NHL: Vegas finishes strong and takes the first round of the finals against Florida

The Golden Knights, thanks to three goals scored in the final third after being hung for a long time, beat (5-2) the Panthers, Saturday at home, to lead a victory to zero in the final of the NHL championship.

In search of a first Stanley Cup, Vegas, which failed on the last step against Washington in 2018, the year of its integration into the league, finally had the last word at the end of a very intense game, marked by many clashes causing the beginning of fights. It was Zach Whitecloud who first freed the Navada team, finding the opposing goalie's left net just over six minutes into the final period, while Florida had been dangerous on several occasions. Intercepting the puck in the air with his stick, before hitting it with a half-volley to deceive Sergei Bobrovsky, Mark Stone scored the fourth goal six minutes later, before Reilly Smith gave the victory more momentum by scoring in the empty goal with 105 seconds to go.

Florida, also looking for a first title, 27 years after a first missed opportunity against Colorado, started this final ideally, when Eric Staal opened the scoring by straightening the puck after going around the cage, celebrating his 100th playoff game. But late in the first third, Jonathan Marchessault tied it for Vegas, picking up a back pass from Chandler Stephenson. In the middle period, Shea Theodore gave the Golden Knights the lead for the first time with a long-range shot, but Anthony Duclair tied it with 11 seconds left just after a replay, consoling teammate Brandon Montour who had just hit the post.