Going into the series, the Panthers looked to be a tough opponent for Vegas, considering what the Panthers had been able to do over the previous three rounds. In the end, it looked like those previous three rounds had caught up with the Cats as they were outplayed during the course of the series Vegas had more of a jump in their step and the Panthers at times looked like they couldn't keep up. Like they were running around and not really playing their brand of hockey. Vegas got in their heads and came away with the victory in five games.
This win speaks to how well Vegas has been able to build their team and do it quickly. They made the finals their first year in the league in 2018, losing to the Capitals in five games. Nobody had expected that from a first year team. Vegas kept at it and built off that success. They made the playoffs every year but one in the teams existence, that being the 2021-22 season. They took advantage of a re worked expansion draft that some of their expansion brothers didn't have. Teams like Minnesota , Atlanta Columbus and Nashville had to pick from a slew of players who had a hard time getting big minutes with other teams in the league. The higher quality players weren't as as available to those teams as what Vegas had to pick from. So Vegas had a bit of a leg up early on.
To build off that, Vegas took those assets and were able to move pieces to find the right mix of guys to their roster and build this winning team. There's been some annoyance from fans of other teams in the league over Vegas winning and doing it as quickly as they managed to. Well I can tell you that this is a sign of Vegas management having a plan and making it work to that end goal of winning the cup. They made it work for that end goal. Other franchises have done the same thing it just takes longer to get the right mix in there.
Congratulations to the Golden Knights on winning the 2023 Stanley Cup
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