NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 12, 2023

June 12, 2023

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* Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final goes Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on TNT, truTV, SN, TVAS, CBC), with the Golden Knights seeking to secure their first-ever Stanley Cup – in front of their home crowd.

* Vegas will look to become the 12th team in NHL history to win their first-ever potential Stanley Cup-clinching game and just the fourth to do so in their home building.

* The Panthers have been here before. They enter Game 5 aiming to stave off elimination for the fourth time this postseason and set into motion a 3-1 series comeback – a feat only one team in NHL history has accomplished in the Stanley Cup Final (81 years ago).

GOLDEN KNIGHTS SPREADING THE SCORING AROUND IN PURSUIT OF STANLEY CUP

The Golden Knights are within one win of their first-ever Stanley Cup thanks to their widespread scoring throughout the postseason and Final that has seen virtually every line contribute offensively. A look at how their team effort has gotten them this far:

* Vegas enters Game 5 with 11 different goal scorers against Florida. Only 11 teams have had more through the first five games of a Stanley Cup Final, with the most being 13 – achieved by the 2021 Lightning, 2019 Bruins, 2010 Blackhawks and 1984 Oilers. Eight of the 11 teams won the Stanley Cup (2021 TBL, 2018 WSH, 2014 LAK, 2010 CHI, 2008 DET, 1984 EDM, 1981 NYI & 1973 MTL).

* The Golden Knights have nine players this postseason with 10-plus points as well as three with nine. The only teams to have as many 10-point scorers in a single postseason in the past 25 years are the 2014 Kings (12), 2011 Bruins (12), 2015 Blackhawks (10), 2014 Rangers (10), 2008 Red Wings (10), 2006 Oilers (10) and 2006 Hurricanes (10). All but two of those clubs won the Stanley Cup (2006 EDM & 2014 NYR are the exceptions).

* Vegas is also the first team since Boston in 2011 to have at least nine different players record a multi-point game in the Stanley Cup Final. Mark Stone and Jack Eichel are two of four Vegas players with more than one multi-point showing so far this round.

VEGAS EYES FIRST CHAMPIONSHIP IN THEIR FIRST SHOT AT CLINCHING THE CUP

Vegas returns home to T-Mobile Arena looking to capitalize on its first-ever potential Stanley Cup-clinching game. The Golden Knights have closed out two series this year in their first attempt (Game 5 of R1 & Game 6 of R2).

* Vegas can become the fourth franchise in NHL history to win its first-ever potential Stanley Cup-clinching game in its home building; they would join the 2004 Lightning, 1995 Devils and 1984 Oilers. In addition, the Montreal Canadiens, who won one Stanley Cup before the NHL’s inception, also claimed their first potential Cup-clinching game as the designated home team after the League’s formation – but did so in a neutral site contest (Game 2 of 1924 SCF at Ottawa Auditorium).

* Alex Pietrangelo (2019 w/ STL) and Alec Martinez (2014 w/ LAK) have each scored a Stanley Cup-clinching goal previously, with Monday marking the four-year anniversary of Pietrangelo’s tally (June 12, 2019 at BOS).

* The Golden Knights can become the third team in the past 40 years (since 1983) to have multiple players with Stanley Cup-clinching goals on their roster in a potential Cup-clinching game, following the 2002 Red Wings (Brett Hull in 1999 w/ DAL & Darren McCarty in 1997 w/ DET) and 1983 Islanders (Bobby Nystrom in 1980, Wayne Merrick in 1981 & Mike Bossy 1982, all w/ NYI).

* Pietrangelo’s Stanley Cup-clinching goal came in Game 7 of the 2019 Final, while his current head coach Bruce Cassidy was behind the Bruins bench. Should they win the championship together, Pietrangelo would become the second player in NHL history to score a Cup-clinching goal against a head coach and later win a championship with him in the same role – Cy Denneny did so vs. Art Ross in 1927 and with Ross in 1929.

* Vegas has received a multi-goal effort in each of its series-clinching wins so far this postseason: Chandler Stephenson scored twice in Game 5 of the First Round against Winnipeg (4-1 W),Jonathan Marchessault had a hat trick in Game 6 of the Second Round in Edmonton and William Karlsson tallied two goals in Game 6 of the Conference Finals in Dallas (6-0 W).

* Karlsson is the only Vegas player to score a goal in each of their clinching wins in 2023 and has tallied in each of the club’s past four clinching wins dating to the 2021 Second Round. Karlsson and Marchessault each have five career goals in potential series-clinching games, one back of tying Nathan MacKinnon for the most among active players.

WILL THE CATS COME BACK?
The Panthers, who fended off elimination three times in the First Round but haven’t faced it since, enter Game 5 hoping to extend their Stanley Cup Final lifeline and set into motion a comeback for the ages. Only one team in NHL history has overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win the championship: the 1942 Maple Leafs (vs. DET).

* The 2003 Wild are the only team in NHL history that has overcome a 3-1 series deficitto win multiple rounds in a playoff year. Twenty years ago, during their first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Minnesota won three straight elimination games in the Conference Quarterfinals against Colorado – all via a 3-2 score (including two OT wins) – and did so again in the Conference Semifinals vs. Vancouver.

PANTHERS PLAYERS LOOK TO BRING CLUB BACK FROM EDGE AGAIN
Despite the odds being stacked against them, the Panthers have shown their ability to storm back in a series with the help of big performances from key players, including Brandon Montour, Matthew Tkachuk and Carter Verhaeghe.

* Montourhas 3-1—4 in three games when facing elimination this postseason and can tie Al Iafrate (4 G in 1993 w/ WSH) and Earl Seibert (4 G in 1938 w/ CHI) for the most goals by a defenseman in games when facing elimination in a single playoff year.

* Tkachuk (3-3—6) and Verhaeghe (1-5—6) pace all players in points when facing elimination this postseason, with the former having two multi-point showings in those contests (Games 5 & 6 of R1). The only active players with multiple points in three or more games when facing elimination in one postseason are Adam Fox (3 GP in 2022), Connor McDavid (3 GP in 2022), Mika Zibanejad (3 GP in 2022), Tomas Hertl (3 GP in 2019), Patrick Kane (3 GP in 2014) and Anze Kopitar (3 GP in 2014).

NHL INTRODUCES ‘NHL BACKSTORY’ PODCAST

The NHL announced the creation of NHL Backstory, an NHL Studios Podcast that aspires to relive unique stories and significant milestones in League history that have reshaped the hockey landscape and grown the game in unexpected ways. The first episode, which was done in collaboration with ESPN’s release of E60 Once Upon a Time in Anaheim, debuted Sunday and explored how Disney’s Mighty Ducks movie franchise inspired the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. Click here to listen.