This place sure is nice, no one plays defense. (Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)
Vegas fans probably dislike the Red Wings after last night’s 6-3 loss. Detroit fans became the first to take over T-Mobile arena with Howe, Lidstrom, Federov, and Zetterberg jerseys. Then the Red Wing players sent fans home early after pouring it on in the third period. So I get it if there’s a little bitterness towards Detroit. However, the Red Wings organization had glowing reviews of the Las Vegas and VGK fans. Of course, they won, so it’s easier to compliment a team you just beat. Nevertheless, fans will appreciate the respect.
It was a great atmosphere and great building. The Vegas fans were big time behind them. They’re going to have lots of real good starts because the emotion in the building. They are excellent fans. It was a great atmosphere and great for the NHL… number one thing is there seems to be a lot of pride in the city of Vegas, and I think that’s great. I think when you have pride in your city, you’re going to come out and support your teams. There’s no question that you can feel the pride that this city has in their team. Gerard has a hard-working team, so there’s a lot to take pride in.” – Jeff Blashill, Detroit head coach
Captain Henrik Zetterberg also mentioned the fans, and the strong Las Vegas community.
Well everyone knows what Vegas had gone through the last couple of weeks or so. Coming in here and being a part of the atmosphere like this, it shows that it is a strong city and it is a hockey market… I see a future here, and especially the fans were a big part of it. It was loud, it was probably a lot louder than many other arenas. It’s a nice arena to play in, the ice was good. -Henrik Zetterberg, Red Wings forward
Undefeated streak-stomper Gustav Nyquist enjoyed playing in Las Vegas. It’s hard not to when you score twice on the Strip.
I felt like a big part was the fans, loud music and the fans being loud. They’ve been able to put together a great product, it seems like, and a good team too. It’s been a fun experience and a good first visit for our team. You can feel it when you land and you go to the hotels. There’s great energy and people are happy around here. This is the place for many people around the whole world to come and have fun. It’s got good energy in the city for sure. -Gustav Nyquist, Red Wings forward
It’s great to hear opposing players praise the new fanbase. Noise and energy are two things Las Vegas has plenty of. Hopefully, the loud fans Zetterberg talked about will create a strong home-ice advantage. That way, next season Nyquist will have to find somewhere else on the Strip to score.
Beardcore
One major problem was our gray jerseys that make the arena look empty while the bright red Detroit jerseys made it seem like they dominated the arena. Gold jerseys might fix that…
Jon Parr
Did notice while watching there was A LOT of red throughout the arena, also a decent level of cheering for the Detroit goals that was definitely audible.
Do you think this was just because Detroit is a big name club, or will the Golden Knights struggle with strong away fan bases until firmly established ?
Clayton
I’d say it’s just because Detroit is a big away team. With my family originally from Michigan, but me being born and raised in Vegas, I was a Wings fan up until now. Whenever I went to Wings games in established markets like Anaheim and LA 50% of the crowd was wearing red.
Jon Parr
Appreciate it Clayton, makes me feel better. If it’s worth anything, I did see a lot more VGK stuff walking into the arena at the Dallas game than I expected
Trevor
It’s worth noting that Leafs cheers were also audible during the Leafs-Habs game tonight. In Montreal.
Not just a Vegas thing. Don’t worry too much about it just yet.
Carey D. Conley
Article failed to mention that the Wings also have a brand-new arena, Little Caesars Arena, the NHL’s (and NBA’s) newest, in fact.
It also failed to ask the Wings players how the two buildings compare, which I would be curious to hear.