Vegas celebrates its first major sports title
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The Las Vegas Golden Knights destroyed the Florida Panthers, 9-3, on Tuesday night at home to deliver the city of Las Vegas its first-ever major sports championship.
Why it matters: The Knights won the Stanley Cup in just their sixth season, becoming the fastest team to win a title in the National Hockey League's modern history.
- Vegas topped the mark held by the Philadelphia Flyers, whose 1974 title came seven years after they were part of the NHL's six-team expansion in 1967.
- The Edmonton Oilers took just five seasons to win their first NHL championship after joining the league in 1979, but they had already existed for eight years in the defunct World Hockey Association.
Between the lines: Six original members of the 2017-18 Knights were on the ice Tuesday, including Jonathan Marchessault, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP (25 points).
What they're saying: "The look in my teammates' eyes when I got [the Stanley Cup] — one of the craziest feelings I've ever had," said captain Mark Stone, who had a hat trick. "To know that I'm doing it with my 25 to 30 best friends makes it that much more special."
The other side: The Panthers fell to 0-2 in Stanley Cup Finals and became the second Miami franchise in the last two days to see their Cinderella run end in five games at the hands of the West's No. 1 seed.
- Miami is the fifth metro area to lose the National Basketball Association and NHL championship series in the same year.
- The other four: Golden State Warriors and San Jose Sharks (2016), Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers (1980), New York Knicks and Rangers (1972), Boston Celtics and Bruins (1958).
🚑 Of note … Injury reports released as soon as the Cup Final ends are always a great reminder that hockey players are a different breed.
- According to Panthers coach Paul Maurice, Aaron Ekblad broke his foot, popped his shoulder out twice, passed a concussion test and tore his oblique all in the playoffs. He missed one game.
- Matthew Tkachuk, who missed Game 5, played Game 4 with a fractured sternum, Maurice revealed. "They gave everything they had," he said.
