NHL Stanley Cup Final 2023: Early Comments, Preview for Panthers vs. Knights

The Florida Panthers and Vegas Golden Knights will begin their second-ever Stanley Cup Final appearances Saturday.

Vegas made the more recent appearance in the NHL's championship series, as it lost to the Washington Capitals in its inaugural season.

Florida is playing for the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1996, when it was swept by the Colorado Avalanche.

Both teams have strong cases to win the series, and to do so in dominant fashion.

Florida rode its defense and incredible play in net from Sergei Bobrovsky to an Eastern Conference Final sweep of the Carolina Hurricanes.

The Panthers also received clutch play from Matthew Tkachuk, who will be locked in a battle with one of the NHL's other young stars, Jack Eichel.

Vegas overwhelmed the Dallas Stars with early goal barrages in the Western Conference Final. The Golden Knights outscored the Stars 10-0 in their Games 3 and 6 wins. Six of those goals occurred in the first period.

The Knights need to find a way past Bobrovsky to open the series strong on home ice. Games 1 and 2 will be Saturday and Monday inside T-Mobile Arena.

Can Sergei Bobrovsky's Incredible Run Continue?

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SUNRISE, FL - MAY 24: Florida Panthers goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky (72) takes a moment to focus during a stop in play during game four of the Eastern Conference Finals between the Carolina Hurricanes and the Florida Panthers on Wednesday, May 24, 2023 at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Fla. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

Bobrovsky enters the Stanley Cup Final with a .935 postseason save percentage.

The 34-year-old netminder allowed more than two goals once in the last two rounds, and that was in Game 4 against Carolina.

Bobrovsky neutralized the Hurricanes and Toronto Maple Leafs' offenses and is a major reason the Panthers are in the Stanley Cup Final with 10 days of rest.

As Carter Verhaeghe told the AP's Tim Reynolds, Bobrovsky is "on another planet."

"He's been playing so well this whole playoff run," the forward continued. "I mean, seems like whenever we need a big save, he's there. Whenever something happens for (opponents) to get some momentum, he gets it back. He changes the whole game for us and he's been unbelievable. He's like a brick wall back there."

Florida's path to one or two early victories in Vegas heavily relies on the continuation of Bobrovsky's form in net.

Vegas has to hope the extended layoff affects Bobrovsky's rhythm so that it can strike early and get the home crowd even louder.

The Knights have the offensive firepower to throw Bobrovsky off his game, but the bigger key for them could be their fast starts.

Early Scoring Could Be Vital for Vegas

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Michael Amadio (left) and William Karlsson

Vegas piled on the score sheet in the first period of Games 3 and 6 against Dallas to give the Stars no chance of winning those contests.

The Golden Knights need to follow that fast-start blueprint to get Bobrovsky off his game from the opening few minutes of the series.

Vegas ambushed Jake Oettinger's net for three goals in the first seven minutes and 10 seconds in Game 3. The team produced a trio of tallies in the opening 14 minutes of Game 6.

The Knights achieved those notable opens with their scoring depth. All three top-line forwards played a part in one of the six first-period goals in Games 3 and 6.

Eichel, Ivan Barbashev and Jonathan Marchessault will have to play big roles in the series to hoist the Cup, but Vegas' depth could be its X-factor.

William Carrier, Keegan Kolesar and William Karlsson were among the first-period scorers in Vegas' last two victories.

Pressure from top to bottom can hurt Florida's defense, and that may lead to a rare mistake or two out of Bobrovsky.

Vegas needs to do whatever it can to prevent the Florida goalie from getting into a rhythm, and another set of early goals could do the trick.

Matthew Tkachuk vs. Jack Eichel

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Matthew Tkachuk (left)

A lot of hockey fans would love to see the Stanley Cup Final turn into a duel between each team's biggest star.

Tkachuk shined brightest in the conference final, as he scored three overtime game-winners to propel Florida to its sweep.

Tkachuk scored four total goals against Carolina. He also had five tallies in the opening-round against the Boston Bruins.

Florida's top forward carries some unique experience into the Cup Final because he played against Vegas a lot during his time with the Calgary Flames.

"I think with Vegas, it's always been a tough place to play," Tkachuk told NHL.com's Mike Zeisberger. "And they have [big defensemen] who are great at things like blocking shots and using their sticks to break up plays. And they have some high-end forwards with great speed and can beat you off the rush."

Eichel has not scored since Game 6 of the second round, but he contributed an assist in four of Vegas' six Western Conference Final contests. He has six goals and 12 assists this postseason.

Knights head coach Bruce Cassidy noted an evolution in Eichel's assertiveness when speaking to The Athletic's Jesse Granger.

"That's where his game has evolved," Cassidy said. "I think he knows he can be a difference-maker. At the start, there was a bit of a feeling-out process, for everybody in their first playoffs. I think he got to it fairly quickly."

Vegas will need the former Buffalo Sabres forward to be more active in front of goal to keep the pressure on Bobrovsky and match whatever Tkachuk and Florida's top line throws at the Knights.