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LAS VEGAS — When the Vegas Golden Knights entered the NHL in 2017 as an expansion team, their owner Bill Foley said his plan was to win the Stanley Cup in six years.

That prophecy was emphatically fulfilled Tuesday night in Las Vegas, as the Golden Knights blew out the Florida Panthers 9-3 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final to win their series, 4-1, and capture the first championship in franchise history.

Captain Mark Stone authored a hat trick and center Jack Eichel had three assists in the win. Goaltender Adin Hill outplayed Florida’s Sergei Bobrovsky, making 31 saves in the win.

“I can’t even describe the feelings in my stomach right now,” said Stone, who received the Stanley Cup from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. “It’s everything you can imagine. The grind of an 82-game season, four playoff rounds, you grind and you grind and you grind and at the end of the day you’re the last team standing. It’s incredible.”

Forward Jonathan Marchessault was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as postseason most valuable player.

Marchessault is one of six players from the Golden Knights’ inaugural season team that went to the Stanley Cup Final, losing to the Washington Capitals. Five of the six — Marchessault, Reilly Smith, William Karlsson, Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore — were in the starting lineup for Game 5. After Stone received the Cup, these “Golden Misfits” and fellow first-year Knight William Carrier were the next players to skate with Stanley.

“This probably doesn’t happen without them. They came in here Year 1 and created something special. And not only a culture, but a belief. I’m so happy for those guys. They’re ultimate hockey players, but they’re some of the best people who’ll ever meet,” Eichel said of the Vegas originals.

The Panthers, who were also seeking their first Stanley Cup title, saw their remarkable playoff run from lowest seed in the Eastern Conference to the final round end in frustrating defeat. Florida was without a key contributor to that run in Game 5: star forward Matthew Tkachuk, who leads the Panthers in goals (11) and points (24).

He was limited in their Game 4 loss and wasn’t healthy enough to play in Game 5 — a critical blow to the Panthers’ chances to rally in the series.

Coach Paul Maurice revealed that Tkachuk had a fractured sternum that he suffered in Game 3.

“He couldn’t dress himself for (Game 4). Somebody helped him get his gear on. Somebody helped him tie his skates,” Maurice said.

Without Tkachuk to spark the Panthers, the Golden Knights rolled from the moment the puck dropped.

Hill was particularly sharp in the first period, with point blank saves on Anton Lundell and Aleksander Barkov. The latter save on the power play preceded the Golden Knights’ first goal. A turnover by Sam Bennett sprung Stone on a 2-on-1 with Chandler Stephenson. Stone patiently waited until defenseman Brandon Montour slid out of position and stopped in front of the crease. He snapped into the top corner of the net for a shorthanded goal and a 1-0 lead at 11:52.

The Knights made it 2-0 just 1:49 later. Eichel flew into the attacking zone and put a backhand shot off of Bobrovsky, who lost his stick. A scramble ensued in the crease until defenseman Nicolas Hague slid the puck into the net at 13:41.

The referee’s whistle blew before the puck was put over the goal line. However, the NHL confirmed to ESPN that the goal was allowed under the “culmination of a continuous play” rule, as the puck was in motion towards the goal line when the whistle sounded.

The first period ended with the Knights up 2-0. Florida struck back just 2:15 into the second period. Forward Nick Cousins stripped Knights winger Ivan Barbashev of the puck and passed it back to defenseman Aaron Ekblad, whose shot from the blueline found its way past Hill. It was Ekblad’s second of the playoffs.

But the Knights pulled away later in the second period with two goals just 1:45 apart. Their top line completed a long shift with a pass from Eichel to defenseman Alec Martinez, who fired the puck past Bobrovsky for his second goal of the playoffs.

Martinez is no stranger to Stanley Cup Final Game 5 heroics: His double-overtime goal in 2014 won the Stanley Cup for the Los Angeles Kings.

Reilly Smith scored his fourth goal of the playoffs at 12:13 to make it 4-1. The onslaught was on. Stone scored again, on a stoppable shot for Bobrovsky, at 17:15. Then the real dagger: Michael Amadio scored with 1.2 seconds remaining in the period on a delayed penalty against Florida to extend the lead to 6-1.

