Vegas fans relishing the moment
LAS VEGAS Miguel Narvaez stands in the searing heat outside the home of the Vegas Golden Knights a couple of hours before Game 2 of the Stanley Cup final, sporting a custom-made jacket with the signatures of his favourite players embroidered on the back.
A few metres away, Chris Gawlik wears a Knights hard hat adorned with a goal light to complement the “CUP 4LV” Nevada license plate dangling from his neck.
They’re just two examples of the crazed hockey fans that have fallen in love with the expansion Knights during their improbable run to the Cup final against the Washington Capitals, and the bond forged with this city.
“I’ve been waiting for a team forever, and to get what we got is just amazing,” said Narvaez, a Las Vegas native. “These guys are incredible.
“The minimum was we wanted to have something cool to go to every week, something different than what’s on the strip.” They got a lot more than that. With a roster of players the league’s 30 other teams no longer wanted, the Knights stunned the hockey world with a 109point season to win the Pacific Division before rolling through the Western Conference playoffs thanks to decisive victories over the Los Angeles Kings (four games), San Jose Sharks (six games) and the Winnipeg Jets (five games).
“You can’t put into words what’s happened,” said Gawlik, who moved to the desert in 2008 after growing up in Chicago. “It’s historic, it’s fun, it’s amazing to see it from the ground up. Vegas is our team, it’s my team, it’s everyone’s team.
“We’ve all taken some level of ownership.”
The Knights, who lost 3-2 to the Capitals in Wednesday’s Game 2 to sit tied 1-1 in the best-of-seven series, are first expansion club to make the Cup since the 1968 St. Louis Blues, but that year a new club was guaranteed a spot in the final after the NHL grew from six to 12 franchises.