Golden Knights game-by-game recap on way to Stanley Cup title

The Vegas Golden Knights won their first Stanley Cup championship with a 9-3 win against the Florida Panthers in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final on Tuesday.

The Golden Knights entered the postseason as the top seed in the Western Conference and defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games in the first round, the Edmonton Oilers in six games in the second round and the Dallas Stars in six games the Western Conference Final.

Here's a look at the Golden Knights' road to the Stanley Cup Final:

April 18: Game 1, Western Conference First Round, T-Mobile Arena: Jets 5, Golden Knights 1

After missing the playoffs last season, Vegas returned and had a forgettable Game 1 on home ice. The Golden Knights allowed five goals, including three in the third period. William Karlsson scored the only goal for the Golden Knights, who managed 17 shots on goal on their way to trailing the best-of-7 series 1-0.

April 20: Game 2, Western Conference First Round, T-Mobile Arena: Golden Knights 5, Jets 2

Vegas trailed after the first period after allowing a power-play goal to Adam Lowry but responded in the second period with goals from Karlsson and Jack Eichel, who scored his first NHL postseason goal. The game was tied 2-2 going into the third period but Chandler Stephenson scored before Mark Stone added two goals for a 5-2 win. Laurent Brossoit made 31 saves and Vegas evened the series.

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April 22: Game 3, Western Conference First Round, Canada Life Centre:

The Golden Knights got on the board first for the first time in the series, scoring twice in the first 6:18 for a 2-0 lead on goals by Stephenson and Eichel. Eichel and Keegan Kolesar scored in the second, but Vegas was unable to hold a 4-1 lead. Winnipeg scored three times in the third, including the tying goal by Lowry with 22 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime. Michael Amadio's first NHL playoff goal, at 3:40 of the second overtime, gave Vegas a 2-1 series lead.

April 24: Game 4, Western Conference First Round, Canada Life Centre: Golden Knights 4, Jets 2

After the teams traded goals in the first period, Karlsson and Ivan Barbashev scored 47 seconds apart in the second period for a 3-1 lead. Winnipeg got within one with a power-play goal by Pierre-Luc Dubois 2:57 into the third but was unable to get a shot on goal with Connor Hellebuyck pulled for an extra attacker in the final 1:17 before Brett Howden's empty-net goal and second of the game put Vegas within one win of advancing.

April 27: Game 5, Western Conference First Round, T-Mobile Arena: Golden Knights 4, Jets 1

It took 50 seconds for Vegas to grab the lead and they never looked back. Stephenson scored twice, Stone and Karlsson each scored once, and Brossoit made 29 saves. Vegas won its fourth straight game to win the series.

May 3: Game 1, Western Conference Second Round, T-Mobile Arena: Golden Knights 6, Oilers 4

In their opening game of the second round, Vegas managed to overcome four goals by Edmonton forward Leon Draisaitl and hang on for a 6-4 win. Barbashev scored two goals for the Golden Knights, who had leads of 3-1 and 5-3 before Eichel sealed the game with an empty-net goal with 34 seconds remaining.

May 6: Game 2, Western Conference Second Round, T-Mobile Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

Edmonton scored early and often, including four times in the first period, including two more by Draisaitl, for a 4-0 lead after 20 minutes. Connor McDavid added a power-play goal for his second of the game in the second period and the Oilers tied the series. Barbashev scored the only goal for Vegas, and Brossoit was pulled from the game to start the third period after allowing five goals on 32 shots.

May 8: Game 3, Western Conference Second Round, Rogers Place: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

Despite trailing early in the first period, the Golden Knights stuck with it and scored the games next five goals, including two by Jonathan Marchessault in the first. Zach Whitecloud, Eichel and Stephenson scored in the second and Vegas took a 2-1 series lead. However, they lost Brossoit to injury midway through the first period; Adin Hill stopped all 24 shot he faced in relief.

May 10: Game 4, Western Conference Second Round, Rogers Place: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

It was a rough first career playoff start for Hill, who allowed three goals on 11 shots in the first period. Although he only allowed one more goal the rest of the way, Vegas was unable to convert on four power-play opportunities. Nicolas Roy scored with 5:58 remaining in the third but the Golden Knights lost for the second time in the series following a win, allowing the Oilers to tie the series 2-2.

May 12: Game 5, Western Conference Second Round, T-Mobile Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

McDavid scored two of the three power-play goals for the Oilers, who had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 in the first period. Stone and Reilly Smith scored power-play goals 29 seconds apart in the second, and Nicolas Hauge scored 1:00 after Smith for three Vegas goals in a span of 1:29. Eichel had a goal and two assists, and Hill made 32 saves for the Golden Knights, who moved within one win of the Western Conference Final.

May 14: Game 6, Western Conference Second Round, Rogers Place: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

Smith got Vegas off to a quick start, scoring 24 seconds into the game before McDavid and Warren Foegele gave Edmonton a 2-1 lead. In the second period, Marchessault scored a natural hat trick, and Karlsson scored an empty-net goal with 39 seconds remaining. Hill made 38 saves to help the Golden Knights win the series and advance to the third round of the playoffs for the first time since 2021.

