The Vegas Golden Knights dominated the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Tuesday's Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final to capture the franchise's first championship.
Vegas jumped out to a 2-0 advantage on first-period goals from Mark Stone and Nicolas Hague.
Aaron Ekblad's tally 2:15 into the second period gave the Panthers hope before the Golden Knights poured it on to put the game out of reach. Alec Martinez and Reilly Smith scored 1:45 apart, with Stone and Michael Amadio padding the lead to close out the middle frame.
Stone scored an empty-netter in the third period to complete the first hat trick in a Stanley Cup-winning game in over 100 years and the first in the Stanley Cup Final at all since Peter Forsberg in 1996.
Breakout sensation Adin Hill made 30 saves for Vegas in the victory.
"I thought we earned every step of the way," Golden Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy told Sportsnet. "The series we won, I thought we played as the better team, so good for us."
"(Vegas) earned it," Panthers bench boss Paul Maurice said, according to The Athletic's Michael Russo. "They were outstanding, and we didn't have an answer for it."
Jonathan Marchessault - an original member of the Golden Knights - won the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP. He tallied 13 goals and 25 points in 22 playoff contests.
The Golden Knights' nine goals are the most ever in a Stanley Cup-clinching victory, surpassing the previous record of eight set by the 1985 Edmonton Oilers and 1991 Pittsburgh Penguins.
Superstar forward Matthew Tkachuk didn't suit up Tuesday for Florida due to an injury.
Vegas had four players reach the 10-goal mark in the postseason, a feat only previously done by the Oilers in 1985, 1988, and 1990.
Martinez, Phil Kessel, and Jonathan Quick became three-time Stanley Cup champions in the win. Martinez was the only player of the trio to play in this year's finals.
Vegas entered the NHL in 2017-18 as an expansion team. The inaugural edition of the Golden Knights went on a Cinderella run to the Stanley Cup Final, losing to the Washington Capitals in five games.
The championship is the first for a major men's professional team based in Las Vegas. The Las Vegas Aces won the WNBA title in 2022.
The Golden Knights are also the first franchise to win a Stanley Cup in a club's first six NHL seasons since the 1984 Oilers, though the team existed for seven years in the WHA before joining the league in 1979.
"Playoffs in three, Cup in six," team owner Bill Foley said in 2016. "No excuses. That's the standard. I consider that being very patient."
The Florida Panthers will try to keep their Stanley Cup hopes alive without Matthew Tkachuk in Tuesday's Game 5 showdown against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Grigori Denisenko slotted into the lineup in the injured Conn Smythe Trophy candidate's absence. Denisenko, 22, registered three assists in 18 regular-season games this campaign and has never seen action in the playoffs.
Tkachuk was limited to just four shifts in the third period of Game 4 on Saturday. At one point, he went almost 11 minutes without touching the ice.
Maurice told reporters after the contest that Tkachuk had to grind through the 3-2 defeat, and the team opted to play him less in the final frame to conserve his energy.
Tkachuk was removed from action by the league's concussion spotter in Game 3 after taking a big hit from Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar. He returned to the matchup after clearing protocol and eventually scored the game-tying goal en route to the Panthers' overtime victory.
The superstar didn't practice with the Panthers on Monday.
Tkachuk leads Florida with 11 goals and 24 points in 20 playoff contests.
Highly touted prospect Zach Benson joins Dan and Sat to talk about the draft combine that just passed and look forward to the upcoming NHL Draft as a player that could crack the top ten.
This podcast was produced by Eddie Gregory and Ben Basran.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
Sat and Dan discuss the abundant talent in this year's NHL Draft and break down who they think could potentially fall out of the top ten. Irfaan Gaffar then joins the show to give his thoughts on the Stanley Cup Finals thus far and sets the scene in Vegas before a Game 5 that has Florida on the brink of elimination.
This podcast was produced by Eddie Gregory and Ben Basran.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The views and opinions expressed in this podcast are those of the hosts and guests and do not necessarily reflect the position of Rogers Media Inc. or any affiliate.
The Oilers have approximately $5 million in cap space after inking Ryan, according to CapFriendly. Re-signing restricted free-agent defenseman Evan Bouchard is the club's top in-house priority this offseason.
Ryan, 36, appeared in 80 games this season, collecting 13 goals and seven assists while averaging 11:10 per contest. The forward won at least 50% of his draws for the eighth consecutive campaign.
