Vegas Golden Knights thrash Florida Panthers to win NHL Stanley Cup

The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate the win over the Florida Panthers in game five of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena. (USA TODAY Sports)

LOS ANGELES: Mark Stone grabbed a brilliant hat-trick as the Vegas Golden Knights thrashed the Florida Panthers 9-3 on Tuesday to clinch the NHL Stanley Cup for the first time in the franchise’s six-year history.
The Knights, who had taken a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series with a battling victory in Florida on Saturday, dominated throughout at Las Vegas’s T-Mobile Arena to seal an emphatic victory over the Eastern Conference champions.
Florida were always struggling to keep a rampant Vegas at bay as the Knights became the fastest expansion team to win ice hockey’s greatest prize, clinching the title in their sixth season.
The previous record had been held by the Philadelphia Flyers, who won the title in their seventh season in the 1973-74 campaign.
Vegas captain Stone’s hat-trick was the first by a player in a Stanley Cup-clinching game since Babe Dye achieved the feat for Toronto in 1922.