The Golden Misfits

When the NHL announced that Las Vegas was getting a hockey team, most people scoffed. Another warm weather location? Some cited the woeful existence of the Arizona Coyotes, who actually had to be taken over by the league.

I thought it could work, because I live here and I know that locals are always looking for something to do (we who live here hardly ever go to the Strip). The Golden Knights have exceeded anyone's optimism--every home game was a sellout, and they have just won the first game in the Stanley Cup finals.

No expansion team in any North American major league sport as done as well. The 1967 St. Louis Blues, in their first season, went to the finals, but their whole division were expansion teams, meaning a new team was going to the finals no matter what happened. No such amenities were given to the Golden Knights, who some thought would be one of the worst teams ever assembled.

My relationship with hockey goes back many years, though I never played the game (I never learned to ice skate). I've always been a Red Wing fan, and enjoyed their long run of playoff appearances, including three Cups. I also watched a ton of games at Princeton. So over the years I've improved my hockey knowledge (I know the icing rule) but some of the niceties escape me, so I can't really explain how in the world a team of cast-offs (they call themselves the Misfits) managed to get so far.

From what I've read, the two key factors are speed and Marc-Andre Fleury. He's the three-time Cup winner that was let go by Pittsburgh because they had another goalie. Though injured during the season, he's been great, and at 34 years old doesn't seem to have lost a step. He's become the face of the team, and no doubt he has something to prove.

The speed part is interesting, because the tradition with NHL teams is to build around toughness. I remember Whitey Herzog, the old baseball manager, saying that speed had no slumps. That seems to be the case here. Vegas practices a breakaway style offense. One thing that it does do, though, is leave the defense lacking. Three of the goals last night were defensive breakdowns, leaving Capitals alone, with Fleury helpless.

What's great about this is that the whole city is excited. Last night almost one of every two TVs were set on the game. I followed the team during the season but didn't watch them--but I'e watched every game I could since then. I didn't know any of the players except for Fleury, now I know them all. I love James Neal and Reilly Smith and William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault and all the rest. There's no real big star, and they are emphasizing having fun on the ice.

People here are just going ape, and I love that people who never watched a hockey game in their life and are on the bandwagon. No matter if they win or lose this final, they have exceeded everyone's expectations, even their own. The important thing is to maintain a competitive team--if they go in the dumps the fairweather fans may abandon them.