NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 6, 2023

June 6, 2023

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* Jonathan Marchessault and the Golden Knights ensured that the largest NHL crowd in Las Vegas since 2019 went home happy as they matched a franchise playoff record with seven goals en route to a 2-0 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

* Vegas moved within two wins of its first title by matching the NHL benchmark for goals through two games of a Stanley Cup Final (12) in what is so far the highest-scoring championship series since 1982 (16 combined goals).

* The Stanley Cup Final will return to Sunrise for the first time in 27 years when the Golden Knights and Panthers contest Game 3 on Thursday. South Florida will be hosting two championship series this week as both the Stanley Cup Final and NBA Finals descend on the area.

GOLDEN KNIGHTS MATCH FRANCHISE RECORD WITH SEVEN GOALS IN GAME 2 WIN

Jonathan Marchessault (2-1—3) opened the scoring for a second straight game and four of his teammates followed suit as the Golden Knights tied a franchise playoff record with seven goals, claiming a Game 2 victory to move within two wins of hoisting the Stanley Cup.

* Vegas has nine different goal scorers through the first two games of the Final, the most ever by one team through two contests of the championship series. The previous high of eight was achieved by the 2014 Kings, 2006 Hurricanes, 1982 and 1981 Islanders, 1980 Flyers and 1973 Canadiens. All except Philadelphia went on to win the Cup.

* After suffering back-to-back defeats in Games 4 and 5 of the Western Conference Final, the Golden Knights have surged back to claim three straight victories, netting five or more goals in each and outscoring opponents 18-4.

* This marks the second time that Vegas has scored five or more goals in three straight contests within a postseason, following an equal run from Game 2 to Game 4 of the 2019 First Round against San Jose. The club has never had a run of that nature extend beyond three games (regular season or playoffs).

* Vegas became the first team in 15 years to score five or more goals in each of the first two contests of the Final, following the 2006 Hurricanes who eventually lifted the Cup in a series that required seven games.

GOALS ARE CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN IN VEGAS

Jonathan Marchessault now sits one back of Leon Draisaitl (13) for the most goals in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs, accumulating each of those 12 tallies in his past dozen contests. Marchessault joined Max Pacioretty (12 in 12 GP from Oct. 12 – Dec. 16, 2021) as the second player in franchise history to score at least 12 goals over any 12-game span within a regular season or playoffs.

* Marchessault’s surge includes 10 goals in nine games since his series-clinching hat trick in the Second Round at Edmonton – one of seven players to achieve that feat in the last 17 years. The others: Draisaitlin 2023, Evander Kane in 2022, Mark Scheifele in 2018, Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin in 2009, as well as Johan Franzen in 2008.

* Marchessault is riding his second three-game goal streak this postseason and will take a seven-game point streak to South Florida – which is tied for the longest in Golden Knights playoff history.

* The Golden Knights have a dozen goals as a group through two games this round, tied for the most by one team through two contests in a Stanley Cup Final. They equaled the 1932 Maple Leafs, 1936 Red Wings, 1970 Bruins, 1973 Canadiens, as well as both the 1981 and 1982 Islanders.

* Overall, the 2023 Stanley Cup Final marks the highest-scoring championship series through two games since 1982.

MULTI-POINT POINT GAMES GALORE AT T-MOBILE ARENA

Twelve Golden Knights registered at least one point in Game 2, boosting the team’s total to 15 different contributors in the Final – including six who tallied multiple points Monday.

* Jack Eichel (0-2—2) became the seventh player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to record multiple points in each of his first two career contests in the Stanley Cup Final, joining Mikko Rantanen (2022 w/ COL), Valeri Nichushkin (2022 w/ COL), Thomas Gradin (1982 w/ VAN), Lars Molin (1982 w/ VAN), Derek Sanderson (1980 w/ BOS) and Max Bentley (1948 w/ TOR). Rantanen is the only member of that group to extend to three games.

* Brett Howden (2-0—2) nearly doubled his career playoff goal total after entering Game 2 with 3-4—7 through his first 21 career postseason appearances. He became the first player since 2018 to have his first career multi-goal performance (regular season or playoffs) come in the Stanley Cup Final – Tomas Nosek was the last before him, also with Vegas (2-0—2 in Game 1 of 2018 SCF).

* Chandler Stephenson (0-2—2) has points in each of the first two games of the 2023 Final (0-3—3) with Vegas after being held off the score sheet during the entire series when he faced them with Washington in 2018. He is two wins from becoming the third player in the NHL’s expansion era (since 1967-68) to help defeat a team in the Final and later win the Stanley Cup with them – only Scott Niedermayer (ANA) and Billy Carroll (EDM) have done so with both championships coming within that time frame.

* Michael Amadio (1-1—2) and William Carrier (0-2—2) each assisted on Vegas’ seventh and final goal of Game 2 as the Golden Knights became the 16th team to have six or more players register multiple points in the same Stanley Cup Final contest. It was just the second instance in the past 11 years, after Colorado also did so in Game 2 last year.

BEDARD, FANTILLI, SMITH, CARLSSON MAKE THE ROUNDS AT STANLEY CUP FINAL

Forwards Connor Bedard, Adam Fantilli, William Smithand Leo Carlsson– four top prospects for the 2023 Upper Deck NHL Draft – met with media before attending Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in Las Vegas. The decorated quartet, all medalists on the international stage, were each in Las Vegas for the first time – and wowed by the experience. Carlsson experienced another first by attending an NHL game in North America for the first time.

* Bedard, Fantilli, Smith and Carlsson then watched as players who had been in their shoes before took to the ice for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. Nine players on the Florida and Vegas rosters had previously attended the Final as a top prospect: Alex Pietrangelo, Jack Eichel, Phil Kessel, Aaron Ekblad, Marc Staal, Sam Bennett, Sam Reinhart, Eric Staal and Matthew Tkachuk.

SMITH NAMED WILLIE O’REE COMMUNITY HERO AWARD PRESENTED BY HYUNDAI WINNER

Dean Smith, from Halifax, N.S., is the recipient of the Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award presented by Hyundai, given to an individual who – through the sport of hockey – has positively impacted their community, culture or society in Canada. Smith is a Halifax lawyer with a passion for sharing his love for hockey by creating safe and welcoming spaces for everyone to enjoy the game. His involvement has included a number of inclusivity efforts to increase diversity in the game. Click here for full details.