Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury (29) makes a third period save against the San Jose Sharks in game one of the second round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs at T-Mobile Arena. (Photo: Stephen R. Sylvanie, USA TODAY Sports)
Marc-Andre Fleury was a Penguin a year ago. James Neal was a Predator. William Karlsson was a Blue Jacket.
Everyone on today’s Vegas Golden Knights roster was somewhere else, a member of a different team, a year ago. But today every member of the Las Vegas team is a character in one of the most remarkable NHL stories the league has ever authored.
The most successful expansion team in NHL history is now the only undefeated team in this season’s playoffs. A 7-0 thumping of the San Jose Sharks in the opening game of the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal Thursday gives the Golden Knights a 5-0 post-season record.
The NHL has never witnessed a team like the Golden Knights. They owned the fifth-best record (51-24-7) in the regular-season and now are making the NHL playoff grind look like a stroll down the Vegas strip. Thanks to Fleury’s MVP-like goaltending and a relentless attacking style, the Golden Knights have given up just three goals in five playoff games.
The Golden Knights played their opening game nine days after 58 people were killed in a mass shooting at a popular Las Vegas concert venue. In the pregame ceremony, Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland, a 14-year Las Vegas resident, stood at center ice and thanked the first responders who saved many that night. He said he was proud to be from Las Vegas.
“Vegas strong,” he said in closing.
Some say that was the night Las Vegas fully embraced its team. The strong bond between city and team has undoubtedly been a factor in the team’s success.
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But no person has had a greater impact on the success than general manager George McPhee. He developed the strategy used to build the Golden Knights’ roster. He had the final say on hockey operations. Here are his five best moves he made to develop this team:
1. Making Fleury the Foundation
Fleury is 33, not an ideal age for an expansion team. But McPhee didn’t care because he wanted Fleury for his talent, engaging personality and reputation as one of the league’s best teammates. Fleury has been a perfect fit. He’s the team’s most popular player. He is the marketing department’s dream performer. On the ice, he has been a superstar. In the Golden Knights’ first five playoff games, he owns a 0.54 goals-against average and a .982 save percentage.
2. Hiring Gerard Gallant
With his old school player’s approach, Gallant was the right choice to coach the Golden Knights' patchwork collection of athletes. Players believe in Gallant because he doesn’t play mind games. He’s direct, honest, and understands the game from a player’s perspective. He is former player who thrived in the NHL through grit, guile and hard work. The Golden Knights play hard for Gallant because they respect him.
3. Believing character matters
From the beginning, the Vegas Golden Knights placed as much emphasis on character as they did on skill when evaluating players. McPhee and his staff did their homework about players’ personalities and reputations. They had team chemistry in mind each time they made an expansion draft decision. They never lost sight that they were building a team, not creating a list of players. McPhee assembled a team of players who feel they have something to prove because their former teams let them go. That was by design.
4. Selecting Karlsson
Karlsson, 25, had scored 18 goals in 183 games when McPhee claimed him from the Columbus Blue Jackets. This season he blossomed into a star with the Golden Knights. He netted 42 goals while showcasing a strong two-way playing style. He has five points in the team’s first five postseason games.
5. Striking a balance
The way this team was built proves McPhee believed the team could be competitive immediately. But if you look at all the moves he’s made as a package, you see McPhee had a two-prong plan to compete now and also build for the future. Karlsson is still young. Nate Schmidt is 26. Shea Theodore is 23 and Alex Tuch is 21. He stockpiled draft picks and prospects to help in the future. The Golden Knights already look like a high-functioning organization.
LAS VEGAS — Marc-Andre Fleury was having such a good time Thursday night, he joined in when the sold-out crowd at T Mobile Arena started doing the wave.
And why not?
Fleury stopped 33 shots for his third shutout of the playoffs, and the Vegas Golden Knights went on to beat the San Jose Sharks 7-0 in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals.
"I’ve always been a big fan (of the wave), I saw it coming around, heard the music going, sometimes I try to have some fun," Fleury said with a wide smile. "We did our best to stay sharp for that first game and I think we did. I thought we had the jump on them right away and that was a big part of the win tonight."
Does everyone hate the wave less now that loves it? pic.twitter.com/oyhnCL03CS — Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 27, 2018
Fleury, who improved to 5-0 in the playoffs, got his 13th career shutout in the playoffs — and second straight. He also blanked Los Angeles 1-0 in Game 4 of the first round.
After getting seven goals from seven different players during a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings in the opening round, the Golden Knights matched that with seven players scoring for them on Thursday.
Cody Eakin, Erik Haula and Jonathan Marchessault scored 1:31 apart early in the first period to get Vegas going. Alex Tuch, Shea Theodore, Colin Miller and James Neal also scored, Reilly Smith and William Karlsson each had three assists, and Marchessault and David Perron added two each.