He's been with the Oilers for the past two years following stints with the Carolina Hurricanes and Calgary Flames.
The New York Rangers have hired Peter Laviolette as their new head coach, the team announced Tuesday.
Laviolette and the Washington Capitals agreed to part ways in April after the club failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 2013-14. He spent three seasons behind the bench in D.C., amassing a 115-78-27 record.
Long-term injuries to key players decimated Washington this campaign, with the team finishing sixth in the Metropolitan Division and 12 points out of a playoff spot with a 35-37-10 record. Tom Wilson, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson all played less than half of the season.
The Capitals never advanced past the first round during Laviolette's tenure.
Laviolette will succeed Gerard Gallant in the Big Apple. Gallant coached the Rangers for two seasons, piloting them to the Eastern Conference Final in his first campaign behind the bench.
"We are thrilled that Peter will be the next head coach of the New York Rangers," general manager Chris Drury said. "With Peter's extensive experience as a head coach in the National Hockey League, as well as the success his teams have had at several levels throughout his career, we are excited about what the future holds with him leading our team."
New York announced Gallant's departure shortly after the team was eliminated by the New Jersey Devils in the first round this spring.
Gallant and Drury reportedly had a heated exchange following the Rangers' Game 4 loss to the Devils that tied the series.
Laviolette's 752 wins in 1,430 games as a head coach ranks eighth on the NHL's all-time list. In addition to the Capitals, he's served as bench boss of the New York Islanders, Carolina Hurricanes, Philadelphia Flyers, and Nashville Predators.
The 58-year-old won the Stanley Cup with the Hurricanes in 2006 and led the Flyers and Predators to Stanley Cup Final appearances.
The Capitals replaced Laviolette with former Toronto Maple Leafs assistant coach Spencer Carbery.
Three-time Stanley Cup champion Patrick Sharp is joining the Philadelphia Flyers' front office as a special adviser to hockey operations, the team announced Tuesday.
Sharp will report directly to general manager Daniel Briere and be involved in all aspects of the team's hockey operations, but he'll especially focus on player development with Flyers prospects.
"Patrick is a well-established veteran on-and-off the ice and his incomparable hockey knowledge will be a valuable asset to our organization and young prospects," Briere said.
Sharp's 15-year NHL career began in Philadelphia for parts of three seasons. He truly established himself after being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in 2005, posting four 30-goal campaigns and becoming a key cog in the team's dynasty. Sharp led the Blackhawks in goals during their championship runs in 2010 and 2013.
The Winnipeg, Manitoba, native also won a gold medal with Team Canada at the 2014 Winter Olympics.
Sharp became an analyst for NBC after his playing career ended in 2018, making him the second person to move from broadcasting to the Flyers' current front office after Keith Jones was named president of hockey operations in May.
"In adding Patrick Sharp to our group, we are gaining an individual who has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to building an environment of winning at all levels," Jones said. "Patrick knows what it takes to win, he understands how to convey that to our players and is a relationship maker. He will be a vital component as we continue to build the foundation of the Philadelphia Flyers."
Saddled with debt and careening toward bankruptcy, the Ottawa Senators failed to pay their players as scheduled on New Year's Day 2003.
The next night, the Sens thumped the Atlanta Thrashers 8-1, their most emphatic victory in a Presidents' Trophy season. On the ice, the players' motivation to win didn't wither. Off it, there was "more than a chance" the cash-strapped franchise would be sold and relocated to an American market, club owner Rod Bryden warned.
The team the late Eugene Melnyk bought from Bryden for a pittance two decades ago is about to sell for $950 million, according to Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.
The Senators will stay put - moving out of Ottawa wasn't an option this time - and be governed by Michael Andlauer, the transportation magnate who'll divest his minority stake in the Montreal Canadiens to close the purchase. Andlauer, who also owns the Ontario Hockey League's Brantford Bulldogs, will assume control of the Sens once the NHL approves the agreement.
It’s time for a new era in Ottawa Senators history.
The transaction, one of the richest in league history, wraps a bow on Melnyk's tumultuous ownership tenure. Occasionally a Stanley Cup contender on his watch, the Senators became a laughingstock at the nadir of the rebuild Melnyk initiated in 2018. His daughters, Anna and Olivia, inherited and opted to sell the franchise following his death last year at 62.
