game 4 behind 3-1 against the Knights is sheer torture.

It was a pretty game on both sides of the ice with no team dominating the other, even though the Panthers OT win has a very pale shade of victory

Game 4 is this Saturday, June 10: Vegas at Florida, 8, TNT

GO KNIGHTS!!

[KarateKen]

Once again the Panthers return from the dead and squeak out a one goal win. I thought Vegas played well enough to win and Florida still had way too many penalties. Game four will be interesting, either Vegas takes a 3-1 series lead with a chance to close it out on home ice or Florida wins and ties it at 2-2, making it a best of three. Looking forward to it.

[KarateKen]

Great fun-facts, KarateKen; thank you for sharing them.

Will you be going to any of the games?

No! Lowest ticket is $441; too rich for my blood. It's free on TV. Like most events here in Las Vegas, ticket prices are through the roof. Triple A Baseball with the Las Vegas Aviators are the most reasonable ticket prices, at around $20.

Great game 1. The Knights came from behind to win!! Knights found gold with discipline, offense, and with Hill making 33 saves, with one of those saves an incredible stick save.

Knights are now 8-3 when allowing the first goal in the playoffs. The Knights have 9 come-from-behind wins. Game 2 tomorrow in Vegas. Knights have to remain as humble as apple pie because there's still a lot of games to be played.

GO KNIGNHTS!!

Actually $441 for a ticket to the Cup Finals isn't all that unreasonable. I'd expect if the Avs were in the finals, that's about what tickets would cost. I'm still cheering for the Panthers, but they have a LONG way to go. And Matthew Tkachuk needs to keep his temper in check, or he's going to be more of a hindrance than an asset.

Do you know/recall what the prices were for the Avs tickets in the cup final last year? Did you get to attend any of the games?

[KarateKen]

Huge game 4 tonight. Either Vegas will take a 3-1 series lead with a chance to win it on Tuesday, or Florida will tie the series and make it a best of three. I'm thinking it will be another tight, low scoring game, and will come down to the final minute. Another overtime game would not shock me at all. All the pressure is still on Florida, but if the Panthers win again tonight a lot of that pressure shifts to Vegas for the next game.

I'm excited for this!

[KarateKen]

Well, that was an exciting game. Vegas holds on at the end to win 3-2 and then a brawl broke out. Knights lead the series 3-1 and have a chance to close it out at home Tuesday.

[sensei8]

Any time that the Knights can hold off the Panthers is accelerating, and the Knights did it again in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final. The next Knight win means that they've won the Stanley Cup Final...quite exciting.

Stephenson made 2 great goals and of course, Karlssom made the game winning goal...Karlsson has been a scoring beast. Hill made 29 saves...he's been top-notch at the net...he's the first goalie in NHL history to win 10 games in a single postseason after not playing in his team's opening round.

Looks like Tkachuk barely played in the 3rd period due to an injury. Not having him on the ice for the Panthers was felt by the fans and the roster. When a key player is on the bench and not on the ice, nothing can be worse for the outcome. Even though he was well enough to join the fight. He's uncertain for game 5.

All you-know-what happened right at the end of the game. Pietrangelo might be punished for leaving the penalty box to join the brawl Let's face it, fights happen in hockey; it's the way of hockey. I couldn't tell who the Panther player was that came flying into the heap of players at the net, perhaps it was Pietrangelo, but again, I'm not sure. What I am sure of is the Panthers being quite frustrated might've sparked the post-game scuffle.

Game 5 might be the end of the Final but it might be one barnburner of a game with the Panthers back against the wall in the corner.

GO KNIGHTS!!

[sensei8]

KNIGHTS WIN CUP!!

Las Vegas Golden Knights dominated the Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on their home ice by the score of 9-3 for their first Cup Win. Guess by them deciding to not touch the Cambell Trophy when they cinched the Western Conference was quite fortitude because it apparently helped the Knights win the Cup. Last time the Knights went to the Stanley Cup Final, they touched the Cambell Trophy back in the 2019-2020 season and lost the Cup to the Dallas Stars in their Cup series 4-1.

