USA TODAY International Edition
Vegas ready for NHL playoffs
What’s next for Golden Knights after ‘pool party’?
The Vegas Golden Knights were the hot ticket. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the best expansion team in NHL history and to soak in one of the most festive atmospheres in all of sports.
T-Mobile Arena, nicknamed The Fortress, was a happening place on game nights. Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin compared it to stepping into a nightclub or attending a “pool party.”
Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil have performed at intermissions. A castle is stationed above section 101. This isn’t your typical NHL game backdrop.
“They try and make the game be more than just a game,” fan Jay Petrick said. “Celebrities nightly. Reminds me of L.A.’s (Wayne Gretzky era) heyday in the early 1990s.”
Now everyone wants to see what the Golden Knights (51-24-7) do for an encore when the playoffs start Wednesday. The Pacific Division champions take on the Los Angeles Kings (10 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network).
The Golden Knights are the winningest expansion team in NHL history and the first franchise to clinch a playoff berth in its inaugural season since the Hartford Whalers and Edmonton Oilers in 1979-80.
“The expectation is that (our playoff games) will be like nothing we’ve ever seen or experienced,” Vegas general manager George McPhee said.
The Golden Knights were 29-10-2 at home this season. According to the team, average attendance was 18,041, which put them at 103.8% above capacity for the season. Their largest crowd was 18,458 on March 31 against the San Jose Sharks. Their percentage above capacity ranks fourth in the NHL, according to ESPN.
“It has gone so far beyond everyone’s expectations,” McPhee said. “We thought we could be a good team and put on a good show. You have to do that because it’s Vegas. It’s the entertainment capital of the world.”
This Vegas playoff presentation might be similar to what we witnessed last season when the Nashville fan base and environment was as impressive as the team’s performance en route to the Stanley Cup Final.
“A lot of commentary during the regular season from league officials, media and the players was about how our atmosphere felt and sounded like a playoff game,” Golden Knights President Kerry Bubolz said. “We were excited by that because we know we have another level on and off the ice.”
Predators President Sean Henry has seen the Golden Knights’ game experience firsthand and came away impressed. “I love it,” Henry said. “I compare it to us, and I think they do, too. The reason I do is not because of things that are yelled or done. It’s about how the fans feel about the team. It’s like the fans own the team.”
Most opponents say the Golden Knights are one of the league’s hardestworking teams, and employees behind the scenes try to match that work ethic.
“You never know what to expect at our games,” McPhee said. “It’s a positive, uplifting experience from the minute you arrive, even when you are not in the building yet. It’s a party. It’s an event. It’s a festival. And it’s uniquely Las Vegas.”
Fans are smitten with the team and the players. “Fans have lined up at 3 o’clock in the morning at our pro shop to get the chance buy a poster at 10,” McPhee said. “And the line is 1,000 deep.”
Los Angeles is only a 270-mile drive from Las Vegas, but Kings fans know they won’t easily be heard if they travel to Las Vegas to see a game.
“I’ve been to 11 different NHL arenas for Kings road games, and these Vegas fans may be the loudest out there,” said Kevin Attanasio, an engineer and Kings fan from Whittier, Calif. “I expected Kings fans to take over the (Vegas) stadium like we do in Anaheim, but every time we started ‘Go Kings, Go’ chants, Vegas fans quickly started their chants and made sure to drown ours out.”
Vegas officials must feel as if they are playing with house money because no one, not even those closest to the team, anticipated the overwhelming reception.
Expansion teams traditionally finish near the bottom of the standings, but the Golden Knights finished with the NHL’s fifth-best record. Fans and the team also bonded through the players’ efforts to help the community after 59 people were killed in a mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1.
Washington-turned-Vegas season ticketholder Don Soifer, 50, said as soon as defenseman Deryk Engelland stood in the middle of the ice at the Oct. 10 home opener and talked about the tragedy with a “Vegas Strong” theme, the Golden Knights arena became a “magical place.”
“When we’re on our game, buzzing and flying down the ice like the classic Western powerhouses, the whole Fortress is electric and loud in a way that only Vegas can be,” Soifer said.
Bubolz said music in the building is intentionally cranked up for the pregame warm-ups to rev up both the players and the fans.
“I tell them to turn it up as loud as they can stand it because I want the energy of the warm-up to match the energy of the game because we are getting ready,” Bubolz said. “Our warm-ups are like a rock concert. I love the intensity of our warm-up. It’s hard to talk to the person next to you, but you are getting ready just like the guys are getting ready to battle.”
“It has gone so far beyond everyone’s expectations.” George McPhee Vegas general manager, on fans’ attendance at Golden Knights games in their inaugural season