Golden Knights recap: Chandler Stephenson scores key goal in win
Knights lead series 3-1
■ Game 1 — Golden Knights 5, Panthers 2
■ Game 2 — Golden Knights 7, Panthers 2
■ Game 3 — Panthers 3, Golden Knights 2, OT
■ Game 4 — Golden Knights 3, Panthers 2
■ Game 5 — 5 p.m. Tuesday, T-Mobile Arena (TNT, truTV)
■ Game 6* — 5 p.m. Friday, FLA Live Arena (TNT, TBS, truTV)
■ Game 7* — 5 p.m. June 19, T-Mobile Arena (TNT, TBS, truTV)
* If necessary
RJ’s three stars
3. Panthers forward Aleksander Barkov — The longtime Florida captain had not registered a point in the first three games and was limited to six shots on goal.
He finally broke through Saturday.
Barkov was credited with an assist on a fluky goal by Brandon Montour in the second period and then beat Adin Hill to cut the deficit to 3-2 early in the third.
Barkov, the No. 2 overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft, also had a team-high six shots on goal.
2. Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague — He recorded two assists and was a steadying presence throughout the game.
Hague was on the ice for all three Knights goals and none of Florida’s. He also blocked two shots.
It was a bounce-back plus-3 night for Hague, who turned in a minus-3 on Thursday.
1. Knights forward Chandler Stephenson — The center scored his first goal since Game 5 of the Dallas series less than two minutes into the game and added a second tally early in the second period to extend the lead.
They were his ninth and 10th goals of the postseason, making the Knights the fifth team since 2000 with three double-digit goal scorers in the playoffs.
Stephenson has scored the first goal of the game three times this postseason, tied for the most of any player.
Key play
Stephenson’s goal at 1:39 of the first period
The Panthers and their fans were hoping to carry some of the momentum from an overtime victory in Game 3 into Game 4, but the energy was zapped from the building almost immediately with Stephenson’s early goal.
As Florida made a line change, Mark Stone made a move to clear space, and Zach Whitecloud led Stephenson into the offensive zone with a pass that sprung him in all alone.
Stephenson did the rest, putting the puck past Sergei Bobrovsky.
It was the fourth time the Knights have scored in the first two minutes this postseason. Only four teams have more, led by the 2019 St. Louis Blues with six.
Key stat
34-0 —The record of the past 34 teams who have taken a lead of at least three goals in a Stanley Cup Final game.
The Panthers rallied within one goal, but the Knights avoided becoming the first team since 2006 to lose after leading by at least three goals.
The Carolina Hurricanes were the last team to rally for a win in such a circumstance, beating the Edmonton Oilers 5-4 in overtime in Game 1 in 2006.
Knights quotable
“I wasn’t thinking, ‘Here we go again,’ at the end. We just went through it, and one thing our team does well is respond to some adversity or whatever hasn’t gone well. And we found a way to keep it out of our net. I don’t know if they had any ‘Grade As.’ They threw a few toward the net, but I thought we did a good job clearing them, and I think the one that was close at the end maybe the clock had expired.”
— Coach Bruce Cassidy, on whether he was concerned about a repeat of Game 3 in the final few frantic seconds
Panthers quotable
“They keep scoring more goals than we do.”
— Coach Paul Maurice, on the biggest reason his team is trailing 3-1 in the series
Adam Hill Las Vegas Review-Journal