No matter when you read this, there’s a better than average chance Phil Kessel is still celebrating somewhere in Las Vegas.
Kessel will have his name engraved in the Stanley Cup for the third time after the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers, 9-3, Tuesday night to finish off the Stanley Cup Final in five games.
While Penguins fans used to taunt Kessel’s critics with the fact that he was a two-time Stanley Cup champion, that mantra has now changed.
“Back in my Toronto days, they didn’t think I could win, right? Now I’m a three-timer,” Kessel told sportsnet.ca. “So, remember that, right?”
Kessel joins Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury and five others (Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Pat Maroon, Alex Martinez and Jonathan Quick) as active players with three Stanley Cup rings.
Kessel played in all 82 games for the Golden Knights this season, recording 14 goals and 36 points.
As the Golden Knights got healthy in the playoffs, however, Kessel fell out of the lineup. He appeared in only four postseason games, none since the first round. He had two assists in those four games against the Winnipeg Jets.
“You have enough good guys here to make five lines,” Vegas forward William Carrier said.
Teddy Blueger also celebrated a championship with the Golden Knights after being sent to Vegas by the Penguins at the trade deadline.
Blueger is not guaranteed to have his name engraved on the Cup, however, because he did not meet games played thresholds. He had two goals and six points in 18 regular season games and a goal and an assist in six playoff games with the Golden Knights, none in the final series.
