NHL playoffs: Vegas not ‘caught up’ in Cinderella storyline

SAN JOSE, CALIF.— The crew of castoffs that carried the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to a division title and two rounds of playoffs wins in a reality-defying season are more than just a feel-good story.

They’ve proven themselves to be legitimate Stanley Cup contenders.

Marc-Andre Fleury was his usual brilliant self with 28 saves in his fourth shutout of the post-season and Vegas benefited from a couple of fortunate bounces to advance to the Western Conference final with a 3-0 victory against the San Jose Sharks on Sunday.

“It’s a bit crazy thinking about it for sure,” defenceman Brayden McNabb said. “But we’re here to win. We’re not going to get caught up in we shouldn’t be here or whatever. We’re here to win.”

The Golden Knights have done that all season despite being thrown together at the expansion draft last June among players deemed expendable by their former teams. They won eight of nine games to open the season to take the league by a bit of shock, posted 109 points to win a Pacific Division filled with playoff-tested teams and have since gone 8-2 in the playoffs with a first-round sweep against Los Angeles and a sixgame series win over the Sharks.

They became just the third team in NHL history to win multiple series in its first season. The Toronto Arenas won the Stanley Cup in the first post-season in league history in 1918 and St. Louis won two rounds to win the all-expansion West Division in 1968.

Next up for Vegas is the Western Conference final against either Winnipeg or Nashville. The Jets led that series 3-2 heading into Game 6 at home on Monday night.

While the Golden Knights got help from a couple of shots that hit the iron and stayed out for San Jose and one that went off the post and into the net for a goal by Nate Schmidt that was only detectable on replay, the recipe for success has been speed, tenacity and depth, more than luck.

“We made ourselves a good team,” Fleury said. “We had great chemistry right from the start. We keep improving throughout the season. I feel like we’re using everybody in the lineup to get wins. That’s what’s made us successful.”

Fleury has been a big part of that, capped by his fourth career series-clinching shutout.