We are knee deep into the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Yes, it is called the “Stanley Cup Playoffs.” We have seen more excitement than what the NBA playoffs will give us now a days. I am obviously not a big NBA fan now a days. You have everybody debating if Lebron is better than Michael. I am only going go say this about that whole debate. You have two different eras of athletes. One played in a harder era to get to world title, the other did not. I could go on about this for hours but determining who is the “GOAT” of the NBA is not what this will not be about this will be about.
This will be about the most exciting thing about sports that no one is really talking about. I want to talk about the very first expansion team to ever make not only make the playoffs but to make the conference finals in their very first year of existence . I want to talk bout them Vegas Golden Knights.
How We Got Here
The Golden Knights are just 8 wins away from winning the most difficult trophy to win in all of Pro sports. They are on the cusp of capturing o Lord Stanley’s chalice. If they do so win the Stanley Cup, they will be he very first expansion team to win the biggest trophy in not only in their sport but in all of professional sports.
On February 21, 2018 the Golden Knights set the NHL record for the most points by an expansion team in league history with 84 points. On March 31, 2018 , the Knights clichéd their very first playoff birth when they won the Pacific Division title in their inaugural season. Soon afterwards, the Knights won their first Stanley Cup Playoff Series by sweeping the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Knights have certainly surpassed just being the story of the NHL. They have literally become the story of all of the sports world. Unfortunately I do not believe they are getting the coverage they deserve.
Why The Knights Are Good For The Game
I get it. The top 4 sports in the USA are #1. Football (NBA and NCAA). #2. Basketball( NBA and NCAA)#3.Baseball(MLB) and to a certain degree NCAA. And you have #4Hockey(NHL) again to a certain degree NCAA hockey, but hockey in general seems to take a backseat to other sports in the USA. When it comes Stanley Cup Playoff time, the NHL should be the #1 sport to watch. Yes, I am saying it the Stanley Cup Playoffs are much better to watch than the NBA Playoffs. Especially when you have the best thing to talk about currently in sports is the Vegas Golden Knights.
What is at stake?
I will go ahead and state once again the Golden Knights are the first expansion team in sports history to have made it to the playoffs in their inaugural season not only that they swept their first playoff series against the Los Angeles Kings. They win their second round series against the San Jose Sharks, and they have made it to the Western Conference Finals where they take on the second best team in the NHL as far as their record goes in the Winnipeg Jets. They could very well be Stanley Cup Champions by seasons end.
Winnipeg is the only Canadian team still alive in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. You could say there is quite a bit of pressure on the Jets considering Canada has not won a Stanley Cup in a quarter of a century. Yes, that is hard to believe. Canada has not won a Stanley Cup in almost as long as I have been alive, which is 32 years.
What Makes This Story So Unique
You have to admit the story of the Vegas Golden Knights who did not exist a year ago. Who came into the season as quite the underdog according to most experts. They have made it all the way to the Western Conference Finals meaning they are one series win away for playing for the Stanley Cup trophy.
It may have taken the New York Islanders 8 years to win their first Cup. And it may have taken the Nashville Predators only 20 years to reach the Western Conference Finals and Stanley Cup Final just last year.
NHL expansion teams are usually the teams to go game in sand game out and get slapped around repeatedly. But the Golden Knights did not get that memo. The Golden Knights finished the regular season with an impressive 51-24-7 record and 109 points(5th best in the league). Not to mention an 8-2 start in their first 10 games as a franchise.
Enjoy the Moment.
Vegas, no matter what happens, you have made sports history. You have made further than any expansion team not just the NHL, but in all sports history. You proved to the doubters if you were a fluke. You gave your city to stand behind something after such a major tragedy happened in your city.
Here is to hoping for many more Elvis impersonators, Cirque du Soleil and Blue Man Group shows during intermission. And let us not forget the flamingoes being thrown out onto the ice as well.
#VEGASSTRONG