A celebrity bidding war ensued. Snoop Dogg and The Weeknd joined rival consortiums. Senators fans stood to applaud Ryan Reynolds at multiple games this past season, though the actor and marketing maven dropped out of the process recently.
Toronto-based billionaires, Andlauer among them, headlined three of the four groups that submitted bids. Andlauer and his partners will purchase 90% of the team, while the Melnyk estate retains a 10% share.
The Senators were in demand for a few reasons. Big Four sports teams aren't often put up for sale. Rising valuations make them a safe haven for investment. Another Sens bidder, Steve Apostolopoulos, tried and failed to acquire the NFL's Washington Commanders this spring despite reportedly bidding $6 billion.
Ottawa-specific factors resonated, too. Gutted to the studs, the Senators' rebuilt roster now boasts such electrifying talents as Tim Stutzle, a 90-point center at 21 years old. Ottawa could vie for championships if smart additions are made to support the ascendant young core. Most significantly, the franchise has the chance to build a state-of-the-art arena downtown to replace the Canadian Tire Centre, its aging suburban home.
Andlauer's first months in charge promise to be monumental. Early on, he has to clarify the fates of general manager Pierre Dorion and head coach D.J. Smith.
Dorion, the architect of Ottawa's rebuild, is the NHL's eighth-longest tenured GM. Only six head coaches, four of whom are Stanley Cup winners, have held their jobs for longer than Smith, who was hired in 2019. Their four seasons as a tandem have produced a .467 points percentage and no playoff berths.
Dorion's managerial track record is mixed. He acquired Claude Giroux, Alex DeBrincat, and Jakob Chychrun over the past year without trading a player or prospect. He signed Stutzle and captain Brady Tkachuk to long-term deals that should age gracefully. His misfires include dealing Mika Zibanejad in 2016 before the Swedish center's star turn and anointing Matt Murray, then Cam Talbot as prospective saviors in net toward the end of the rebuild.
Smith, a gifted communicator, didn't get to coach a playoff-caliber team until this past season. Those Senators undershot expectations. Ottawa started 6-12-1, was 31st in the league standings on U.S. Thanksgiving, and had to scratch and claw to eventually miss the postseason by six points. Stutzle and Tkachuk blossomed into point-per-game scorers, but DeBrincat, Drake Batherson, and Thomas Chabot endured down years.
The Senators traded consecutive first-round picks to land DeBrincat and Chychrun, swinging big to try to snap their ongoing six-year playoff drought. Only the Buffalo Sabres and Detroit Red Wings - two Atlantic Division rivals on the rise - are in the midst of longer skids. If Andlauer doesn't have time to instate his own people this offseason, 2023-24 will make or break the futures of Dorion and Smith in Ottawa.
Dealing with DeBrincat is an organizational priority. The two-time 40-goal sniper settled for 27 tallies in his first Senators season. Ottawa was outscored 58-42 in DeBrincat's five-on-five minutes, according to Natural Stat Trick, but went 20-1-2 in games where he found the net.
Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images
Set to hit unrestricted free agency one year from now, DeBrincat promised to decide by the draft on June 28 whether he's willing to extend in Ottawa. If he isn't, the Senators could pre-emptively swap him for picks or attempt to orchestrate a Matthew Tkachuk-style blockbuster. Dorion has reportedly explored trade options.
Goaltending is another question mark. Talbot will depart as a free agent after one discouraging, injury-riddled season (.898 save percentage in 36 games). Anton Forsberg tore both of his MCLs in a freak collision in February. If the Sens think Mads Sogaard, the 22-year-old budding goalie of the future, requires more AHL seasoning, they'll need to sign a stopgap partner for Forsberg or shell out to trade for a workhorse like Connor Hellebuyck.
There are bright spots elsewhere in the lineup.
Brett Holmes / Icon Sportswire / Getty Images
Signed to be a mentor, Giroux potted 35 goals at age 35 this past season on Stutzle's right wing. Acing the eye test, Jake Sanderson seemed to make the right play every time he touched or tracked the puck as a rookie defenseman. The Chychrun trade strengthened Ottawa's defense corps to a degree unseen since the Zdeno Chara-Wade Redden era. Josh Norris will be healthy in the fall after recovering from shoulder surgery.
