3 Keys: Panthers at Golden Knights, Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final

Florida needs to apply pressure early; Vegas must manage emotions to win 1st championship

By Dan Rosen

@drosennhl NHL.com Senior Writer

June 13, 2023

Panthers vs. Golden Knights

Stanley Cup Final, Game 5

Vegas leads best-of-7 series, 3-1

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

LAS VEGAS --The Stanley Cup will be in the building.

But will it come out of its case?

The Vegas Golden Knights will make that happen for the first time in their history if they win Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Florida Panthers at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday. The Panthers will force the Cup, and this series, to go back across the country if they can win here for the first time this season.

Vegas won Games 1 and 2 here, 5-2 and 7-2, respectively. It also won Game 4 in Florida 3-2 on Saturday.

"You know what, just getting to this point, it seems so surreal," Golden Knights defenseman Nicolas Hague said. "We're one win away, and we put in a lot of work to get here."

Matthew Tkachuk's status for Game 5 is not being made public by Panthers coach Paul Maurice. He said he knew if the forward would be in the lineup but did not want to reveal the information.

Tkachuk (undisclosed) didn't practice Monday or participate in Florida's optional morning skate Tuesday.

He didn't play for a stretch of 10:41 in the third period of Game 4 before getting two shifts in the last 5:01, including staying on the ice for the final 2:26 with goalie Sergei Bobrovsky pulled for the extra skater.

The Panthers have not updated Tkachuk's injury status.

Maurice said if Tkachuk plays he will go into the game with the plan to use him as normal.

"There would be no limit at the start of the game, but that would be true of any player that I put in that is dealing with something in truth," Maurice said. "Maybe there's a simplicity for the coach too. I don't have to manage minutes for the next game."

The status of Florida defenseman Radko Gudas is also unclear. He didn't practice Monday or participate in the morning skate Tuesday. Gudas has been dealing with an undisclosed injury since he was hit by Ivan Barbashev early in the first period of Game 2.

Maurice tried to calm down any worries about the Panthers and their injuries.

"When you get into December and you lose [Aleksander] Barkov and [Anton] Lundell and then you lose Barkov and [Sam] Bennett and you lose Barkov in a playoff game two minutes in [against] Carolina, it starts there," Maurice said. "So, you've had your people out of the lineup and important people out of the lineup and you've found ways to be successful. So, you have that belief. If none of that's happened to you all year, the first time an important guy comes out of the lineup, it's a big deal."

Dan Rosen previews Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final

The Golden Knights, meanwhile, are healthy and confident that they can get the job done.

"If our game wasn't in a good place I'd probably have knots in my stomach wondering what's going to happen, but I like where it's at, and as a coach that's usually what calms you down," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "The unexpected will always bother you, but I just feel like we're going to go out and play well. Will it be good enough? I don't know. We'll find out. I don't know what Florida is going to bring, but I think we'll be on our game. I just want to get going."

This is the 38th time a team has led 3-1 in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final (36-1). The leading team is 20-17 in Game 5.

Here are 3 keys to Game 5:

1. Handle the moment

The Golden Knights can rely on some of their experience in order to abide by everything they say they need to do to win the Cup in Game 5, such as stick to the game plan, stay even-keeled, manage their emotions, and not look ahead.

Alex Pietrangelo and Barbashev won the Stanley Cup with the St. Louis Blues in 2019, defeating the Boston Bruins, coached by Cassidy, in Game 7. Chandler Stephenson won the Cup here with the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the 2018 Final. Alec Martinez and Jonathan Quick won it in 2012 and 2014 with the Los Angeles Kings.

Jonathan Marchessault, Reilly Smith, William Carrier, William Karlsson, Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore were on the losing end for Vegas in 2018.

"At the puck drop your mind is where it's supposed to be, not on all the other things that go along with it," Cassidy said. "Sometimes that's maturity. I like that about their group. They've been there. Some of them missed once, a number have gotten it, and there's a small group of guys it's their first time. The first time guys may be a little more anxious or nervous, so we'll have to make sure we're communicating with them and making sure they're in the good place, but that's what the older guys in the room have done all year."

2. Put the pressure on early

One way to put the pressure on the Golden Knights is for the Panthers to get off to a good start.

Scoring the first goal would be a bonus, but being in attack mode from the start, putting the puck in behind the Golden Knights' defensemen, and forechecking aggressively would allow the Panthers to get into their game and shake any nerves quickly.

It may force Vegas into taking penalties. Florida had one power play in Game 4 and is 0-for-13 with the man-advantage in the series.

"Hopefully we can spend a little bit more time in their end and create other Grade A chances or some power plays for us," Panthers forward Eric Staal said. "I think it's a game where the pace has got to be high. You've got to move the puck quick, you've got to make great plays with execution. If we do that, we'll put ourselves in position to get ahead of it and go from there."

3. Climb the Hill one more time

Adin Hill has delivered for the Golden Knights since he took over as their No. 1 goalie midway through the first period of Game 3 against the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Second Round.

He is 10-4-0 with a 2.11 goals-against average, .934 save percentage and two shutouts in 15 games (13 starts) in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including 3-1 with a 2.21 GAA and .925 save percentage against the Panthers.

If he delivers in the clutch one more time, the Golden Knights could win the Stanley Cup.

"If you can't buy into (the game Tuesday), it's pretty tough to buy into any game," Hill said. "It's sticking to our game plan, sticking to what has made us successful all season. I feel if we do that we'll win."

Panthers projected lineup

Anton Lundell -- Aleksander Barkov -- Anthony Duclair

Carter Verhaeghe -- Sam Bennett -- Matthew Tkachuk

Ryan Lomberg -- Eric Staal -- Anthony Duclair

Nick Cousins -- Zac Dalpe -- Colin White

Gustav Forsling -- Aaron Ekblad

Marc Staal -- Brandon Montour

Josh Mahura -- Radko Gudas

Sergei Bobrovsky

Alex Lyon

Scratched: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