The Vegas Golden Knights are preparing for the chance to win their first Stanley Cup title on Tuesday when they host the Florida Panthers at T-Mobile Arena. Although this will be the Golden Knights’ second Cup Final, it is the first time they have been in a position to win the championship. However, the team has some experienced players who have won the Stanley Cup before, and their advice to the team is to “stay focused on the end goal while enjoying the pressure that comes with it all.” Golden Knights defenseman Alec Martinez, who won two Stanley Cups with the Los Angeles Kings, says that experience helps players stay calm and focused on the end goal. He also says that the only way to learn how to handle the pressure is to go through it.
Players Who Have Won the Stanley Cup Before
Several Golden Knights players have won at least one Stanley Cup in their careers, including backup goaltender Jonathan Quick, winger Phil Kessel, center Chandler Stephenson, Ivan Barbashev, and Alex Pietrangelo. Quick was teammates with Martinez when the Kings won the title in 2012 and 2014, while Kessel won consecutive Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017 with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Stephenson was part of the Capitals team that beat the Golden Knights in 2018 to win their first title. Barbashev and Pietrangelo were part of the St. Louis Blues squad that won a Stanley Cup in 2019, then did it against the Boston Bruins, who were then coached by current Golden Knights coach Bruce Cassidy.
Learning from Every Series
The Golden Knights have learned valuable lessons from every series they have played in the playoffs this year. The team lost Game 1 against Winnipeg in the first round but then finished the series off in four games. In the Edmonton series, they had a back-and-forth battle, winning one game and losing the next. In the Dallas series, they found ways to pull through when they were up 3-1 and then bounced back to win the series in six games. Golden Knights forward Keegan Kolesar, who has not won a Stanley Cup, says that every series has been valuable in learning what it means to close out a team.
Closing out a team can be difficult no matter whether it’s the first round or the Final. Quick says that players need to rely on their team game, their commitment to defense, and commitment to their structure to succeed. Pietrangelo says that the team is not dwelling on the fact that they are one win away from clinching the title. Instead, they are focused on going all-in for one more game, given how much time and energy they have invested in this season.
The Vegas Golden Knights are preparing for a chance to win their first Stanley Cup title on Tuesday, and the team’s experienced players are offering advice to help them stay calm and focused on the end goal. Despite the team’s previous success, the players are learning valuable lessons from every playoff series this year and are not dwelling on the fact that they are one win away from clinching the championship. The team is focused on going all-in for one more game and relying on their commitment to defense and structure to succeed.
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