The Knights get to add their names to the Stanley Cup. Well deserved. Points breakdown:

1st Quarter 0-2 for the Knights

2nd Quarter 1-4 for the Knights

3rd Quarter 2-3 for the Knights

Capping off a final score of 9-3

Knights had a great night. Captain Stone got a Hat Trick from his zone and Eichel had 3 assists. Goalie Hill had 31 saves.

The Panthers fought their darndest against the Knights. Panthers even tried an empty net but to no avail whatsoever. It didn't help that the Panthers were without Tkachuk who had 11 goals and 24 points.

Soon as the puck hit the ice, the Knights were on fire and the Panthers couldn't even get a spark no matter their best efforts. The Panthers at least didn't get shutout against a far more determined Knights who won the Finals series 4-1.

The Knights are Champions of the NHL!!

[KarateKen]

KNIGHTS WIN CUP!!

Las Vegas Golden Knights dominated the Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on their home ice by the score of 9-3 for their first Cup Win. Guess by them deciding to not touch the Cambell Trophy when they cinched the Western Conference was quite fortitude because it apparently helped the Knights win the Cup. Last time the Knights went to the Stanley Cup Final, they touched the Cambell Trophy back in the 2019-2020 season and lost the Cup to the Dallas Stars in their Cup series 4-1.

The Knights get to add their names to the Stanley Cup. Well deserved. Points breakdown:

1st Quarter 0-2 for the Knights

2nd Quarter 1-4 for the Knights

3rd Quarter 2-3 for the Knights

Capping off a final score of 9-3

Knights had a great night. Captain Stone got a Hat Trick from his zone and Eichel had 3 assists. Goalie Hill had 31 saves.

The Panthers fought their darndest against the Knights. Panthers even tried an empty net but to no avail whatsoever. It didn't help that the Panthers were without Tkachuk who had 11 goals and 24 points.

Soon as the puck hit the ice, the Knights were on fire and the Panthers couldn't even get a spark no matter their best efforts. The Panthers at least didn't get shutout against a far more determined Knights who won the Finals series 4-1.

The Knights are Champions of the NHL!!

Congratulations on your team winning! Must be huge for the city. I can only imagine what the party at the parade will be like.

In the three games in Las Vegas the Knights outscored the Panthers 21-7!

The Florida defense and goaltending that was supposed to be so dominate got lit up over and over and over again.

I guess Tkachuk had to have been seriously hurt to miss this game. He did not look good in game 4 and I had heard it was questionable that he would play but I thought he would. He really did not have a good series. Other than that one goal that tied it in game three. Granted that was a huge goal, but otherwise I thought he mostly sucked. In the first two games he accumulated more penalty minutes that minutes played. He had three points and four 10-minute misconducts in four games. He did not play much in game four and missed game five. All the antagonizing he was attempting to do was hurting his own team.

Fun fact - entering this series the Florida Panthers had never won a game in Las Vegas. They still haven't.

Anyway, enjoy the win!

[aurik]

The Knights definitely deserved the win. They pretty much had the Panthers' number throughout the Finals, and it didn't help that Tkachuk was injured for game 5, but for previous games he didn't help his team by taking lots of penalties. (10 minute misconduct in game 3, anyone)?

I'm definitely happy to see Pietrangelo and Barbashev (former Blues from their 2019 Stanley Cup run) lift the Cup again. And now... it looks like the odds-on favorites to win the Cup next year are the Colorado Avalanche. Which I find interesting since Nichuskin's status is unknown right now, and we aren't expecting Landeskog to play next year due to knee issues (cartilage replacement).

I just know that it's very unlikely that my Blues will be in the serious hunt for the Cup next year, since they dumped so many players at the trade deadline. But they do have 3 first-round draft picks coming up this year, so maybe they can trade up to get into the top 5.

[KarateKen]

Tkachuk had a broken sternum, according to Paul Maurice. It happened after that hit in game 3. He still returned to score a goal and played part of the next game.