LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — In the Stanley Cup Final, momentum is everything. The Panthers were looking to bounce back after Game 1, but the Golden Knights dominated Florida from start to finish.
Now, it seems like the momentum is all on the VGK's side heading into Game 3.
In the first period, Jonathan Marchessault gets the first goal of the game for his 11th goal of the post season and shockingly, T-Mobile Arena still has a roof.
A few minutes later, Alec Martinez, gets his first goal of the playoffs with a beautiful shot, and Sergei Bobrovsky didn't see it coming.
We go to the second, and the Golden Knights continue to dominate.
Nic Roy with the great individual effort, and it is 3-0.
VGK then get a rush chance, and that is as good of a team goal as you can get.
Brett Howden finishes it, and it's 4-0.
Right after that goal, Sergei Bobrvsky, one of the favorites for the Conn Smythe, gets pulled from the game, and Alex Lyon is now in net.
Right before the third period ends, Matthew Tkachuk hits Jack Eichel hard in the open ice, and Eichel goes straight to the locker room in pain.
Then in the third, the Panthers get a break after the puck bounces off Alec Martinez for an own goal.
But the Knights respond when Jack Eichel comes back onto the ice and finds Marchessault all alone in the slot.
Michael Amadio would score and make it 6-1.
Tkachuk would score the second goal for Florida, but gets another misconduct later.
Then, Brett Howden scores the seventh and that would do it.
VGK destroy the Panthers 7-2 and now have a 2-0 series lead.
Players and head coach Bruce Cassidy say this was a "mans game" Monday, and a great win heading into a hostile Florida crowd.
While Panthers head coach Paul Maurice says they are going to need to improve fast with game three just three days away.
"It's probably the most fun I've ever had playing Hockey," said VGK goaltender Adin Hill. "Just enjoying it, cherishing it every day, kind of taking it one day at a time. I'm just kind of living in the moment and it's been fun. It's been awesome to be a part of this journey with this team."
"I liked our game," Cassidy said. "There's still some things we'll look at that we can do better, but at the end of the day, it's a good performance by us. Our guys were ready to play."
"The parts of our game that we know we can improve, we're going to have to have to get to real fast," Maurice said. "There's no doubt about that. We'll have a pretty simple game plan."
The Golden Knights will now travel on the road for Games 3 and 4 all the way to Florida.
The Panthers have come back from a series deficit before, most notably a 3-1 deficit against the Boston Bruins, so this series is not over.
