With a come-from-behind 6-3 win over the Colorado Avalanche, the Vegas Golden Knights advanced to the NHL semifinals Thursday for the third time in the team's four-year history.
An emotional crowd at T-Mobile Arena cheered the team on in the latest chapter in the unlikely love affair between a desert city and a sport played on ice. Las Vegas took the team into its heart when it helped the city mourn following the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting which took place five days before the Knights began their inaugural season.
“This team just had a way about them that endeared themselves to the community,” Kevin Bolinger, sports director at KVVU-TV, told State of Nevada.
It also helped that the team performed well on the ice despite the disadvantage of being an expansion club.
“We’ve heard it called the misfit mentality. There is something to that,” said Dan D’Uva, the team’s play-by-play announcer. “This organization found talented players but also players with a certain kind of mindset and character, and I think that’s played a lot into it.”
Now the team prepares for Monday's first game against Montreal Canadiens, which stand in the way of the Knights’ bid for a second trip to the Stanley Cup finals.
According to Fox 5’s Bolinger, the Knights have an ace in the hole with their experience.
“Those are the type of teams that help you win important games on the road,” he said.
Dan D’Uva, play by play announcer, Vegas Golden Knights; Justin Emerson, sportswriter, Las Vegas Sun; Kevin Bolinger, sports director, KVVU-TV Fox 5; Katie Levitt, founder, VGK Ladies Facebook page
