Love or hate Vegas, it’s good for hockey

There’s a narrative, albeit a weak premise, that says Las Vegas didn’t deserve to experience the Stanley Cup Final. That awesome display Monday at T-mobile Arena — which included Lil Jon performing to thousands of cheering fans during the pregame festivities at Toshiba Plaza and Michael Buffer announcing the lineups, as well as the Golden Knights winning 6-4 against the Washington Capitals — happened way too soon in the franchise’s existence, if you buy into the theory.

It goes like this (cue laughter): The Golden Knights’ fan base hasn’t suffered losing long enough — never, really — to truly appreciate playing for the championship.

The Stanley Cup has been around since the late 1890s and needs to be awarded to established franchises with hockey tradition, the narrative continues. And not some first-year team which has turned game day into a raucous party complete with a DJ and flashy pregame show, retooling the way hockey needs to look and feel for the rest of the league.

The naysayers will also tell you the expansion draft process was rigged in favor of the Golden Knights to get enough pieces to be competitive, whereas teams such as Nashville and Columbus were essentially loaded with minor leaguers in their initial seasons in the league.

Vegas was supposed to lose. That was hardly the case against the Capitals, when the Knights scored three unanswered goals in the third period to prevail.

Jealous haters?

You get the sense the rest of the league’s fans want to take their puck and head home. They are frustrated that the new kids in town have taken over.