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Why I Believe The Golden Knights’ 9-Year Sellout Streak Ended

(Photo Credit: Ken Boehlke, SinBin.vegas)

October 8th, 2026, marked the end of an era at T-Mobile Arena. The date itself will go down in the record books as the first time in Vegas Golden Knights history they failed to sell out a game, but the occasion has been a long time in the making.

All sorts of reasons will be given as to why it happened, and happened so abruptly, on a Thursday night game in October against Canadian opposition. Every single one of them has merit. From Metallica playing down the street to the price of parking and concessions. To our neighbors to the North’s distaste for this country to the rise in gas, groceries, and everything else. It’s all true, and it all played a part, but none of it captures what actually happened at Thursday night’s game, and what will inevitably continue to occur the rest of the season.

At its simplest, this is a question of value. The combined cost of tickets, parking, and concessions is no longer worth it to enough people to fill the building.

The question is why.

Here’s my oversimplified thesis: It has never been harder to be a Golden Knights fan because the organization has shifted from building a community around hockey to operating like any other billion-dollar corporation, with profit as its defining priority.

Some of this comes down to circumstances, or the uncontrollable. The rest comes down to choices, or the controllable.

The uncontrollable factors have dominated the discussion to this point. Blaming the economy, Canadians’ understandable reluctance to visit the US, and “success fatigue” is easier than asking whether the organization has damaged its relationship with fans. That’s especially true of observers whose social media hot takes reveal little understanding of Las Vegas.

To be fair, all of these factors have an impact. Their importance varies from fan to fan, but each accounts for a slice of the fault pie behind the end of VGK’s incredible 397-game* sellout streak. Together, however, they do not account for the whole.

The Exact Reason And Science Behind The Ice Delay At T-Mobile Arena During Golden Knights vs. Flames

(Photo Credit: @Althea415 on X/Twitter)

Last night during the 2nd intermission, the game between the Golden Knights and Calgary Flames was delayed for more than half an hour due to an issue with the ice. It was confusing for not only the fans watching but also the players who said they were ready to come out for the 3rd period, but were then told to turn around.

What actually happened wasn’t anything that occurred while the game was taking place, nor was it a mistake by the crew operating the Zambonis. Instead, it was an unfortunate product of the circumstances surrounding all that’s happening at T-Mobile Arena this month.

To begin explaining this, it’s important to first understand how the graphics under the ice are placed so everyone in the rink and on television can see them. For the solid colors, such as the blue lines, the goal crease, and the faceoff circles, they are painted onto the concrete that lies below the ice. For all of the more complex items, such as the center logo, the center red line, and each of the advertisement logos, they are printed on vinyl and placed in their respective areas under the ice.

Once they are all laid properly, the rink is flooded with a thin layer of water and then frozen. This happens over and over again until the ice builds up to be around an inch and three-quarters thick. Of course, ice is clear, thus the graphics below the ice are easy for everyone to see.

Then, when each period ends, the Zambonis drive onto the ice to make two laps. First, a series of blades cuts the ice so the surface returns to being flat. Then, they drop a layer of water, which quickly freezes, on top of the now flat surface to build the ice back up to the correct thickness.

Ok, so, now fast forward to last night.

When the Zamboni drove over the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) logo, the blade that flattens the surface caught a piece of the vinyl the logo is printed on. It’s pretty clear to see by the little slit in the V. However, you’re probably asking yourself, how did the blade cut through 1.75” of ice to catch the logo?

T-Mobile Arena Named Toughest To Play In As Visiting Team In 2024 NHLPA Player Poll

Each season the NHLPA releases the results of an anonymous poll given to players on a wide variety of topics. Different Golden Knights players, the team, the city of Las Vegas, and T-Mobile Arena have named over the course of the last seven years and it happened again this season.

T-Mobile Arena was also named among the arenas with the best ice in the league, garnering 5% of the vote for 5th place. It’s the 5th year VGK’s home rink has been given this honor.

Here are the results including Vegas over the previous six seasons.

