LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Former Knight Deryk Engelland said the Knights are coming in hot off of a game against the Dallas Stars that he said is as close to a perfect game as you can get in hockey, adding that the players are probably ready to get going with Stanley Cup Final hockey.
“You just want to get started and get going,” said Engelland. “Get into the battle.”
As to the Golden Knights’ opponents, Engelland believes that while the Florida Panthers started slowly, they’re currently clicking on all cylinders heading into the collision with the Knights. The Panthers’ Sergei Bobrovsky remains one of the keys to victory for the Knights, Engelland said.
“Got to figure out with him early on and get traffic in front of him and get him off his game a little,” Engelland says of Bobrovsky.
Engelland’s prediction for the Stanley Cup Final? He anticipates a battle between two physical teams.
“There’s nothing better than a Stanley Cup final game seven,” said Engelland. “But as a Knight bleeding gold, I guess you could say, hopefully, it’s a short series.”
In addition to Engelland, another guest was on the 8 News Now set Friday. The Stanley Cup and the Keeper of the Cup, Mike Bolt were in the studio, and Bolt said Lord Stanley’s Cup is the most iconic trophy in all sports.
“131 years old, 37 pounds, made a 97 percent silver, three percent nickel,” said Bolt, running down the Cup’s statistics. “It’s been on top of mountains. It’s been in the space shuttle. It’s been in the White House several times. It’s been all over the world. It’s been to Afghanistan to visit the troops.”
Teams that win the Stanley Cup stay on the trophy for 60 years before their band is retired to the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Bolt said.
The Vegas Golden Knights face off with the Florida Panthers at T-Mobile Arena at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday.