#NHLPeachy @NHL @GoldenKnights NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Champions Edition – June 14, 2023
* A Stanley Cup champion only six years in the making saw a performance not seen in a century as captain Mark Stone scored a hat trick to lead the Golden Knights to their first title in just their sixth season.
* Original Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault extended his point streak to a franchise record 10 games – the longest ever by a Vegas player in any game type – en route to claiming the Conn Smythe Trophy.
* Jack Eichel capped his first-ever trip to the Stanley Cup Playoffs by hoisting the Cup and topping all players in both assists (20) and points (26) – a rare feat for a player in his first playoff year.
STONE CAPTAINS VEGAS TO 9-3 VICTORY IN CUP-CLINCHING GAME
The only captain the Golden Knights have ever know rose to the occasion in Game 5 as Mark Stone scored the third hat trick ever in a Stanley Cup-clinching victory – and first in more than a century – to power Vegas to victory in front of 19,058 fans – the largest crowd in franchise history.
* Stone joined Babe Dye (1922 Toronto St. Patricks) and Jack Darragh (1920 Ottawa Senators) as the third player to score three or more goals in a game to clinch the Stanley Cup. Vegas became the first team in NHL history to score nine goals in a Cup-clinching game.
* Stone became the first player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to serve as the first captain in franchise history and also captain the club to its first Stanley Cup win.
* Stone closed the Final with three straight multi-point games and had 5-4—9 overall against Florida – the highest-scoring captain in a Stanley Cup Final since Joe Sakic with the 2001 Avalanche.
* Game 5 was the highest-scoring Stanley Cup-clinching game in NHL history as the Golden Knights claimed the second-largest margin of victory to secure championship (behind the 1991 Penguins, who won 8-0 in Game 6).
* Another development from Tuesday was a new frontrunner for “Best #ExpressiveMarkStone“ shot after he lifted the Cup for the first time.
GOLDEN KNIGHTS HIT JACKPOT WITH FIRST STANLEY CUP WIN IN SIXTH SEASON
Eight days shy of the seven-year anniversary of Las Vegas officially receiving an NHL franchise and 2,076 days after their first regular-season game, the Golden Knights became Stanley Cup champions for the first time.
* The Golden Knights clinched their first title with a victory in Game 5 at T-Mobile Arena, defeating the Panthers to become the second-fastest franchise in the League’s modern era (since 1943-44) to win a championship. Vegas lifted hockey’s most sought-after trophy to cap its sixth season in the NHL, joining the Edmonton Oilers (5th season) as the only clubs in the modern era to win a title that quickly.
MARCHESSAULT SKATES AWAY WITH CONN SMYTHE TROPHY
Jonathan Marchessault was named the 2023 Conn Smythe Trophy winner after sharing the League lead in goals (13) and placing second in points (25), becoming the first undrafted player since Wayne Gretzky in 1988 to be named playoff MVP.
* Marchessault had a 10-game point streak that spanned the last five games of Conference Finals and all five games of Stanley Cup Final thanks to an assist on Vegas’ second goal in the clincher. It is the longest point streak in franchise history (regular season or playoffs) as Marchessault became the second player in NHL history to record a franchise’s first ever double-digit point streak in the playoffs (following Dennis Potvin: 12 GP with 1976 New York Islanders).
* The Cap-Rouge, Que., native tallied 5-3—8 across Vegas’ six potential series-clinching games, including a hat trick in Game 6 of the Second Round against the Oilers that included the winning goal.
* Marchessault was selected by the Golden Knights, from the Panthers, in the 2017-18 NHL Expansion Draft and was one of six original Golden Knights on the club’s Cup-winning roster (min. 1 GP in 2017-18). He is one of three players to skate in every postseason game in Vegas history (along with Reilly Smith and William Karlsson).
DAY-ONE CORNERSTONES CAPTURE CUP AFTER JOINING GOLDEN KNIGHTS IN 2017
Six players who have played for Vegas since its inaugural season were on the Cup-winning squad: William Carrier, William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault, Brayden McNabb, Reilly Smith and Shea Theodore. All six skated with the club in the 2018 Final as well, and five played in their first-ever regular season game (Theodore being the lone exception).
* Carrier (from BUF), Karlsson (from CBJ), Marchessault (from FLA) and McNabb (from LAK) were claimed by Vegas in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. They became the first players since 1985 to win a Cup with a team that chose them in an expansion draft.
* Smith (1-1—2) and Theodore (0-3—3) were traded to the Golden Knights on the day of the expansion draft and both collected multiple points in Game 5. Smith, who spent the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons with the Panthers before being acquired by Vegas, became the first player since 2017 to score a Cup-clinching goal against his former team (Patric Hornqvist was the last before him, with the 2017 Penguins against the Predators). Smith was the first player to receive the Stanley Cup from captain Mark Stone.
EICHEL CONCLUDES FIRST POSTSEASON AS SCORING LEADER
Skating in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time in his eight-season NHL career – a span in which he accumulated 446 points in 476 regular-season games – Jack Eichel posted the third-highest point total in NHL history by a player making his first trip to the postseason (6-20—26 in 22 GP). Eichel concluded with a three-point showing in Game 5 to finish behind only Mark Recchi (10-24—34 in 24 GP w/ 1991 PIT) and Eric Staal (9-19—28 in 25 GP w/ 2006 CAR) for the most point by a player in his first playoff year.
* Eichel set a franchise record for points in one playoff year and became the third player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to lead the Stanley Cup Playoffs in points (tied or outright) during his first-ever trip to the postseason, following Bill Goldsworthy with the 1968 North Stars and Staal with the 2006 Hurricanes. Eichel, who also set a franchise record for assists in one postseason, became the second player in that span to finish as the outright leader in assists during his first playoff year, after Staal.
* Eichel (North Chelmsford, Mass.) became the second U.S.-born player in the NHL’s modern era (since 1943-44) to finish as the outright points leader in the postseason, following Brian Leetch (Corpus Christi, Texas) with the 1994 Rangers.
HILL RELIEVES BROSSOIT IN SECOND ROUND, BACKSTOPS GOLDEN KNIGHTS TO CUP
Adin Hill made his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut when he relieved Laurent Brossoit in Game 2 of the Second Round and went 11-4 in 16 total appearances, capping his run with a Cup-clinching win – and bookending the Final with jaw-dropping saves on home ice.
* Hill became the fifth goaltender in NHL history to secure a Cup-clinching win after not appearing in his team’s opening-round series, joining Matt Murray (2017 PIT), Andy Moog (1984 EDM), Don Simmons (1962 CHI) and Joe Miller (1928 NYR). Hill had the most wins of that group, with Murray (7-3) the next closest.
* Hill also became the first goaltender to earn a Cup-clinching victory against a two-time Vezina Trophy winner since teammate Jonathan Quick outdueled Martin Brodeur in Game 6 of the 2012 Final.
VIVA HOCKEY IN LAS VEGAS!
Thousands of fans celebrated the Golden Knights’ first Stanley Cup win from outside T-Mobile Arena in Toshiba Plaza. Since the Golden Knights’ inception, overall youth hockey participation has grown by 340%, while female youth hockey participation has increased by 338%. Interest by adults looking to play the sport has grown by 63% in that same timeframe.
* The Golden Knights became the second major professional sports team in Las Vegas to win a championship, following the Las Vegas Aces of the WNBA in 2022.
* Golden Knights fans embraced every aspect of the franchise, bringing a flare that only Las Vegas can to the NHL – creating a party-like atmosphere that was on full display during the third pre-game concert of the Final at Toshiba Plaza, this time featuring GRAMMY-nominated artist Steve Aoki.
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