Red-hot Stanley Cup Final goalies cool off
 
Red-hot Stanley Cup Final goalies cool off

Goaltenders Marc-Andre Fleury of the Vegas Golden Knights and Braden Holtby of the Washington Capitals finally cooled off during Game 1 of the NHL’s Stanley Cup Final. The two allowed nine goals during Vegas’ exciting but sloppy 6-4 victory. Fleury is a leading candidate to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP; Holtby was coming off consecutive shutouts in Games 6 and 7 of the Eastern Conference Final. NBC analyst and former NHL goalie Brian Boucher, who set the modern-day record for longest shutout streak, said the goalies weren’t entirely to blame for the rash of goals. “They both could have been better, but at the same time nine goals against is not always an indication of how a goalie plays. A lot of pucks were coming off the boards and a lot of guys were left alone in front. From a goaltender’s perspective, it was a difficult game to get into a groove.”

Golden Knights On Stanley Cup Final
 
Golden Knights On Stanley Cup Final

Golden Knights players talk after practice about being in the Stanley Cup Final and media day.

Golden Knights talk about matchup with Washington
 
Golden Knights talk about matchup with Washington

James Neal, Nate Schmidt and Marc-Andre Fleury discuss the Golden Knights’ upcoming matchup against the Washington Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final.

Knights match accomplishment of old St. Louis Blues
 
Knights match accomplishment of old St. Louis Blues

The Godlen Knights have become the first NHL expansion team in 50 years to advance to the Stanley Cup Final. The last to do it were the the 1967-68 St. Louis Blues, one of six new teams that season as the league doubled in size. The new teams played in the same division, and one was guaranteed of making the final. Both the old Blues and Knights featured great goaltending — St.Louis had Glenn Hall; Vegas has Marc-Andre Fleury. There were other similarities between the teams, such as leading scorers who were only role players with their old teams. The Knights will face either the Washington Capitals or the Tampa Bay Lightning in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final.

Golden Knights talk about 4-2 win in Game 3
 
Golden Knights talk about 4-2 win in Game 3

Alex Tuch, Erik Haula and Marc-Andre Fleury talk about the Golden Knights’ win in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.

Golden Knights talk about what they’re hoping for in Game 3
 
Golden Knights talk about what they’re hoping for in Game 3

Ryan Reaves, Jonathan Marchessault, James Neal, Brayden McNabb and Marc-Andre Fleury discuss what they learned from the first two games of the series as well as what they’re hoping for in Game 3.

Golden Knights talk about Game 2 win
 
Golden Knights talk about Game 2 win

Jonathan Marchessault, Marc-Andre Fleury and James Neal talk about the team’s 3-1 win in Winnipeg

Knights’ fever grips Las Vegas
 
Knights’ fever grips Las Vegas

Golden Knights fever is gripping Las Vegas as the second round of the NHL playoffs continue. Longtime observers of the local sports scene are comparing to the team’s popularity to that of the UNLV basketball team during its heyday. It has been 27 years since UNLV last played in the Final Four. Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was only 5 years old when the Rebels beat Duke to win the 1990 national championship. “You’d go to the bank, and everybody would ask how the Rebels were going to do against Oklahoma, against LSU. I think what is happening (with the Knights) is similar. The most important part is that it is uniting the community like UNLV basketball did.”