Golden Knights Beat Jets to Advance to Stanley Cup Finals

A year ago at this time, the Vegas Golden Knights had signed a few free agents and were still a month away from filling out their roster via the NHL expansion draft. They were four and a half months away from playing their first NHL regular season game. As a brand new team, Vegas was a big unknown but usually expansion teams finish near the bottom of the standings in their first year, though some, like baseball’s Florida (now Miami) Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks, won championships within five years of coming into existence.

The Golden Knights are exceeding all expectations. Not only did they reach the playoffs, they won the Pacific Division with 109 points. Vegas then swept the Los Angeles Kings in four games in the first round of the playoffs and beat the San Jose Sharks in six games in the next round to advance to the Western Conference finals. After losing Game 1 of the West finals to Winnipeg, the Golden Knights beat the Jets four straight times to win the Western Conference and advance to the Stanley Cup finals.

Two players who were with the Florida Panthers last season lead the Golden Knights in postseason scoring. Jonathan Marchessault has 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) and Reilly Smith has 16 on two goals and 14 assists. Florida just missed the playoffs this year by one point, so Panthers fans can contemplate how things would have gone if those two were still in the Sunshine State. Another key pickup was goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who won three Stanley Cups, including last year’s, as a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Pittsburgh decided to go with Matt Murray as its number one goalie, and Fleury went on to have a stellar season in the desert (29-13-4, with a 2.44 goals against average and .927 save percentage). He’s been outstanding in the playoffs, posting a 12-3 record with a 1.68 goals against average and .947 save percentage.

The Golden Knights will play the winner of the Eastern Conference playoffs in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Tampa Bay Lighting lead the Washington Capitals 3-2 in that series, with Game 6 on May 21st.