The Knights made it 7-1 with 11:38 left in the third period, as another Eichel backhand shot rebounded off of Bobrovsky and Barbashev to put it home.

Florida winger Sam Reinhart scored a goal just 25 seconds later to make it 7-2. Another Panthers goal by Bennett made it 7-3, but it was too little, too late. Stone completed his hat trick with an empty net goal with 5:54 left in the game to make it 8-3.

It was the first hat trick in the Stanley Cup Final since Colorado Avalanche star Peter Forsberg had one in Game 2 of 1996 — against the Florida Panthers.

Nicolas Roy added a late goal for the 9-3 win.

The six-goal margin of victory was the largest of the series, surpassing Vegas’ 7-2 win in Game 2. It’s also officially the second-largest ever in a Stanley Cup Final clinching game, topped only by the Penguins winning by eight goals in 1991.

The Knights celebrated at the final buzzer as the gold-clad Vegas fans cheered wildly. Over time have turned this new NHL market into one of the league’s hottest fan bases.

A few fans raised signs that read: “We’ve Been Waiting 6 Long Years For This.”

After the game, Foley revealed why he felt the Knights could win in six years back when the expansion team started.

“I was being told by everyone that we’re worthless. We’re no good. Our team sucks. The players are no good. They’re nobody. You’re going to lose every game. I got a little irritated,” he said. “So I said ‘playoffs in three, Cup in six.'”

The Knights made the playoffs in their first season. And they won the Cup in six.

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

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Florida freshman WR Wilson to debut vs. Texas

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida has offensive help on the way with a freshman receiver who just might make a difference against No. 9 Texas on Saturday.

Dallas Wilson is practicing for the first time since injuring his left foot in training camp and is scheduled to make his collegiate debut against the Longhorns, coach Billy Napier said Monday.

Napier called Wilson’s availability “a big deal.”

“Three good days of work last week, and I thought he handled the load well,” Napier said. “He feels really good. So far, so good.”

Wilson, a 6-foot-3, 213-pound newcomer from Tampa, was the star of Florida’s spring game in April. He caught 10 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, and all indications in fall practice pointed to it not being a fluke.

But Wilson injured his foot late in camp, spent weeks in a protective boot and watched from afar as the Gators (1-3, 0-1 SEC) struggled to move the ball and find the end zone. Florida scored 16, 10 and 7 points, respectively, in consecutive losses to South Florida, LSU and Miami, raising speculation about Napier’s future in Gainesville.

Quarterback DJ Lagway has been the focus of the team’s offensive woes. The sophomore who went 6-1 as a starter last season missed most of the year dealing with injuries and looked rusty when the season began.

Although Lagway’s mechanics seemed improved in the team’s 26-7 setback at Miami on Sept. 20, his offensive line got manhandled and allowed way too much pressure for anyone to notice. Lagway completed 12 of 23 passes for 61 yards against the Hurricanes.

Napier used the off week to get Lagway more live-action reps in hopes of getting him “caught up.” But he also reiterated the need to “play better around him.”

“Each position group needs to step up,” Napier said. “More detail, eliminate errors, eliminate penalties, whatever the case may be. I just think more detail and better overall play around him. And, obviously, he needs to continue to get back closer to being himself.”

Adding Wilson to the mix should help.

The Gators haven’t shown much depth at receiver. Freshman Vernell Brown III has been Lagway’s go-to guy, catching 18 passes for 219 yards. But Eugene Wilson III, J. Michael Sturdivant and Aidan Mizell have been mostly underwhelming.

Dallas Wilson has been unable to help — until now. The Gators are confident he will change the narrative against the No. 1 scoring defense in the SEC.

“Just having him out is going to be amazing for us,” Lagway said. “His ability to go deep, his ability to make plays underneath and be able to make miraculous plays with the ball in his hands, it’s going to be great to have him back.”

