Nashville Predators
Nash Daily: Admirals Eliminated, Golden Knights Thrash Panthers
What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. That’s presumably the mindset of the Flordia Panthers as they head home for Games 3 and 4 of the Stanley Cup Final after falling 7-2 the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 on Monday night.
Vegas became the third team in the past decade to score seven goals in a Stanley Cup Final game. The Golden Knights join the 2022 Colorado Avalanche and the 2019 Boston Bruins as teams who have accomplished the feat.
Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky was yanked from his start last night after allowing four goals for the second consecutive game. He allowed eight goals in 87 minutes of play in his last two starts.
Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez scored his first postseason goal since his series clincher against the New York Rangers in 2014.
Forward Nicolas Roy scored in Monday’s win as well giving him at least a point in nine of his last 13 games. Roy did not score a single point in the first round of the playoffs.
That's seven straight goals since Game 1 for the @GoldenKnights – a fitting number for Vegas. 🎰#NHLStats: https://t.co/sZO3gF6lHu #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/5EC1RFrcwQ
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) June 6, 2023
Former Nashville Predators forward Tom Fitzgerald’s son Casey played in his first Stanley Cup Final game as the Panthers’ seventh defenseman last night. The Panthers ended up needing Casey more than anticipated as defenseman Radko Gudas left the game in the first period after taking a hit from Ivan Barbashev.
The Milwaukee Admirals fell in six games to the Coachella Valley Firebirds in the AHL Western Conference Final on Monday night. The Admirals went 8-8 in the postseason, falling two wins shy of reaching the third Calder Cup Final in team history. The Firebirds will face the Hershey Bears for the AHL championship starting on Thursday.
Around the NHL and National Hockey Now
Vegas Hockey Now:Â Goaltender Adin Hill and his band of misfits now have a 2-0 series lead over the Flordia Panthers after a 7-2 win. Panthers forward Matthew Tkachuk was given three misconducts throughout the contest in a chippy affair. The legend of Hill continues to grow as the Stanley Cup Final heads to Sunrise, Florida.
Florida Hockey Now:Â On the flip side George Richards breaks down how Game 2 went for the Panthers with postgame comments from head coach Paul Maurice.
NHL news: Meanwhile, the Anaheim Ducks named Greg Cronin their next head coach on Monday. Cronin, who most recently had a stint as the head coach of the Colorado Eagles in the AHL, becomes the 11th head coach in Ducks history.
He led the Eagles to a 164-104-30 record (.601%) and also guided the club to Calder Cup Playoff appearances in four of his five seasons, going 12-10 in the postseason (.545%). As a head coach in the AHL with Colorado (2018-23) and Bridgeport (2003-05), Cronin led his teams to a 242-165-51 record in 458 games (.584%).