The Golden Knights scored early in the first period, and twice more in the second period to jump out to a 3-0 lead. Center notched two goals, and center William Karlsson scored his first goal of the series.
The Panthers scored late in the second period, and trailed 3-1 entering in the third quarter. Center Aleksander Barkov scored a goal early in the third period to cut the deficit to 3-2.
The Golden Knights held off the Panthers and thwarted a comeback.
Obviously, that was a battle till the last second, said Golden Knights forward Nicolas Roy. They pushed back there. We knew they would. They’ve been doing it all series. But, it s nice to get that one.
The Panthers pulled their goalie and had a two-man advantage with a power play in the final 18 seconds of regulation. The desperate Panthers failed to score a game-tying goal and force overtime. Golden Knights goalie Adin Hill limited the Panthers to two goals and he made 29 saves.
The Golden Knights were not happy that Panthers defenseman Brandon Montour crashed into Hill after the final buzzer went off, so a fight ensued. Bitter fans tossed empty beer cups, water bottles, and plastic rats onto the ice, while officials broke up multiple entanglements. Even Hill tussled in the extra-circular activity.
Felt my helmet get ripped off, and they had six guys on the ice, we had four, so get in there a bit and try and help out teammates, said Hill.
Those scrums are going to come, said Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov. We were close to tying the game, and there are a lot of guys at the net, and those things happen.
