{"id":62803,"date":"2018-04-11T09:08:34","date_gmt":"2018-04-11T09:08:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=62803"},"modified":"2018-04-11T09:08:34","modified_gmt":"2018-04-11T09:08:34","slug":"what-will-vegas-be-like-for-golden-knights-playoff-encore-after-regular-season-pool-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/what-will-vegas-be-like-for-golden-knights-playoff-encore-after-regular-season-pool-party.html","title":{"rendered":"What will Vegas be like for Golden Knights’ playoff encore after regular-season ‘pool party’?"},"content":{"rendered":"

What will Vegas be like for Golden Knights’ playoff encore after regular-season ‘pool party’?<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

In Las Vegas, where big-name celebrities perform on a nightly basis, the NHL was often the best show in town this winter.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Vegas Golden Knights were the hot ticket. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the best expansion team in league history and to soak in one of the most festive atmospheres in all of sports.<\/span><\/p>\n

T-Mobile Arena, nicknamed The Fortress, was a happening place on game nights. Washington Capitals winger Alex Ovechkin compared it to stepping into a nightclub or attending a \u201cpool party.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Blue Man Group and Cirque du Soleil have performed at intermissions. A castle is stationed above section 101. This isn\u2019t your typical NHL game backdrop.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey try and make the game be more than just a game,\u201d said fan Jay Petrick. \u201cCelebrities nightly. Reminds me of L.A.’s (Wayne Gretzky era) heyday in the early 1990s.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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).<\/span><\/p>\n

\nThe Golden Knights are the winningest expansion team in NHL history and the first NHL franchise to clinch a playoff berth in its inaugural season since the Hartford Whalers and Edmonton Oilers in 1979-80.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe expectation is that (our playoff games) will be like nothing we\u2019ve ever seen or experienced,\u201d Vegas general manager George McPhee said.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Golden Knights were 29-10-2 at home this season. According to ESPN, Vegas home games averaged 18,042 fans, 103.9% of capacity, which ranked fourth in the NHL.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt has gone so far beyond everyone\u2019s expectations,\u201d McPhee said. \u201cWe thought we could be a good team and put on a good show. You have to do that because it\u2019s Vegas. It\u2019s the entertainment capital of the world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

This Vegas playoff presentation may be similar to what we witnessed last season when the Nashville fan base and environment was as impressive as the team\u2019s performance en route to the Stanley Cup final.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cA 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,\u201d Golden Knights president Kerry Bubolz said. \u201cWe were excited by that because we know we have another level on and off the ice.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Predators president Sean Henry has seen the Golden Knights\u2019 game experience first-hand.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI love it,\u201d Henry said. \u201cI 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\u2019s about how the fans feel about the team. It\u2019s like the fans own the team.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Most opponents say the Golden Knights are one of the league\u2019s hardest-working teams, and employees behind the scenes try to match that work ethic.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cYou never know what to expect at our games,\u201d McPhee said. \u201cIt\u2019s a positive, uplifting experience from the minute you arrive, even when you are not in the building yet. It\u2019s a party. It\u2019s an event. It\u2019s a festival. And it\u2019s uniquely Las Vegas.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Fans are smitten with the team and the players. \u201cFans have lined up at three o\u2019clock in the morning at our pro shop to get the chance buy a poster at 10,\u201d McPhee said. \u201cAnd the line is 1,000 deep.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Los Angeles is only a 271-mile drive from Las Vegas, but Kings fans know they won\u2019t easily be heard if they travel to Las Vegas to see a game.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been to 11 different NHL arenas for Kings road games and these Vegas fans may be the loudest out there,\u201d said Kevin Attanasio, an engineer and Kings fan from Whittier, Calif. \u201cI expected Kings fans to take over the (Vegas) stadium like we do in Anaheim, but every time we started \u2018Go Kings, Go\u2019 chants, Vegas fans quickly started their chants and made sure to drown ours out.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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 the team has received.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI never imagined the team being this strong,\u201d said season-ticket holder Emily Merz. \u201cI never imagined my team being this dominant. Fans have taken over the city. Knight fever in Vegas is strong.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Expansion teams traditionally finish near the bottom of the standings, but thanks to generous expansion draft rules and McPhee’s shrewdness, the Golden Knights finished with the NHL\u2019s fifth-best record.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fans and the team also bonded through the players\u2019 efforts to help the community after 59 people were killed in a mass shooting in Las Vegas on Oct. 1.<\/span><\/p>\n

Capitals-turned-Golden Knights season-ticket holder 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 \u201cVegas Strong\u201d theme, the Golden Knights\u2019 arena became a \u201cmagical place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen we\u2019re 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,\u201d Soifer said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bubolz said music in the building is intentionally cranked up for the pre-game warmups.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI tell them to turn it up as loud as they can stand it because I want the energy of the warmup to match the energy of the game because we are getting ready,\u201d Bubolz said. \u201cOur warmups are like a rock concert. I love the intensity of our warmup. It\u2019s hard to talk to the person next to you, but you are getting ready just like the guys are getting ready to battle.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source:-https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/nhl\/2018\/04\/10\/nhl-playoffs-vegas-golden-knights-encore\/500437002\/<\/span><\/p>\n

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