Knights show 'killer instinct,' eye first Stanley Cup

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Vegas Golden Knights are one win away from the first Stanley Cup victory in franchise history.

Vegas topped the Florida Panthers 3-2 in Game 4 on Saturday, taking a commanding 3-1 series lead. The Golden Knights have the first of what could be three opportunities to close out the Panthers on Tuesday in Game 5 at home.

“It’s one win away from a lot of dreams, for a lot of guys,” forward Chandler Stephenson, who scored twice for Vegas, said after the win. “It’s different. It’ll be a different game than the other ones. It’s a lot more emotion, a lot more everything. Everyone knows what’s going to be there. [We’ll] just try to play. Lot of emotion. Being at home too, everyone is going to be into it. Emotions will be high, adrenaline [pumping]. All the cliches. Everyone is going to be ready.”

There was, of course, drama along the way to victory Saturday. Vegas held a 3-0 lead over Florida late into the second period, only to have the Panthers claw their way back to within a goal with more than 15 minutes to play.

Then, forward Matthew Tkachuk — who in Game 3 scored a third-period equalizer for Florida in its 3-2 overtime win — was achingly close to doing the same thing in Game 4 if not for a sensational left pad save by Vegas netminder Adin Hill in the final seconds.

That play caused some commotion when frustrations boiled over at the final buzzer and helmets — alongside fists — went flying. The spirited finish was an example of “two teams trying to win,” Golden Knights captain Mark Stone said.

“We didn’t want to lose,” Stephenson said. “We wanted to push as best we could, try to take their fans out of it. Just tried to have a killer instinct.”

The Golden Knights proved they had that in the first period. Vegas controlled the pace early and was rewarded when Stephenson beat Sergei Bobrovsky five-hole on a breakaway, aided by Florida’s ill-timed line change. It was less than two minutes into the game.

That was the Golden Knights’ first five-on-five goal since the third period of Game 2. Vegas’ lone goals in the Game 3 loss came on the power play.

But a vintage Vegas bounce-back effort ensured that Game 4 would be a different story. The Golden Knights are now 5-1 following a loss this postseason.

Stephenson’s second goal came in the second period, a long-range shot for his 10th postseason score. William Karlsson followed shortly after with his first goal of the Final to make it 3-0 before Brandon Montour broke through with his second goal in as many games to cut the Golden Knights’ lead to 3-1.

Florida pounced again in the third with a strike from Aleksander Barkov — his first point of the Final — to bring the Panthers within a goal. That was as close as Florida would come, although the Panthers pressured Hill — who finished with 29 saves — until the end.

Defensively, Vegas threw the kitchen sink at Florida — and wound up with 30 shot blocks on the night — while protecting the slim margin, preventing the Panthers from a repeat of Game 3’s finish.

“We had a couple huge shot blocks, guys just sold out,” Stone said. “We got a big save from Hill at the end. We did a great job of making sure we held the line pretty well, got clears and held [them] to the outside.”

Florida, also looking for its first Stanley Cup, who will try to hold Vegas off from making history on home ice Tuesday. Stakes couldn’t be higher, and the Golden Knights, who lost the Final on home ice in 2018, are relishing the potentially life-changing moments to come.

“You can’t not [think about] the next game,” Hill said. “[Winning a Cup] is the ultimate goal in hockey. So, there’s no way you can shut that off in your mind. You’re thinking about that but at the same time it’s just staying in the moment and focusing on the next play, the next shift.”

For Stone, the key to a Vegas victory will be simply staying the course with what brought the team to this pinnacle in the first place. He wasn’t with the Golden Knights when they reached the Final in their debut season, and hopes the team now won’t move away from its identity in attempting to complete the final task.

“I don’t think I’m going to change much,” Stone said. “We’ve gotten here with a lot of guys buying in and leading the way. We got plenty of guys who have been in this position before with the chance to close out a series.

“I don’t think any of us really want to change anything. We understand the magnitude of the process but we’re going to go home and … play our brand of hockey.”