Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final goes tonight at T-Mobile Arena (8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on TNT, truTV, SN, TVAS, CBC), with the Golden Knights seeking to secure their first-ever Stanley Cup – in front of their home crowd.

Vegas will look to become the 12th team in NHL history to win their first-ever potential Stanley Cup-clinching game and just the fourth to do so in their home building.

The Panthers, who fended off elimination three times in the First Round but haven’t faced it since, enter Game 5 hoping to extend their Stanley Cup Final lifeline and set into motion a comeback for the ages. Only one team in NHL history has overcome a 3-1 series deficit to win the championship: the 1942 Maple Leafs (vs. DET).

Mark Stone, the only player to don the “C” for Vegas in its six seasons, can extend his series-opening point streak and capture the first Cup of his NHL career.

The Panthers will have to do two things they’ve never done before to keep their 2023 championship dreams alive: win a game in Las Vegas and stave off elimination in the Stanley Cup Final.

Matthew Tkachuk (3-3—6 in 3 GP) and Carter Verhaeghe (1-5—6 in 3 GP) pace the Panthers with six points when facing elimination this postseason, while Tkachuk’s three goals are tied with Brandon Montour (3-1—4 in 3 GP) and Sam Reinhart (3-0—3 in 3 GP) for the team lead. Montour had two of his goals in Game 7 of the First Round, which included scoring the tying tally with 59.3 seconds remaining in regulation before Verhaeghe’s overtime clincher.

Eight of the 10 clubs to win Game 5 on the road when facing a 3-1 series deficit in the Final did so by a one-goal margin of victory (including four decided in overtime).

Source: NHL Morning Skate: Stanley Cup Final Edition – June 13, 2023