2022-23
Best Ice: T-Mobile Arena (5th place, 6%)
Best Road City: Las Vegas (1st Place, 31.7%)
Best Locker Room Guy: Phil Kessel (T-2nd Place, 2.7%)

2021-22
Best Ice: T-Mobile Arena (T-4th Place, 5.9%)
Best Road City: Las Vegas (1st Place, 30.6%)
Best Hair: William Karlsson (2nd Place, 7.9%)

2020-21
Best Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (2nd Place, 8.9%)

2019-20
Best Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (3rd Place, 8.9%)
Best Trash Talker: Ryan Reaves (3rd Place, 11.1%)
Worst Trash Talker: Nick Cousins (4th Place, 5.6%)
Best Golfer: Mark Stone (5th Place, 3.8%)
Best Visitors Dressing Room: T-Mobile Arena (2nd Place, 26.4%)
Best Jersey: Vegas Golden Knights (T-2nd Place, 6.8%)
Best Ice: T-Mobile Arena (4th Place, 8.7%)

2018-19
Best Goalie: Marc-Andre Fleury (4th Place, 6.5%)
Best TV Analyst When Retired: Ryan Reaves (3rd Place, 2.4%)
Best Trash Talker: Ryan Reaves (3rd Place, 5.5%)
Best Arena Atmosphere: T-Mobile Arena (1st Place, 42.5%)
Best Ice: T-Mobile Arena (5th Place, 4.7%)
Best Hair: William Karlsson (3rd Place, 5.7%)

2017-18
Toughest Player: Ryan Reaves (1st Place, 44.7%)
Best Coach To Play For: Gerard Gallant (3rd Place, 11.6%)

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Golden Knights Thriving At Home

(Photo Credit: SinBin.vegas Photographer Brandon Andreasen)

There’s no place like home. Dorothy said it first, the Golden Knights are saying it now.

Halfway through the schedule, the Golden Knights currently boast the 3rd best home record in the NHL. They are 15-4-2 at the friendly confines of T-Mobile Arena and have outscored their opponents 69-48 in the 21 games.

VGK have scored first in 14 of the 21 games played at home and they’ve gone on to win all but two of them. They’ve held the lead at the end of the 1st period in eight and after the 2nd in 11, and they’ve held on to win every single game. Even when they find themselves behind, things tend to turn around at home. VGK have trailed after one period three times, they are 2-0-1 in those games. They’ve trailed after two on five occasions, and they are a decent 2-2-1.

All of these numbers flip on the road. The Golden Knights have scored first just nine times in 21 games away from home. They are 5-3-1 when they do, just 4-6-2 when they don’t. They’ve led after the 1st period six times, but have won just three of them. And they’ve trailed after two periods in eight of the 21 games and went on to lose all eight.

We’re on a bit of a run here that we need to stop the bleeding on the road. -Bruce Cassidy

The number that jumps out the most in the home and away splits for the Golden Knights is goals against. Away from home, they’ve allowed 67 goals against, for 3.2 per game. At home, they’ve allowed 19 fewer, just 48 or 2.3 per game. Vegas goalies have stopped 92.3% of shots at home while posting a save percentage of just 89.8% on the road.

Most of the damage has come directly in front of the goal. At home, Vegas has outscored opponents 35-25 in high-danger goals. On the road, they’ve been outscored 33-36. Nearly the entire difference has come at 5-on-5. The Golden Knights have actually scored more high-danger goals away than they have at home (25 away, 20 home), but they’ve allowed far more on the road than at home (24 away, 15 home).

The numbers say what they say, but the head coach doesn’t feel like the team’s play has been any better or worse at home than away, just the results.

Have I noticed a difference? Not really. I’ve noticed we’re better at home at finding ways to win. Our overall play, usage, all those things I don’t think it’s been different. There’s none of that going on with our personnel decisions, it’s just how it’s played out. -Cassidy

The Golden Knights continue at home tonight with a division matchup against the Flames. They’ll play three more at T-Mobile Arena next week as well before hitting the road for the difficult New York swing that tripped them up a year ago.

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Ranking The 7 Years Of Center Circles

Earlier this week the Golden Knights unveiled the new center circle for this season’s games at T-Mobile Arena. It’s the seventh consecutive season Vegas will see a new center circle in the neutral zone. Let’s go back over all seven and rank them from best to worst.

#7 – Year 5

It’s kind of unfair because I actually really do like this design, but it’s a flower, and they put it in the center of the ice for the season right after the front office jettisoned the most popular and influential player in franchise history… who also happened to garner the nickname Flower. The red is a great touch, the use of the filigree design in the logo is a plus, and it has a sort of desert feel. But… It’s a flower. There’s just no escaping it.