"It was a great game for us, obviously we played a full 60 minutes and that’s what you want from your team in the playoffs," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. "It wasn’t even about the seven goals, it was about how we played the game."
The Golden Knights, the first team from the opening round to advance, showed no sign of rust after having nine days off since completing their first-round sweep over the Kings. From the opening puck drop, Vegas skated fast, its passes were crisp, and the players were in synch with one another. It has now outscored its opposition 14-3 in five games.
"We got better in practice, we ramped it up, so we were excited to get going." Neal said. "We talked about having a good first shift and I thought every guy did that tonight. I thought we went to the net well. We did good things, for us I think we have to look at them, they’re going to be a hungry team, they’re going to be a lot better. They’ll be putting that one behind them pretty quick and looking to be a better hockey team so we gotta be ready."
San Jose, which swept Anaheim in the first round, looked out of sorts by the time Vegas put its first three in the net just 6:02 into the game, and the Sharks lost their cool early in the third period, when Evander Kane was ejected for cross-checking Pierre-Edouard Bellemare in the face after a whistle.
Martin Jones, who stopped 128 of 132 shots in the first round against the Ducks, was pulled a little more than three minutes into the second period after allowing five goals on 13 shots. Backup goalie Aaron Dell came in and finished with 19 saves.
It was the Sharks’ worst loss in playoff history. Detroit blanked San Jose 6-0 in the 1995 Western Conference semifinals.
"We had a laundry list of issues today," San Jose coach Peter DeBoer said. "It’s obviously not pretty, we know we have to do better across the board. It’s on us to respond now."
Eakin started the scoring barrage when he deflected Brayden McNabb’s wrist shot from the point past Jones 4:31 into the game. Before the public-address announcer could trumpet the game’s first goal, Haula finished Tuch’s rush to the net 26 seconds later with a sniper past Jones to double Vegas’ lead.
Marchessault made it 3-0 when he fired a shot from inside the circle past Jones, notching his first career playoff goal. Tuch capped the scoring in the opening period when he sliced through four defenders, made a swift move to his forehand for a wrist shot that beat Jones for a power-play goal.
Jones’ night ended 3:28 into the second when Smith threaded a pass to Theodore, who promptly tipped it into the twine to give Vegas a 5-0 lead.
While Kane was called for a game misconduct, Joe Pavelski went off at the same time for slashing, giving Vegas a 5-3 edge on the ice. The Golden Knights took full advantage, as Miller’s one-timer blazed past Dell to make it 6-0 at 4:32 of the third.
Neal, who had a goal overturned in the second period, extended the lead to 7-0 when he took Perron’s pass and wrapped it around past Dell on the power play at 8:09.
NOTES: Vegas’ four goals in the first period marked the fifth tim1e this season it netted four in one period. … It was the third time this season the Sharks allowed four goals in a period. … No. 1 UFC featherweight contender Brian Ortega, who fill fight champion Max Holloway for the title on July 7, was in attendance.
Photo: Christian Petersen (Getty Images)
How are things going for the Vegas Golden Knights? Marc-Andre Fleury is doing the wave:
No, really, how are things going for the Golden Knights? Try three goals in 91 seconds, with the crowd going absolutely bananas.
Try a 7-0 buttkicking of the Sharks in Game 1, with seven different players scoring. These Knights, who did not exist a year ago, have not lost in the playoffs. Fleury, who stopped 33 shots last night, has as many shutouts as as he does goals allowed.
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What is going on here?
What if they’re just really good?
This prospect is still difficult for me to accept, though with each win it’s becoming more difficult to deny. I admit my resistance is no longer entirely evidence-based, instead still stemming from everything inculcated in me by the entire modern history of sports that says an expansion team is supposed to suck. Could the Golden Knights possibly be for real? Well, define “for real.” A team doesn’t entirely fluke its way to a 109-point season. A merely-above-average team doesn’t usually sweep the Kings and smoke the Sharks. Something’s going on here, and it’s either the most unlikely confluence of events, or the Golden Knights are truly, legitimately great, and maybe it’s both.
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The players, though possessing no lack of confidence, were eager to credit their fans.
“Honestly, the fans helped out a lot,” Alex Tuch said. “I didn’t know how it was going to be not playing in nine days, but as soon as they yelled “[K]night” during the national anthem, I knew we were in for a good game.”
Tuch said the noise in the building was “chilling” and that he couldn’t even describe how loud it was. David Perron said “every goal was like a party.” A lot of parties, then.
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To answer my own question, I have absolutely no idea what’s going on here, but I love it. This is an unconscionable amount of fun, and it’s truly pleasant to made to realize I know nothing and should expect nothing. Because what’s the point of sports if everything only happens the way it’s supposed to?
I picked the Golden Knights in the first round, and I like them to beat the Sharks, and I think they’re going to get stomped by either the Jets or Predators in the conference final. But they’ve spent all year proving me and everyone else wrong. This is a party, may as well enjoy it until we get kicked out.
