Vegas will host Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.
The NHL is guaranteed to have a franchise win its first ever Stanley Cup this postseason. It’s the second trip to the Stanley Cup Final for both franchises, as the Knights played for the Cup in 2018 and the Panthers back in 1996.
Center William Karlsson scored twice and goalie Adin Hill made 23 saves in the Game 6 win, one of the more lopsided games of the 2023 playoffs.
The Stars were eliminated after trailing the series 3-0 and rallying for two wins. Teams that take a three-games-to-none lead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs now have an all-time series record of 202-4. Teams that hold that lead in the round before the Cup Final are now 48-0 all-time, with both the Golden Knights and Panthers adding to that total in their respective conference finals.
Vegas was frustrated after allowing the Stars back into the series with two straight losses and vowed to come out in Game 6 with a better effort. “Bring our best effort tonight, put it all out there and see where it takes us,” captain Mark Stone said before the game.
Game 6 started with a blistering pace with the teams trading chances. Vegas was able to quiet the home crowd by striking first. Forward Keegan Kolesar won a battle near the end boards, with the puck slowly sliding out to the slot. That’s where William Carrier found it, patiently waiting out goaltender Jake Oettinger (23 saves) for his second goal of the playoffs at 3:41.
That marked the third straight game in Dallas in which the Knights took a lead within the first five minutes of the game.
The Knights made it 2-0 at 10:25 of the first period on a power-play goal from William Karlsson. Stars defenseman Esa Lindell was whistled for delay of game but earned some style points for knocking the puck out of mid-air over the glass before it could bounce into an open net behind Oettinger. Reilly Smith‘s pass was deflected by Nicolas Roy over to Karlsson, whose shot from the left side beat Oettinger.
Kolesar made it 3-0 thanks to another strong play from the Vegas fourth line. Kolesar flipped the puck off the boards to Carrier as he entered the Dallas zone. Kolesar sprinted past a spinning Lindell and Carrier found him alone in front of Oettinger for a quick shot. Kolesar’s second goal of the postseason came at the 14-minute mark, leaving the Stars’ home building in stunned silence and their coach Peter DeBoer staring at his bench, arms crossed.
Just like in Game 3, the Golden Knights built a 3-0 on the road in the first period.
The Stars got to their game a little better in the second, earning a power play just 4:03 into the period but were unable to impact the scoreboard. Then at 10:25 of the second, Ivan Barbashev met a streaking Jonathan Marchessault who slid the puck through Oettinger for a 4-0 Vegas lead.
Karlsson struck again at 2:06 of the third period, his 10th goal of the playoffs. Michael Amadio scored his third of the playoffs at 12:25 as the rout continued.
Dallas entered the game with the momentum of two straight victories and the return of captain Jamie Benn, who was suspended after Game 3 for cross-checking Vegas forward Mark Stone in the face.
The Stars rallied around the concept of extending the series long enough to have Benn return to the playoffs. They finished the series 0-4 with Benn in the lineup.
For the Golden Knights, who finished atop the Western Conference with 111 points, the trip to the Final comes after the team used five different goaltenders this season, after last year’s starter Robin Lehner had offseason surgery.
Laurent Brossoit started all five games of their series win over the Winnipeg Jets and the first three games of their series win over Edmonton. He suffered a lower-body injury in Game 3, leading to the 27-year-old Hill taking over as the starter.
Hill posted two shutouts in the conference final, in Game 3 and Game 6 at Dallas.
Oklahoma defensive tackle David Stone entered the NCAA transfer portal Friday, sources told ESPN.
Stone, a former five-star recruit and the No. 6 overall player in the ESPN 300 for the 2024 class, made the surprising decision to enter the portal after playing in all 13 games as a true freshman with the Sooners. The 6-foot-3 313-pounder saw limited playing time, playing 88 snaps and recording 6 tackles, 2 tackles for loss and 1 sack.
Stone was expected to compete for a more significant role as a sophomore, and Oklahoma coach Brent Venables recently praised him as the Sooners’ most improved defensive tackle this offseason.