The city is energized coming out of the lean years. Attendance at the Canadian Tire Centre rebounded in 2022-23 to 89.8% of capacity, per Hockey Reference, which was a seven-year high. The fan base would rejoice if Daniel Alfredsson returned to the fold. Earlier this year, the franchise legend and Hall of Fame forward publicly expressed his interest in assuming a “meaningful role” in Senators hockey operations.
Alfredsson captained and was a top scorer on the bankrupt 2003 team that advanced as far as Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. In retirement, he rejoined the Senators as a senior adviser, but left the front office in 2017 after two seasons. Maybe he'll get to work for a third ownership regime.
Melnyk, a pharmaceutical billionaire who cheered for his hometown Toronto Maple Leafs before taking over the Senators, bought the franchise and its arena for $92 million in 2003. When the sale closed, he guaranteed the Sens would stay in Ottawa and organized a free Eagles concert for season-ticket holders as a goodwill gesture.
"This is the first time in a number of years I've come to Ottawa without feeling angst and concern," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman told reporters at the time, per ESPN's Chris Stevenson.
Bettman added, "If you were going to computer-generate an owner for this market, (Melnyk would) certainly be on the radar screen. This is a great team in a great place, and now it has a great owner."
Andre Ringuette / NHL / Getty Images
A powerhouse at the outset of the salary-cap era, Melnyk's Senators reached the 2007 Cup Final, then curtailed spending and started icing lesser lineups. Since losing that final, Ottawa has qualified for six postseasons and won three playoff rounds, most recently in 2017. Casting a pall over a Senators-Canadiens outdoor game on Parliament Hill, Melnyk said during that celebration that he'd consider relocating the team if home attendance cratered.
The roster teardown that followed spawned more lowlights.
Alienated fans installed #MelnykOut billboards around Ottawa to urge him to sell. Melnyk admitted the Senators were "kind of in the dumpster" in a team-produced interview with defenseman Mark Borowiecki. Following his death, The Athletic chronicled the owner's alleged mistreatment of staff and volatility behind the scenes in a bombshell investigation titled "The Eugene Melnyk era in Ottawa: Hopeful, then bizarre and tyrannical."
The race to succeed Melnyk as owner heated up on Jimmy Fallon's show. Reynolds, the "Deadpool" leading man who briefly lived in Ottawa as a kid, confirmed to the late-night host that he'd seek a "sugar daddy" to finance his bid. The Sens could have been the subject of a "Welcome to Wrexham"-style peek behind the curtain, taking after the Welsh soccer club that Reynolds and actor Rob McElhenney bought in 2020 and made globally visible.
Mark Horton / Getty Images
As the spectacle ballooned, Sacramento Kings governor Vivek Ranadive thought about bidding. The Weeknd aligned with Jeffrey and Michael Kimel, the venture capitalist brothers who used to own part of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Snoop Dogg, a pitchman for entrepreneur Neko Sparks' bid, shared his desire to diversify hockey at every level and end Canada's 30-year Stanley Cup drought during a media blitz in May.
Apostolopoulos, the presumptive top bidder at the May 15 submission deadline, quit the process last week as negotiations dragged on.
Nonetheless, this is set to bethe most lucrative recent NHL franchise sale. The Senators commanded a greater windfall than the Penguins did in 2021 ($900 million) and the Nashville Predators did this year ($880 million).
The real-estate opportunity involved explains why the price skyrocketed.
The Canadian Tire Centre, the Senators' home since 1996, was constructed on farmland in the suburb of Kanata about 25 kilometers west of downtown. In 2016, the franchise was awarded the right to build an arena on federal land in the LeBreton Flats neighborhood, within walking distance of Parliament and the city core. Strife between Melnyk and his business partner torpedoed the project.
Andre Ringuette / NHL / Getty Images
The Senators struck a new agreement in 2022 with Canada's National Capital Commission. Andlauer has the chance to negotiate a lease in the next several months to build an arena and wider entertainment district on the LeBreton land. Reynolds' financial backer, the Remington Group, reportedly hoped to hammer out an arena deal with the NCC before acquiring the Sens, but its request for an exclusive window to hold those talks was denied.
When negotiations start, Andlauer could ask the NCC to grant him access to more land than the six acres at the LeBreton plot that are earmarked for the arena. Or he could try to build a rink elsewhere in Ottawa, perhaps on city land in another central location. Remaining in Kanata and refurbishing the CTC is a third option. His preference should become evident soon.
