Vegas will pay tribute to shooting victims

The Vegas Golden Knights will be sensitive to the mass shooting that transpired just over a week ago when the expansion team plays its first game at home Tuesday.

“Plans that were on the drawing board to celebrate the first regularseason game have been modified (out of) respect to the terrible tragedy,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. “What will take place will be in the spirit of what I believe sports teams mean to a community — bringing people together in a sense of unity.”

Stephen Paddock opened fire from his Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino hotel room during an outdoor concert on the Las Vegas Strip last week, killing 58 and injuring 489 in what is the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history.

Vegas (2-0-0) will play the Arizona Coyotes at 10 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Network). Team president and CEO Kerry Bubolz said the Golden Knights’ festivities will center on “a celebration of healing and moving forward.” Bettman said the Golden Knights have been in the community “visiting with families, going to see first responders and being a positive presence.” Above all, Bubolz said, the Golden Knights want to be respectful. “Now it’s about what happened with the first responders, the victims and all of the heroes that came out of the tragedy,” he said.

Once the game starts, Bubolz said the hope is the Golden Knights can provide “what amounts to a three-hour break from the tragedy the community has faced.”