Florida Panthers knocked out as Golden Knights lift Stanley Cup

The Florida Panthers’ best wasn’t enough in the 2023 Stanley Cup Final.

With a 9-3 Game 5 victory, the Vegas Golden Knights vanquished the exhausted Panthers for their first Stanley Cup in their six-year franchise history.

Aaron Ekblad scored 2:15 into the second period to try to get Florida back into the game after they fell into a 2-0 hole, but that was all they could muster up. Alec Martinez and Reilly Smith scored goals two minutes apart midway through the middle frame to put Vegas on top.

The Panthers, who came into the game without injured star Matthew Tkachuk, had nothing left to give as the Golden Knights coasted to victory.

Mark Stone got the fireworks started for Vegas 11:52 into the game, stripping Carter Verhaeghe of the puck and scoring on a shorthanded breakaway. Adin Hill made a big stop on Aleksander Barkov seconds earlier to set up Stone’s goal.

Nic Hague put the Golden Knights up by two less than two minutes later, poking in a loose puck through a sea of bodies in the crease. The whistle was blown before the puck went into the net, which would have taken the goal off the board, but the Panthers did not challenge the play.

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Ekblad brought Florida back within a goal with a wrist shot from the point which floated through a sea of Golden Knights defenders 2:15 into the second. But the Golden Knights squashed the Panthers’ hopes quickly after.

Alec Martinez, who won the Los Angeles Kings the Stanley Cup nine years ago to the date, put Vegas back up by two with a slick wrist shot off of a feed from Jack Eichel 10:28 into the second period. Reilly Smith, who the Panthers traded to the Golden Knights during the expansion draft, made it a three-goal lead with a snap shot off of a slick backhand feed from William Karlsson two minutes later.

Stone put his…