3 Keys: Panthers at Golden Knights, Game 1 of Stanley Cup Final

(WC2) Panthers at (P1) Golden Knights

Stanley Cup Final, Game 1

8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, CBC, SN, TVAS

LAS VEGAS -- The Florida Panthers will play their first game in 10 days when they open the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena on Saturday.

The Panthers have not played since May 24, when they won 4-3 in Game 4 against the Carolina Hurricanes to complete a sweep in the Eastern Conference Final.

They reached the Cup Final despite being the last team into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They were the second wild card in from the East and defeated the Presidents' Trophy-winning Boston Bruins in seven games and the Toronto Maple Leafs in five before sweeping the Hurricanes.

"We didn't do it the easy way, that's for sure," Florida forward Matthew Tkachuk said. "In fact, we probably had the hardest route. Ultimately, our goal going into the playoffs was to have a chance to win a Stanley Cup, and we've put ourselves in a position where there's two teams left. If we're able to knock off this juggernaut here in Vegas, it'll probably be the hardest road to a Stanley Cup in history. Our goal is to knock off this team and see if we can make history."

RELATED: [Complete Stanley Cup Final coverage]

The Golden Knights have not played since advancing to the Cup Final with a 6-0 win at the Dallas Stars in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Monday. They are one of the final two teams remaining in the playoffs for the second time in their six seasons of existence.

Vegas lost to the Washington Capitals in five games in the 2018 Cup Final in its inaugural season.

Six players from the Golden Knights' 2017-18 roster are expected to play Saturday; forwards Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, William Karlsson and William Carrier, and defensemen Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb.

"It feels good to be back, but this doesn't mean anything unless you win it," Marchessault said. "That's more of a mentality I have this year. The first year we felt good, but I didn't realize how the other team feels too. I know this year Florida feels good, but we feel good too."

The Panthers and Golden Knights split two games in the regular season, each winning at home; Vegas 4-2 on Jan. 12 and Florida 2-1 on March 7.

Teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final are 63-20 all-time winning the series, including 50-10 when winning Game 1 on home ice.

Here are 3 keys to Game 1:

1. Which goalie blinks first

The goalie matchup in the Stanley Cup Final is as intriguing as it is improbable. Neither Florida's Sergei Bobrovsky or Vegas' Adin Hill were their teams' respective starting goalies at the beginning of the playoffs. But a lot has changed, for the better.

Bobrovsky may be the favorite for the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason's most valuable player through three rounds. The Panthers goalie is 11-2 with a 2.21 goals-against average and .935 save percentage since replacing Alex Lyon in Game 3 against Boston in the first round. He went 4-0 with a 1.12 GAA, .966 save percentage and one shutout in the conference final against the Hurricanes.

Hill took over as the starter for the Golden Knights after Laurent Brossoit was injured in Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers in the second round, and he's 7-3 with a 2.07 GAA, .937 save percentage and two shutouts in 11 games, including nine starts. He was 4-2 with a 1.99 GAA, .939 save percentage and two shutouts against the Stars, including 23 saves in a series-clinching 6-0 win in Game 6.

2. Play inside

Florida and Vegas both like to generate offense from below the goal lines. But they also have big, strong defense groups that do a good job of limiting how much presence the opposition can have in front of the net.

It'll be a challenge for both to play on the inside, in the slot area, from the posts and edge of the crease out to the inside hash marks. The team that establishes more of a presence in that area will have an advantage in generating puck possession and offense. But the big bodies on the back end will make it difficult.

3. Keeping Tkachuk in check

The Golden Knights have reached the Cup Final by limiting the opposition's top players, and it's an All-Star list featuring the Winnipeg Jets' Kyle Connor, Edmonton's Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid, and Dallas' Roope Hintz, Joe Pavelski and Jason Robertson.

Tkachuk may present the biggest challenge of the postseason for Vegas because Florida's forward has been arguably the best skater in the League this spring.

Tkachuk leads all players in the Cup Final with 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists) over 16 games, including four game-winning goals, three in overtime.

Karlsson has been the Golden Knights' shutdown center throughout the playoffs and his line, currently with Smith and Michael Amadio, could have the task of going head to head against Tkachuk and his linemates, Sam Bennett and Nick Cousins.

Panthers projected lineup

Carter Verhaeghe -- Aleksander Barkov -- Anthony Duclair

Nick Cousins -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk

Eetu Luostarinen -- Anton Lundell -- Sam Reinhart

Ryan Lomberg -- Eric Staal -- Colin White

Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad

Marc Staal -- Brandon Montour

Josh Mahura -- Radko Gudas

Sergei Bobrovsky

Alex Lyon

Scratched: Zac Dalpe, Givani Smith, Mike Benning, Casey Fitzgerald, Evan Fitzpatrick, Lucas Carlsson, Mack Guzda, Matt Kiersted, Grigori Denisenko, Aleksi Heponiemi, Mackie Samoskevich, Connor Bunnaman, Patrick Giles, John Ludvig, Santtu Kinnunen, Calle Sjalin

Injured: Patric Hornqvist (concussion)

Golden Knights projected lineup

Ivan Barbashev -- Jack Eichel -- Jonathan Marchessault

Reilly Smith -- William Karlsson -- Michael Amadio

Brett Howden -- Chandler Stephenson -- Mark Stone

William Carrier -- Nicolas Roy -- Keegan Kolesar

Alec Martinez -- Alex Pietrangelo

Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore

Nicolas Hague -- Zach Whitecloud

Adin Hill

Jonathan Quick

Scratched: Teddy Blueger, Paul Cotter, Ben Hutton, Phil Kessel, Kaedan Korczak, Brayden Pachal, Jiri Patera

Injured: Laurent Brossoit (lower body), Logan Thompson (undisclosed)

Status report

Luostarinen practiced with the Panthers on Friday and is expected to play after sustaining an undisclosed injury in Game 4 against the Hurricanes. … Cousins was also on the ice Friday and is expected to play after he missed practice with an undisclosed injury before Florida arrived in Las Vegas. ... The Panthers are scheduled to have an optional morning skate Saturday at the Golden Knights' practice facility. … The Golden Knights are not scheduled to have a morning skate.