The Oklahoma native finished his high school career at IMG Academy in Florida and was a significant recruiting victory for Venables and his coaching staff in August 2023. Stone chose the Sooners over Texas A&M, Oregon, Florida, Miami and Michigan State.
The SEC does not grant immediate eligibility to players who transfer within the conference during the spring transfer window, so Stone would need to sit out the 2025 season if he moves on to another SEC program.
Oklahoma returns its top three defensive tackles from 2024 in Damonic Williams, Gracen Halton and Jayden Jackson. It also added Trent Wilson, the No. 164 recruit in the ESPN 300 for 2025, as an early enrollee this spring.
Browne committed to rejoining the Boilermakers on Friday after entering his name in the NCAA transfer portal Wednesday.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pound redshirt sophomore started two games for Purdue in 2024 but moved on amid the program’s head coaching change and went through spring practice under new Tar Heels coach Bill Belichick.
North Carolina landed a commitment from South Alabama transfer quarterback Gio Lopez on Thursday.
Browne and freshman Bryce Baker were North Carolina’s lone scholarship quarterbacks available for spring practice and were competing with three walk-ons while sixth-year senior Max Johnson recovers from a broken leg.
Browne threw for 636 yards, rushed for 240 yards and scored four touchdowns while appearing in nine games as Hudson Card’s backup over the past two seasons at Purdue, earning starts in losses to Illinois and Oregon.
Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood showed glimpses of the growing pains he will experience as a freshman and flashes of the promise that made him the nation’s top-rated high school football recruit in the Wolverines’ spring game Saturday.
Underwood was 12 of 26 for 187 yards with a scrimmage-ending, 88-yard pass to tight end Jalen Hoffman on a reverse flea-flicker in a 17-0 win for the Blue over the Maize.
He also recovered his fumble, had a pair of delay-of-game penalties, several errant throws – high and wide – and some dropped. Underwood lost 12 yards on two sacks and gained 17 yards on three runs.
“He did well,” coach Sherrone Moore said. “Made some really, good throws and had some things we need to clean up and get better at.”
As the Wolverines wrapped up spring football in front of about 40,000 fans at the Big House, all eyes were on Underwood and he has become comfortable with that.
“It’s just the pressure that came with my arm,” Underwood told The Detroit News earlier this spring. “I can’t stop that.”
Underwood was sacked on his first snap and his first completion went for a loss. He did throw some darts, usually in the flat, and was quick enough to escape collapsed pockets to pick up yardage with his feet.
Underwood is expected to compete with sophomore Jadyn Davis and Fresno State transfer Mikey Keene for playing time ahead of the season-opening game on Aug. 30 at home against Fresno State.
“It’s a battle,” Moore said. “It’s going to go all the way to fall camp.”
Underwood is motivated to start and kick off a legacy-building career with lofty goals.
“A couple of Heismans and at least one natty,” Underwood said last month in an interview on the Rich Eisen Show.
Underwood knows there will be people doubting he can live up to the hype.
‘He’s just a freshman. He won’t be good enough,'” Underwood said. “I might keep that chip my whole three years.”
He attended at Belleville High School, which is about 15 miles east of Ann Arbor, and flipped his commitment to Michigan after telling LSU coaches last year he intended to play there.
Tom Brady, a former Wolverine and seven-time Super Bowl winner, talked with Underwood during the school’s recruitment via FaceTime and Oracle founder Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest people, also connected with him.
Jay Underwood told the Wall Street Journal that his son is expected to make more than $15 million at Michigan, but that doesn’t guarantee he will take the first snap next fall.
“He wants to earn everything,” Moore has said. “He doesn’t want to be given anything.”
Hoffman said Underwood has simply blended in with his teammates.
“He’s really humble, like not a big head, ego, nothing like that,” he said. “Comes into work and every day, he wants to get better every day. He’s not riding off his success in high school. He’s really trying to be one of those top players in college football.”
Underwood participated in practices with the team before it beat Alabama in a bowl game, enrolled in classes in January and gained a lot experience in 14 private practices before a public scrimmage.
“Football is football,” he told MLive.com. “School is a little bit more overwhelming now.”