Vegas Golden Knights hit the jackpot to win Stanley Cup

The Vegas Golden Knights hit the ultimate National Hockey League jackpot on Tuesday by crushing the visiting Florida Panthers 9-3 to win the Stanley Cup for the first time in the expansion franchise's six-year history.

With the victory, the Western Conference's top-seeded Golden Knights closed out the best-of-seven championship series 4-1, triggering celebrations along the famed Las Vegas Strip.

Vegas captain Mark Stone had three goals, Nicolas Hague, Alec Martinez, Reilly Smith, Michael Amadio, Ivan Barbashev and Nicolas Roy had one apiece while Adin Hill made 31 saves.

“I can't even describe the feelings in my stomach right now. Everything you can imagine,” said Stone.

“The grind of an 82-game season, four play-off rounds, you grind and you grind and you grind. At the end of the day, we're the last team standing. It's incredible.”

Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault, who had 25 points in the postseason, was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup play-offs.

For Florida, it ended an impressive run by a resilient team that squeaked into the playoffs as the final wild card in the Eastern Conference and then beat three of the NHL's top four clubs to reach their first Stanley Cup Final since 1996.

The Panthers' defeat also came a day after the Miami Heat lost to the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Finals and ends what had been a mesmerising two months during which both eighth-seeded teams enthralled South Florida.

The Vegas victory made good on Golden Knights owner Bill Foley's bold prediction that the expansion team would win a Stanley Cup within their first six seasons.

“What has happened here has been simply incredible,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said before presenting the Stanley Cup