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

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Finebaum mulls leaving ESPN for U.S. Senate run

SEC Network host Paul Finebaum said Monday that he would consider leaving ESPN to run for the U.S. Senate, representing Alabama.

The 70-year-old Finebaum said during a recent interview with Outkick that he’d run as a Republican to fill the seat vacated by former Auburn football coach Tommy Tuberville, who has said he’ll run for Alabama governor in the 2026 elections. Tuberville’s current Senate term ends in 2027.

The qualifying deadline to run for Senate is Jan. 26, 2026. Finebaum said he would likely have to leave his hosting and analyst duties if he decided to run. He told Outkick he’d make a decision within the next 30-45 days.

Finebaum said he hadn’t seriously considered politics, but the assassination of Charlie Kirk was the impetus to give a run at politics further thought. He noted that he had received a “text” from “one or two people in Washington” gauging his interest in politics.

“[It was] something I never thought about before,” Finebaum told Outkick.

Finebaum is currently registered as a Republican in North Carolina, where he works for the SEC Network. He told Outkick he recently moved to Alabama, where he hosted a radio show for years, and would re-register there.

Finebaum hosted radio shows in Alabama for almost 30 years before joining ESPN and the SEC Network. He started his media career as a newspaper writer and columnist.

“Alabama has always been the place I’ve felt the most welcome, that I’ve cared the most about the people,” he said. “I’ve spoken to people from Alabama for 35 years, and I feel there is a connection that is hard to explain.”

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

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Petrino overhauls staff, fires defensive assistants

Bobby Petrino has fired three defensive assistants just one day after being named interim head coach at Arkansas as part of an overhaul of the Razorbacks’ coaching staff.

Petrino dismissed defensive coordinator Travis Williams, defensive line coach Deke Adams and defensive assistant Marcus Woodson in the latest moves after being appointed interim coach for the rest of the season to replace Sam Pittman, who was fired Sunday following five-plus seasons as Arkansas’ head coach.

“I just felt like how we performed on Saturday gave me an indication that maybe Sam had lost the team a little bit because they generally had played really hard for him throughout his tenure,” Arkansas athletic director Hunter Yurachek said of the move, which came on the heels of a 56-13 home loss to Notre Dame.

Petrino, 64, returned to Arkansas in 2023 as offensive coordinator after serving in a number of jobs. In four years as the Razorbacks’ head coach, he went 34-17, including consecutive seasons with double-digit victories in 2010 and 2011.

“Coach Petrino, as we met yesterday, he accepted this opportunity with the understanding that he also wanted an opportunity to formally be a candidate for our head coaching position, and he will have that opportunity, but we’ll also subsequently run a search for our next head coach at the same time,” Yurachek said.

Pittman’s dismissal, Petrino’s temporary promotion and the defensive assistant dismissals weren’t the only changes. Chris Wilson was named the team’s interim defensive coordinator.

Petrino had high praise for Wilson, who was in his first year with the Razorbacks as an assistant defensive line coach.

“My experience [with Wilson] goes way back to having to battle against him when he had all the great defensive linemen at Mississippi State,” Petrino said. “Very, very impressed with what he’s done throughout his career. Guy’s got a Super Bowl ring. He brings a lot of credibility into the room.”

Several defensive players posted cryptic messages on social media following the firing of Williams, who had served as the team’s defensive coordinator since 2023. Yurachek and Petrino encouraged players to welcome change amid a 2-3 start to the season.

“The No. 1 thing is, you have to get used to change. You know, your whole life there’s going to be change. So how we handle that, our attitude on how we handle that, will determine how quickly we improve,” Petrino said.

Petrino was involved in a single-vehicle motorcycle crash in April 2012 that left him with four broken ribs. At first, he said he was riding alone, but a police report revealed a woman was riding with him. The woman turned out to be a former Arkansas athlete who was in a romantic relationship with the married Petrino. The coach had given her a job in the football program and a $20,000 gift.

Petrino was fired by then-athletic director Jeff Long for misleading his bosses about what happened with the accident and his relationship with the football staffer.

Pittman, 63, went 32-34 with the Razorbacks.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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