May 19: Game 1, Western Conference Final, T-Mobile Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

A back-and-forth game saw four goals in the third period, two by each team, as Dallas came back from deficits of 2-1 and 3-2. Jamie Benn tied it 3-3 for the Stars with 1:59 remaining before Howden made quick work in overtime, scoring 1:35 in for a 1-0 series lead for the Golden Knights.

May 21: Game 2, Western Conference Final, T-Mobile Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

The Golden Knights allowed the first goal for second consecutive game before Stone's power-play goal tied the game. Jason Robertson scored a power-play goal in the second, but Vegas would respond, with Marchessault scoring with 2:22 remaining in the third to tie the game. This overtime was even quicker than in Game 1, with Stephenson scoring into a vacant net at 1:12 to give Vegas a 2-0 series lead.

May 23: Game 3, Western Conference Final, American Airlines Center: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

Game 3 featured far less drama, with Vegas scoring three times in the first 7:10 on goals by Marchessault, Barbashev and William Carrier. Shortly after the first goal, Benn was ejected after he was assessed a major penalty and game misconduct for cross-checking Stone. Alex Pietrangelo scored in the third, and Hill made 34 saves for his first playoff shutout. Vegas moved within one win of the Stanley Cup Final.

May 25: Game 4, Western Conference Final, American Airlines Center: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

The Golden Knights struck first, with Karlsson scoring at 4:17 of the first period for a 1-0 lead. Robertson's power-play goal tied it at 1-1 before the teams traded goals in the second, Marchessault scoring for Vegas and Robertson again for Dallas. In overtime, it was Joe Pavelski who came up clutch for the Stars, keeping their season alive with a goal at 3:18.

May 27: Game 5, Western Conference Final, T-Mobile Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

Vegas had its second chance to put away the series but failed to hold leads of 1-0 and 2-1. In the third period, Ty Dellandrea scored to give Dallas a 3-2 lead at 10:35 of the third before adding an insurance goal 1:27 later for the 4-2 final. Hill made 30 saves and the Stars got the series within 3-2.

May 29: Game 6, Western Conference Final, American Airlines Center: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

The third time was the charm for Vegas, which scored three times in the first period on goals by Carrier, Karlsson and Kolesar. Marchessault added a goal in the second, and Karlsson and Amadio scored in the third for a 6-0 win. Hill made 23 saves for his second shutout in four games and Vegas advanced to the Cup Final for the first time since 2018.

June 3: Game 1, Stanley Cup Final, T-Mobile Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

In their first Stanley Cup Final game in five years, the Golden Knights found themselves trailing 1-0 midway through the first period on a short-handed goal by Eric Staal. Marchessault got the game even at 1-1 with a power-play goal at 17:18 of the first. The teams traded goals in the second period before Zach Whitecloud scored the first of three third-period goals and Hill made 33 saves in the 5-2 win.

June 5: Game 2, Stanley Cup Final, T-Mobile Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

Vegas controlled this game from the start, scoring twice in the first (Marchessault, Alec Martinez) and twice in the second (Roy, Howden) for a 4-0 lead. Howden had two goals and Marchessault had three points and the Golden Knights cruised to a 7-2 win to take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-7 series.

June 8: Game 3, Stanley Cup Final, FLA Live Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

The Golden Knights looked to take a 3-0 series lead when they headed to South Florida for Game 3. Brandon Montour gave the Panthers a 1-0 lead 4:08 into the firs before Stone's power-play goal tied it at 16:03. Eichel gave Vegas a 2-1 lead in the second with a power-play goal but Florida would tie it on a goal by Matthew Tkachuk with the goalie pulled for an extra skater with 2:13 remaining in the third. The Panthers then continued their OT success, improving to 7-0 in overtime in the playoffs when Carter Verhaeghe won it at 4:27.

June 10: Game 4, Stanley Cup Final, FLA Live Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

Stephenson wasted little time getting the Golden Knights a lead, scoring 1:39 into Game 3. He then scored again at 7:28 of the second before Karlsson increased the lead to 3-0 at 11:04. But the Panthers came back with goals by Montour and Aleksander Barkov to make it a 3-2 game. Despite a late push with Sergei Bobrovsky pulled for an extra skater, Florida was unable to tie it and Vegas held on for a 3-2 win moving within one win of the Stanley Cup.

June 13: Game 5, Stanley Cup Final, T-Mobile Arena: Video: Barbashev helps Golden Knights earn Game 1 victory

With a chance to clinch the Stanley Cup, the Golden Knights came out firing. Stone and Nicolas Hague scored first-period goals for a 2-0 lead before Aaron Ekblad cut it to 2-1 early in the second. But Vegas scored the next five goals for a 7-1 lead and went on to an 9-3 win. Stone had a hat trick and Eichel and Theodore each had three assists. Marchessault won the Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the playoffs with 25 points points (13 goals, 12 assists) in 22 games.