Last night was a night of all Knights, a night that had the T-Mobile arena rocking. The crowd was treated to a game, against the Tampa Bay Lightning, that many will remember for a long time.
Myself, I was with my good friend Denise, who was attending her first-ever NHL game, and sitting on my other side were two VGK fans who’d been to maybe three NHL games in their lifetime. In the row in front of me were four Tampa Bay fans who, halfway through the game, turned to me and said, “You have an amazing team here. They just never quit, do they?”
“No, they don’t,” I said with obvious pride. Not even a lightning bolt or can stop them. Or in this case, the Lightning, the best team in the NHL so far this season with 24 wins and riding a seven-game winning streak into tonight’s game.
I’ve been to many hockey games in my life, but last night’s game had a special feel to it. It was apparent even before the game started. A lot has been written about the early success of the VGK, but last night, the obvious question was how they’d handle the biggest test they’ve faced so far in their inaugural season.
This game was being watched by the entire league. Would the VGK skate stride for stride with a team that has the most (50) points of all 31 teams, with a +44 goal differential and an impressive 11-3-1 record on the road, and is the favorite to win the Stanley Cup? The atmosphere at T-Mobile last night was playoff-like, with the crowd up on its feet numerous times throughout the game. I’m afraid my friend Denise is now officially spoiled, as she might expect this for every game she attends in the future.
Needless to say, tonight every hockey fan outside of Las Vegas found out that what happens at T-Mobile Arena doesn’t stay in T-Mobile or even Vegas. Our dream is now your team’s nightmare.
Jump out to a 2-0 lead with 2 Power Play goals in the first period? Big deal! We’ll just score two PP goals of our own to tie the game up.
Given up 80 goals in 32 games, an average of 2.5 goals a game? No problem! We’ll score four goals on you.
Highest scoring team in the league coming into tonight’s game with 123 goals scored? So what! We’ll just score one more goal than you—and with just 2.3 seconds left in the game on a Power Play to beat the best team in the league.
We don’t blink.
What’s even more impressive about this win is that the VGK Power Play has, for the most part, struggled this season and the offensive output has come more from 5-on-5 play. But last night, the PP unit rose to the occasion. That’s what good teams do.
In my last post, I wrote about how, in a 2-0 game, the next goal scored usually has a huge impact on the outcome and last night the VGK proved my theory once again. I’ve also written frequently about “the Rivkin Factor,” teams who arrive in Las Vegas at least two days before their game here are at a severe disadvantage. Tampa Bay arrived on December 17 for the game on the 19th. The Rivkin Factor remains undefeated.
Before facing the VGK, Tampa Bay was 7-0 in December winning seven in a row and eight of their last nine games, and they were 7-1 with two days off. All that went away after facing Vegas.
The VGK are now 7-1-1 in December and have won 15 of 16 points in their last eight games. With last night’s win, the VGK are the number-one team in the Western Conference with a 22-9-2 record.
Six of the seven goals scored last night were on the Power Play.
Goalie Marc-Andre Fleury made 35 saves on 38 shots tonight. Goals scored for the VGK: Neal (17), Marchessault (12), Haula (13), and Theodore (2) also had 3 assists for a 4 point game.
The VGK’s next big test is Saturday December 23 vs. the Washington Capitals at 7 p.m. at T-Mobile.
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