Remembrance, then celebration

Vegas pays homage to shooting victims before rousing win.

One by one under the spotlights, the Vegas Golden Knights skated up to take their place behind a first responder to the shoot- ing massacre.

The arena then illuminated the victims’ names in gold on the ice during 58 seconds of silence.

Hockey seemed unim- portant to the players on the NHL’s newest team in recent days, but the Golden Knights knew they had to play Tuesday night — for their city, for their fans and for the fallen.

And their debut on the Strip was a smash.

James Neal scored twice during a four-goal first period, and the Golden Knights remained unbeaten three games into their inaugural season with a 5-2 vic- tory over the Arizona Coyotes in their home opener.

“There was so much emotion, but we tried to stay focused on hockey, even though it was bigger than hockey,” Neal said. “This is our town. We’re making it our home, and we want it to be a hockey town.”

Tomas Nosek scored the first home goal in fran- chise history 2:31 into the first period. Deryk Engelland added his first goal moments later; he has lived in Las Vegas for 14 years and gave a pregame speech to the crowd.

“It was probably one of the more emotional moments of my life,” Engelland said. “I probably don’t plan on scoring in too many games, but to get that one was pretty special.”

Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for the Golden Knights, who became the first team in NHL history to begin their debut season with three straight wins.

Just nine days after the massacre occurred during a country music festival less than a mile from T-Mobile Arena, the Golden Knights honored the victims and heroes before the home debut of the city’s first major pro sports franchise.

Engelland spoke to the fans, promising that the Golden Knights “will do everything we can to help you and our city heal. We are Vegas Strong.”

After that emotional outpouring, the Golden Knights played inspired hockey.

talked about tonight being the most important game we’ll ever play,” coach Gerard Gallant said. “A lot of guys, we’re playing for our city. We’re playing for the tragedy that happened, for all the people that were here tonight and affected by the tragedy. I thought our guys did a hell of a job. They came out and they focused on the game. They focused from the start.”

Neal scored back-to-back goals in 4:27, giving him five goals in three games — and all three game-winning goals in team history. Vegas led 4-0 in less than 11 minutes, well on its way to a cathartic victory.