Golden Knights Overcome Odds To Capture 2023 Stanley Cup In ...

Members of the Vegas Golden Knights celebrate after they defeated the Florida Panthers 9-3 to win ... [+] the Stanley Cup in Game 5 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals Tuesday, June 13, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

What a night in Vegas. The Golden Knights captured the 2023 Stanley Cup with a 9-3 pounding of the Florida Panthers. It's a memorable moment for a franchise that defied the odds and was valiant in victory in just its sixth year in the National Hockey League.

“The silver state is home to the greatest silver trophy in all of sports,” Vegas play-by-play broadcaster Dan D’Uva said as the players mobbed each other behind the Vegas goal.

The top seed in the Western Conference, it was interesting to watch the betting market undervalue the Knights throughout much of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The leading online sportsbooks only made Vegas a -120 favorite to beat the East’s No. 8 seed Panthers in the Cup finals, which they did in five games. Vegas was an underdog twice to Florida and Dallas, and an underdog in all six games vs Edmonton. The Golden Knights never faced elimination in the playoffs while winning each series in six games or less.

Many stories surrounding the Knights during their Golden run to glory and winning the Stanley Cup and hockey’s most hallowed hardware. Captain Mark Stone’s hat trick in the Cup series clincher was the Knights second of the playoffs, joining Conn Smythe winner and playoff MVP Jonathan Marchessault.

“He was clutch,” captain Mark Stone said. “Whenever we needed a big goal, he got it. Just his consistency. He deserves this, man. He deserves this.”

Marchessault finished the playoffs with 12 goals and 13 assists, just behind Jack Eichel’s 26 points (6 goals, 20 assists). Stone returned to the lineup just prior to the playoffs after recovering from back surgery. He finished third in playoff points on the Knights deep rotation with 11 goals and 13 assists.

“They call ‘em the misfits, those are the guys, they built this,” Jack Eichel said of the original six players from the Golden Knights inaugural season. “They built this culture. So proud to be a part of it.”

Those players included Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, William Carrier, Shea Theodore and Brayden McNabb.

Vegas Hits the Jackpot and Wins Stanley Cup

The Golden Knights dominant run to become Stanley Cup champions included outscoring their opponents 68-33 at five-on-five in the playoffs. That’s the most goals scored and the best goal differential at even strength since the NHL began tracking the stat in 2009-10.

Vegas opens their defense of next year’s Stanley Cup at +1300 odds. The leading contenders Stanley Cup odds, per FanDuel Sportsbook.

As mentioned in the Stanley Cup preview ahead of the Knights and Panthers finals, it’s going to be a Golden celebration down the Las Vegas Strip with the Stanley Cup.

You can bet on it.

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