Golden Knights to play Panthers in Stanley Cup Final

The Vegas Golden Knights will play the Florida Panthers in the Stanley Cup Final.

The Golden Knights eliminated the Dallas Stars with a 6-0 win in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Monday. They also defeated the Winnipeg Jets in five games in the first round and advanced to the conference final with a six-game victory against the Edmonton Oilers.

Vegas (51-22-9), which finished as the top seed in the West, will start Game 1 of the Cup Final at home on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; TNT, TBS, truTV, SN, CBC, TVAS). It's the second time the Golden Knights have reached the championship round and first since their inaugural season in 2017-18, when they lost to the Washington Capitals in five games.

"They're reminding me a lot of the team we had the first year: against all odds," Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault said. "They worked hard to be there. It's all in their honor. They have a great team all around the lineup and a good goaltender. Yeah, definitely excited to play them, and it's going to be a good series."

The Panthers eliminated the Carolina Hurricanes in a four-game sweep of the Eastern Conference Final with a 4-3 win in Game 4 on May 24. They also defeated the Boston Bruins in seven games in the first round and advanced to the conference final with a five-game victory against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"Kind of that similar feel of being the underdog and trying to prove people wrong again," said forward Matthew Tkachuk, who scored the game-winner in Game 4 with 4.9 seconds left in the third period. "We know what we have in [the locker room]. We know how to play, we know the right way to play, we know what makes us successful. And being in it with the guys and seeing the belief and seeing just the calmness to us is really something special."

The Panthers lost their only other Cup Final appearance, getting swept by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.

Jack Eichel leads the Golden Knights with 18 points (six goals, 12 assists) in 17 Stanley Cup Playoff games, followed by forwards Marchessault (17 points; nine goals, eight assists), Ivan Barbashev (15 points; six goals, nine assists) and Mark Stone (15 points; six goals, nine assists).

Adin Hill is 7-3 with a 2.07 goals-against average, .937 save percentage and two shutouts in 11 games (nine starts). Laurent Brossoit is 5-2 with a 3.18 GAA and .894 save percentage in eight starts.

Tkachuk leads the Panthers in the playoffs with 21 points (nine goals, 12 assists), including three overtime goals and the game-winner on a power play with 4.9 seconds remaining in regulation in Game 4 against Carolina. Carter Verhaeghe has 15 points (six goals, nine assists) and Aleksander Barkov has 14 points (four goals, 10 assists).

Sergei Bobrovsky has started the past 13 games for the Panthers and is 11-2 with a 2.21 GAA and a .935 save percentage. Alex Lyon, who started the first three postseason games, is 1-2 with a 3.26 GAA and .902 save percentage.

"It's just so fun being at the rink right now," Tkachuk said. "We've got a few weeks left of this. We talked about it in the room, it's going to be the best few weeks of our lives, hopefully. It's something that we're all really excited for."

Florida was 1-1-0 against Vegas this season, losing 4-2 on the road Jan. 12 and winning 2-1 at home March 7. Barkov and Nick Cousins each had a goal and an assist in the two games, and Bobrovsky started each, allowing four goals on 55 shots (2.02 GAA, .927 save percentage).

Eichel had two points (one goal, one assist) against the Panthers in the regular season, and Keegan Kolesar had two assists. Hill allowed three goals on 73 shots in the two games (1.53 GAA, .959 save percentage).

"They're a real fast team," Eichel said. "Their goalie's been playing really well. Obviously, they're playing some of their best hockey right now too, so they've got some good players up front, some high-end talent, and they're tough to play against. So we know it's going to be a heck of a battle, and we'll be ready to go."