#6 – Year 4

I’ve honestly never understood this one. What exactly is the design? It kind of looks like it could be something close to a spade or a club on a playing card, but I see an inkblot more so than anything (and you never want my thoughts on inkblots). The inner circle cutting the entire graphic into essentially three circles is just too much for me too. The stars are nice though.

#5 – Year 1

This is really just a nostalgic thing. Obviously, there’s nothing to this design and there’s no doubt it’s the worst red-line design in team history too, but come on, how can you not love anything and everything Year 1? What’s going on with the spacing on the word “Arena” too? Oh well, Year 1 > Flower.

#4 – Year 6

This design is completely saved by the glow-in-the-dark aspect. The nod to the Reverse Retro jerseys is nice (those jerseys are amazing), it’s just the color that’s a little odd. That being said, a two-tone VGK logo always makes me happy. I’ve always liked the two-tone logo better than the actual logo with all four colors.

#3 – Year 2

This is what a center circle is meant to look like in the NHL. It’s not over-the-top, yet it still gets in all of the elements we’re looking for. Have to love the Sword Star logo making multiple appearances too. Clean, precise, nice.

#2 – Year 3

This one is spectacular. Whereas the last one is what most teams would consider a standard center circle, this one fits what Vegas does for theirs. The pattern around the outside is perfect, there’s a ton of gold, and the colors match brilliantly. Honestly, I thought this one would never be topped.

#1 – Year 7

Absolutely stunning. Personally, I’m a fan of celebrating the heck out of a championship season. I want massive banners all over the arena, use the words “Stanley Cup Champions” literally every time they say Golden Knights, and wear the patch on the jersey until the stitching wears out. This though, oh my goodness, it’s so much better than all of that. The design borrows from the Stanley Cup, as if Vegas painted the Cup gold. It’s subtle, yet arrogant. The perfect combination for the reigning, defending, undisputed champions of the world.

**Stick tap to TheFaceoff.net for the images. It’s worth a click over to the site to see the full image of each season’s rink. Really impressive graphics to give you a nice trip down memory lane.**

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5 Most Anticipated Home Games

We’re just 49 days away from the Golden Knights beginning their quest to repeat as Stanley Cup Champions. Today, single-game tickets went on sale to the general public and there are plenty of seats available right now to see the reigning champs.

Hopefully, you are able to go to all the games, or at least many of them, but if you have to pick just one, here are the five best home games on the schedule this season.

5) December 28th, 2023 vs Los Angeles Kings

First off, this is the final game for the Golden Knights before they head up to Seattle for the Winter Classic. It also falls in a spot in the schedule where there aren’t many games in Vegas. The previous home game is on December 17th and the following one is not until January 4th which means this matchup with the Kings is the only home game for 18 days.

The bigger part of this though is that this is the third and final matchup of the season against the Los Angeles Kings. LA spent a lot of assets this summer looking to upgrade their roster and they are one of the most likely candidates to challenge the Golden Knights for the Pacific crown. It’s a difficult spot against a difficult opponent with a signature game on the horizon. If VGK can win this game, it should be a statement.

VGK Fans Eyeing Home Ice Gentlemen’s Sweep

(Photo Credit: Ken Boehlke, SinBin.vegas)

After four Stanley Cup Finals games, the current situation couldn’t have set up any better for Vegas Golden Knights fans. Their favorite hockey team is 60 minutes away from hoisting the city’s first Stanley Cup trophy. Along with the Las Vegas Aces, the Golden Knights have a chance on Tuesday to deliver the second professional sports championship in city and state history.

Funny enough, Stanley Cup champions tend to end a series on the road. The Golden Knights can buck that trend a win in Game 5. Since 2000, 10 teams were presented the 124-year-old trophy on home ice, and only three over the past 10 seasons. That rare occurrence can happen for a fourth time in front of passionate home fans on Tuesday.

SCF Winning Team – Home/Road Clinching Game Since 2013

  • 2022: COL – Road
  • 2021: TB – Home
  • 2020: TB – Neutral
  • 2019: STL – Road
  • 2018: WAS – Road
  • 2017: PIT – Road
  • 2016: PIT – Road
  • 2015: CHI – Home
  • 2014: LA – Home
  • 2013: CHI – Road

Tampa Bay snapped the five-year road stretch in 2021 when they defeated the visiting Montreal Canadiens in five games. The Golden Knights could match the Lightning’s approach tomorrow night from T-Mobile Arena.

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