Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Zach Whitecloud, center, celebrates his goal against the Florida Panthers with teammates center Ivan Barbashev, right, defenseman Nicolas Hague, left, and center Jack Eichel (9) during the third period of Game 1 of the NHL hockey Stanley Cup Finals, Saturday, June 3, 2023, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)(AP)
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LAS VEGAS (AP) - Back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in five years and trailing the Florida Panthers less than 10 minutes into Game 1, the Vegas Golden Knights sent a very clear message.

“We were ready,” Jonathan Marchessault said.

Ready and relentless. Vegas rallied from an early deficit, got the go-ahead goal from Zach Whitecloud with just over 13 minutes left and arguably the best save of the playoffs from Adin Hill and beat Florida 5-2 Saturday night to take the lead in the best-of-seven series.

“We kept our composure, and it was good,” said Marchessault, one of six original Knights players left from the start of the franchise in 2017 who scored the tying goal in the first period. “We just wanted to play the right way and be disciplined, and tonight we were able to be the better team.