Knights look to raise Stanley Cup in front of home fans

SUNRISE, Fla. — The Golden Knights could only trickle onto the ice while they waited for the Washington Capitals to stop celebrating June 7, 2018.

The Stanley Cup’s first visit to T-Mobile Arena wasn’t a happy one for the NHL’s 31st franchise. The Knights lost 4-3 in Game 5 of the 2018 final, and the Capitals hoisted the franchise’s first Cup on the road.

The chance to write a different story comes Tuesday. The Cup will be back, only this time it’s the Knights who can close out the Florida Panthers after their 3-2 win in Game 5 Saturday at FLA Live Arena.

As center Chandler Stephenson said, the team is “one win away from a lot of dreams for a lot of guys.” When they played on the pond, on the streets, in their backyards growing up, the Knights imagined the moment they could lift that sweet silver chalice in the air.

It’s almost in their grasp. All it will take is that final finishing touch.

“Everybody knows what’s going to be there,” Stephenson said. “I feel confident. There’s a lot of guys who have been in this position before. That’s something that’s benefited us. Everybody’s going to be ready.”

Coach Bruce Cassidy has given the Knights the chance to dream this playoff run.

He hasn’t shied away from discussing the big picture in between games of different series. The team did it the night before Game 6 against the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference Final. What a win would mean for the franchise, the players and their legacies.

“That’s what we’re playing for,” Cassidy said. “I don’t think there’s any taboos with that.”

The Knights were able to let their minds wander again during Sunday’s travel day back to Las Vegas.

Then it becomes business again. They will practice Monday to get prepared hockey-wise for what should be an insane atmosphere Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena. They can become the second team in the past seven years to win the Cup on home ice.

The Knights will try their best not to let their emotions get the best of them in what could be a career-defining moment for so many players. They’ve gotten this far by playing composed, controlled hockey that has frustrated the Panthers and taken advantage of their opponent’s aggressiveness.

It’s why the Knights have outscored Florida 17-9 through four games. They don’t want to get away from the game plan with so much at stake.

“We understand the magnitude of the process, but we’re going to go home and take the game as if it’s one game for us,” captain Mark Stone said. “We ain’t changing anything. We’ll make minor adjustments to our game for sure, but we want to continue to play our brand of hockey and be ready to go on Tuesday night.”

The Knights have no doubt they can rise to the occasion.

They will rely again on the experience of players who have been here before. Stephenson, defensemen Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez, left wing Ivan Barbashev, goaltender Jonathan Quick and right wing Phil Kessel have won Cups.

The six original members of the team — center William Karlsson, right wing Jonathan Marchessault, left wings Reilly Smith and William Carrier, and defensemen Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore — remember the feeling of 2018. And Cassidy took the Boston Bruins to a Game 7 on home ice in 2019, but lost to Pietrangelo, Barbashev and the St. Louis Blues.

Those memories will become fuel for a team that could earn the right to etch its name on hockey’s ultimate prize. Lifelong goals are 60 minutes away for the Knights. All they have to do is seize the opportunity.

“We’ve got a couple days here to regroup,” Pietrangelo said. “We’ve played really well at home here in the playoffs, so you’ve got to feel pretty good going home with a 3-1 lead.”

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.