The Vegas Golden Knights dominated play and lit up the scoreboard at T-Mobile Arena for seven goals on Monday night, hammering the Florida Panthers 7-2 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final. The Golden Knights, in their second final series in the six years of the franchise, now have a 2-0 series lead, with teams in that position winning 31 of the 34 championship series since 1967.
Jonathan Marchessault scored twice for Vegas while adding an assist in a three point night. He now has 12 goals this postseason, establishing a new franchise record. Brett Howden scored twice, with Alec Martinez, Nicolas Roy, and Michael Amadio lighting the lamp for the winning side.
Florida goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky, one of the keys in the Panthers run to the Cup Final, was pulled 7:10 into the second period, with the Golden Knights leading 4-0. Coming into the first two games in Las Vegas, Bobrovsky had gone 11-1 in his past 12 games, with a 1.95 goals-against average and .942 save percentage. Matthew Tkachuk and Anton Lundell scored for the Panthers, who remain in search of their first ever win in the Stanley Cup Final, having been swept by Colorado in their first and only prior trip in 1996.
The series now shifts to Sunrise, Florida for Games 3 and 4, with the Panthers hosting the Golden Knights for the next contest on Thursday night on TNT.
