LAS VEGAS — Golden Knights players bobbed and weaved through the yellow streamers, plastic pink flamingos, helmets and gloves raining down on them as they raced to tackle their goalie.
The record-setting crowd at T-Mobile Arena roared into the night as their team poured in nine goals to win the Stanley Cup for the first time, and the city that perfected partying threw its biggest one yet.
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Most parties in Las Vegas, whether it’s a private bachelor party or the massive firework-fueled celebrations on the Strip for New Year’s Eve, are for the millions of tourists who visit this incredible city. Tuesday night was for the people of Las Vegas, and what a party it was.
The Golden Knights were faster, stronger and flat-out better in every aspect. They swarmed the Panthers on the forecheck, forced giveaways and made incredible play after incredible play with the puck to the tune of a 9-3 drubbing to finish off the incredible season.
Players celebrated with their friends and family on the ice after, children sprinting across the scuffed surface, kicking beach balls and flamingos around like soccer balls. Babies were either in arms or sitting in the Cup.
Mark Stone’s Cup delivery service pic.twitter.com/swZODg8xj7
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) June 14, 2023
Captain Mark Stone, who scored the first hat trick in a Stanley Cup-clinching game in more than 100 years, looked around in amazement and soaked it all in. When he returned from his second back surgery in less than nine months to make this playoff run he repeatedly said, “I didn’t want to miss this.”
With the Stanley Cup in hand, it’s now clear why.
“This is why, right?” he said with a smile. “This is why I didn’t want to miss this. I just got to win the Stanley Cup with 30 of my best friends. Guys who I come to the rink and hang out with every single day. I love coming to the rink, and that’s why. These guys make it all worth it.”
Stone lifted the Cup first, pumping it high above his head while he took a long stroll around the ice.
“It’s a moment I’ll never forget, and one I didn’t take lightly,” he said. “I wanted to soak it all in. That’s the one time you want to be selfish in this game, is you want to soak in that lap, so that’s what I did.”
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Stone handed it off to Reilly Smith, who handed it off to Jonathan Marchessault. From there it went to William Karlsson, Brayden McNabb, Shea Theodore and finally William Carrier. It was a parade of “Golden Misfits” taking their turn with the trophy they’ve been trying to bring to Las Vegas for six seasons.
“It means a lot to be able to do this with this group of guys,” said Smith, who scored what ended up being the game-winning goal in the second period. “Obviously, the team has changed a lot over six years, but our fan base hasn’t. It’s been pretty amazing. They’ve supported us since Day 1 and it’s really great to bring a championship to Las Vegas.”
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) June 14, 2023
Tuesday’s exclamation point at the end of this championship season was the result of the incredibly strong team the Golden Knights have built, but they haven’t forgotten who started it all. Coach Bruce Cassidy put together a starting lineup of players from the original team, a gesture they deeply appreciated.
“It was very special,” McNabb said. “That was a great feeling, knowing he appreciated us. We wished we could put Will (Carrier) in net. Us six Misfits we have a special bond and we appreciate it. We’re champs, baby.”
Cup Champs pic.twitter.com/PtpkHejvxA
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) June 14, 2023
While Stone, Jack Eichel, Alex Pietrangelo and others were all key pieces to this championship, if it wasn’t for the original team’s incredible run, those aggressive acquisitions never happen.
“They deserve it,” Pietrangelo said of the six Misfits. “We wouldn’t be here without them, right? Starting things off the right way. I’m just happy for those guys, five years later, to be able to win.”
Pietrangelo hugged as many people as he could on the ice after the game, between wrangling his four children. This is his second Stanley Cup championship after leading the Blues to one just four years ago, and it hasn’t lost any of its shine.
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“Kids are a little bit older now,” he said. “Now they understand what it’s all about, and what Dad was doing. When you have a family all you want to do is share it with them, so I’ll enjoy this with them. It’s emotional. You guys know it was a hell of a year for us.”
In late November, Pietrangelo’s 4-year-old daughter, Evelyn, developed a serious illness that caused her to lose motor skills, forcing him out of action and into the hospital for weeks. Tuesday she ran around the ice gripping an inflatable pink flamingo as her father hoisted the trophy.
“Six months ago, we were in a hospital for a month straight, and now she’s on the ice,” Pietrangelo said through glassy eyes. “If that doesn’t get you emotional … It gives me goosebumps.”
Carrier had as many as 25 family members and friends celebrating with him on the ice. He wasn’t even sure how to feel.
“I don’t think you could describe it,” he said. “It took a lot of work, and it almost feels like the end of something. You work since you’re 3 years old, so I don’t know where you go from here. I’ll have to ask the guys that have won, how do you refocus and get back to work, because right now it feels like the end of something.”
Even late in the game, up half a dozen goals, the Golden Knights players still couldn’t relax.
“Guys were still stressed,” Carrier said. “We put up nine, and I don’t think anyone let up. It was still nerve-racking. We had San Jose in mind, where anything can happen.”
Eventually, after stretching the lead out again in the waning moments, it hit them that they were about to be champions.
“We’re sitting on the bench with three minutes left and we’re looking at each other,” Stone said. “’We’re about to win the Stanley Cup.’ That’s all I’m thinking. It’s a crazy feeling.”
Adin Hill’s younger brother, Garrison, shaved his head in a “cul-de-sac” for the Cup Final.
It’s long in the back. Incredible. pic.twitter.com/N38Uv7SHnM
— Jesse Granger (@JesseGranger_) June 14, 2023
All of the celebrating on the ice was preceded by a massive exhale. They did it.
“It’s been a nervous last couple of days,” Carrier said. “Everyone plays it cool like no one thinks about it, but it was tough to sleep so it’s going to be nice tonight.”
Many wondered if the Golden Knights’ window had closed when they missed the playoffs entirely last season. The players are grateful for the chance to bring back mostly the same group and give it another go. They rewarded management with a championship.
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“Now that it’s all over you look back and this was the greatest couple of months of my life,” he said. “It’s incredible.”
Owner Bill Foley, who took the gamble on Las Vegas as a sports city and proclaimed his team would win the Cup in six years, took his victory lap. The 78-year-old billionaire lay on the ice with his players as they posed with the Cup.
Well into the night, hours after the Golden Knights paraded the Cup around the ice, the goal horn at T-Mobile Arena was still blaring outside. Maybe they were trying to catch up on all the goals.
(Photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)
