Most felt St. Louis and Chicago would be a good litmus test for the Golden Knights, and let’s be honest, plenty of us thought Vegas would lose both games. Even the most optimistic Golden Knights fan couldn’t have envisioned a pair of wins, but now the test is over, and the Golden Knights proved us all wrong. A pair of wins while limiting two of the best offenses to four goals, in 124 minutes of play. Not too shabby.
It’s still too early to make predictions, but based on the first eight games, the team currently constructed can (and probably should) contend for a playoff spot all year. Potential future roster moves could derail the postseason, but for now, this team is playing better than anyone in the NHL, and that’s not an exaggeration. The Chicago Blackhawks left the T-Mobile ice defeated, but impressed by the new franchise.
Good team, very hard working. You know obviously they are excited so and they are playing almost playoff like hockey. They have guys coming down, blocking shots, playing with energy and playing off of their crowd quite a bit. –Jonathan Toews, Blackhawks forward
Toews describes the style of play Gerard Gallant has pushed since training camp. The Golden Knights are exciting, hard-working, energetic, and despite how corny and cliche we think it is when Turk says it, fun.
I give them credit. They had a lot of structure in their game. Not a lot of time, not a lot of space. They might have been quicker in certain areas. I thought we were in a great spot, killing that four minute the penalty, but they scored the big goal and it took the momentum away from us. -Joel Quenneville, Chicago Head Coach
The word ‘structure’ must tickle Gallant with pride. It’s a huge compliment when a future Hall of Fame coach calls a three and half week-old team structured. In one word, Quenneville is suggesting the Golden Knights have bought into the system.
We’re going to take it one game at a time. Like I said, right now things are going well. We’re playing well and we’re playing against some good teams and winning. The more we win the more compliments we’re going to get. Like I said, we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves. A great start, obviously, but it’s a long year. The guys have got to work hard. They’ve got to compete every night and play every night. If we don’t do what we did tonight for the most part of the season, then we’re not going to win. I like our group. They’re working hard and we’ll see what happens. -Gerard Gallant
Gallant sounds more like a coach that’s packing for an upcoming six-game road trip, than a coach enjoying his 7-1-0 record.
Yeah I think they played great. They played fast. They played a good game. I don’t think anyone expected them to be that good coming into the league. They played a fast game, they seem to all be on the same page. I think they’ve got a good team. –Brent Seabrook, CHI defenseman
The Blackhawks’ royalty came forward to praise the Golden Knights after the game. We’re talking about three guys (Quenneville, Seabrook, Toews) with three Stanley Cup rings each. They’ve played against every team, every coach, and every style. Their opinions matter.
I’ll tell you one thing, Chicago may have been happy to answer my fluffy questions but they weren’t happy about the loss. We should expect a tighter game on February 13th when Chicago comes back. C’mon Vegas fans, can we please hang on to at least a few of those tickets.
A Fan
I wouldn’t have sold my ticket for last night’s game or would I for the game in February. Support your team Vegas, things like this rarely come along. Be a part of it while you can.
Don Robertson
We are season ticket “HOLDERS”, when our desposit was made so was our commitment !
We will be at all 41 home games ( and more than a few road trips supporting our VGK.
Those who bought tickets to pick and choose a
few games they want to see and sell their tickets
to all other games really aren’t part of a loyal fan base. Everybody talks about this team like it is fresh out the oven as far as personnel/players.
While the franchise is new. The love of the game, the talent and passion these players have is not new—and it’s not temporary , so we welcome those loyal visiting fans coming to support their teams, but would advise them
don’t strut your stuff in “The. Fortress” thinking you have two points in your pocket. And to those locals selling their tickets as a side business,,show up more often— if you try being
“BOLD-N-GOLD”, You might finally realize what it truly means to love the game and support your team!!!!!
#VegasStrong
Go KNIGHTS Go
Sam
My wife and I joked last night about that as well. Every Vegas ticket holder seemingly taking the pay day instead of coming out for the most legitimate test of our new hockey team. What a great Victory! Keep up the good work SinBin.Vegas
anony
Teams like Chicago/Pitt/Cal-Ed will fill up the arena with transplants and tourists and the league schedule has been designed to do so (all of the Canadian teams in the west play Vegas on a weekend and Toronto on New Years Eve).
Success breeds fanbases.
It is by design that these early days are heavily slanted towards making the team a financial success by keeping the rink full irrespective of whose fans are in the seats. But even the biggest optimist wasn’t expecting quite this level of performance.
Marianne
We’re VGK season ticket holders who retired to Vegas from Chicago! I’ve been a Blackhawks fan for 50 years and had to wear my Blackhawk jersey last night! My husband wore the Golden Knights jersey! Whichever team won was a win for us!! The VGK team is great!! Love watching them!!
Jesse
Former Vegas resident in Utah now and I can’t tell you enough how much i love this team! Grew up there, love and miss that place! This is my team! Can’t wait to attend a game! Go Knights!!!