Andlauer has already scored one big victory. Ottawa's hockey future is his to shape. His decisions will influence where the Senators play for decades to come and how they perform on the ice. The right moves could propel the core that's already in place to the playoffs annually.
As Bryden once put it, there's more than a chance that will happen.
It's now or never for the Panthers. Trailing 3-1 in the series, their backs are squarely against the wall as they enter the "Fortress" in hopes of clawing their way back into the series.
Can they bring it back home for a Game 6, or will the Golden Knights prove too much to slow down? Let's take a closer look.
Let's call a spade a spade: The Golden Knights are the far superior team.
They have outscored the Panthers 17-9 through four games and been full value for it. The Golden Knights have controlled a 57% share of the expected goals at five-on-five and scored six goals in just 28 minutes on the power play.
That latter stat equates to 12.79 goals per 60 on the man advantage, closely aligning to the clip that a historically great Oilers power play clicked at during the regular season.
Mark Stone, Jack Eichel, Chandler Stephenson, Jonathan Marchessault, and the Golden Knights' litany of fantastic two-way forwards have caused the Panthers problems at both ends of the ice during full-strength play. Florida has not been able to make up that ground on special teams.
With the Golden Knights being the much better side at five-on-five and the power play firing on all cylinders, the Panthers need Sergei Bobrovsky to be the great equalizer. He hasn't been.
While he's only had one truly bad game in this series, he has only been adequate over the other three. Adequate is not good enough.
The Golden Knights possess edges all across the board. They're at home playing in one of the loudest buildings in the sport. The Panthers have key players - most notably Matthew Tkachuk - at far less than 100%. And the list goes on.
Everything points toward the Golden Knights claiming their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. I expect they'll get it Tuesday and without the need for additional time.
Bet: Golden Knights in regulation (-115)
Aleksander Barkov over 2.5 shots (-140)
Volume is king in the shot world, and Barkov certainly has it. He has piled up 27 shot attempts through four games, good for an average of nearly seven per contest.
He has attempted at least five in three of four games thus far. That has been the sweet spot for Barkov all season long. The star pivot has gone over his shot total in 38 of 44 games he has amassed at least five attempts, which equates to a whopping 86% success rate.
Barkov leads all Panthers in expected goals for percentage in this series. More so than anyone else, the Panthers are outplaying the Golden Knights with Barkov on the ice.
With the Panthers controlling play when Barkov's out there and the captain set to chew up all the ice he can handle in a do-or-die affair, he's worth backing in Game 5.
Chandler Stephenson over 1.5 shots (-131)
Stephenson has quietly been an efficient shooter in this series. He has attempted 18 shots (4.5 per game) and registered 12 on target (3.0) through the first four games. Those are very solid numbers for a player with such a low total.
What I love about Stephenson's volume is that a lot of it is coming at five-on-five. In fact, a team-leading 10 of his 12 shots have been recorded in that game state.
This series has featured an awful lot of special teams play. With the Stanley Cup on the line and elimination a real possibility for the Panthers, I believe the refs will be a little looser with the whistle. They're not going to want these teams parading to the box and special teams deciding a winner.
I expect a lot of five-on-five play, and that's where Stephenson has done a lot of his damage. Look for him to clear this line for the fourth consecutive game.
Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.
Toronto billionaire Michael Andlauer is set to become the new owner of the Ottawa Senators, reports Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch.
The agreement in principle, which is reportedly worth $950 million, is pending approval from commissioner Gary Bettman and the NHL's executive board.
Andlauer is a minority shareholder of the Montreal Canadiens and a member of the NHL's board of governors. However, he'll have to sell his stake in the Habs for the deal to go through.
The long-winding sale of the Senators was reportedly down to Andlauer and Jeffrey and Michael Kimel of Harlo Capital, a group that also included Canadian singer The Weeknd as of last week.
Four groups made bids by the May 15 deadline.
The NHL was pleased with Andlauer's long-term vision for the franchise, and he supports the idea of a new downtown arena, sources told Garrioch. The Senators signed a memorandum of understanding with the National Capital Commission (NCC) for a new rink at LeBreton Flats last year.
The Senators went up for sale in November. The only stipulation in the deal was to keep the club in Ottawa. Anna and Olivia Melnyk, daughters of late Senators owner Eugene, are expected to keep a 10% stake in the team.
