The Vegas Golden Knights burst onto the scene in 2017 with a once-in-a-lifetime season that saw them advance to the Stanley Cup Final. If you believe Wikipedia, it was the strongest debut season for a North American expansion team in pro sports history.
They were the hot ticket. They dominated mainstream media and social media. Even local race and sports books were notable for chants of “Go Knights Go” from their hardened denizens.
So, it seems just about everyone has been to a Vegas Golden Knights game over the years. Well, almost everyone.
A close friend recently scored tickets to a game so finally we had a chance to explore this modern day sports phenomenon. The journey began from the northwest valley where a driver in a spiffy red Tesla Model 3 chauffeured us to within walking distance of T-Mobile Arena. The drive was uneventful although the crush of vehicles — one an SUV bearing a license plate that read VGK DC — intensified as we passed concrete barriers and approached the arena.
Regardless, we arrived in plenty of time for the 5 p.m. puck drop. Good fortune favored us with the luxury of a suite so we settled back to watch warmups where skaters chased a proliferation of practice pucks around the surface.
And then it was time for the puck drop. One thing stood out as roughly 17,000 spectators gradually filled the seats. That was the sound. It was LOUD. The music from the host DJ was LOUD. The voices over the public address system were LOUD. The combined effect was a constant and incessant throbbing that tested the outer limits of the human eardrum.
Some of that obviously was designed and is part of the NHL spectacle. When there was a pause in the noise, the jumbotron over the action would bait the crowd with reminders to “Make … some … noise.” And they did.
That is not unremarkable in pro sports. The Kansas City Chiefs play before a crowd at Arrowhead Stadium whose sound rivals that of a jet engine. The Philadelphia Phillies are known for vociferous crowds, particularly in playoff games, at Citizens Bank Park.
But when the noise subsides, however briefly, there is another distinctive sound from the area. And that is the almost dulcet slap-slap of curved hockey sticks pursuing and passing along a 6-ounce chunk of vulcanized rubber.
On this weekend evening, the VGK were hosting the Washington Capitals, the team that defeated them in the Stanley Cup Final during their inaugural season. The crowd was generously sprinkled with fans in red Caps jerseys. Caps star Alex Ovechkin, aka “The Big O” and “The Great 8” for his No. 8 jersey, rang up a hat trick and now trails all-time great Wayne Gretzky by only 29 goals. There were only two penalties, much to the dismay of our close friend, who anticipated at least one fist fight, a brawl or ideally a full-scale donnybrook. Though even after the Golden Knights emptied the net in the third period, they still came up on the short end of a 5-2 score.
Also, watching a game from a suite isn’t too terribly bad. The view is good, and food and beverage are more than acceptable. Munching a red velvet white-chocolate chip cookie and sipping a decent Pinot noir while watching professional hockey isn’t an awful way to spend a weekend evening.
But back to the central question. Are the Golden Knights still a hot ticket? It seemed to our untrained, nonscientific eye that there was a scattering of empty seats prior to the puck drop. The NFL Raiders are in town now and play professional football at Allegiant Stadium although at 2-8 for the season, their brand of professionalism might be debated. And Major League Baseball’s A’s are on the way to Las Vegas although that won’t be until 2028 at the earliest. Rumors continue to abound that the NBA will find a home in Las Vegas, and developers recently proposed building the Strip’s tallest hotel with an 18,000-seat arena geared to lure an NBA franchise. Of course, the Las Vegas Aviators entertain spectators during Triple A baseball season at their cozy Summerlin stadium.
Regardless, after T-Mobile Arena expunged its spectators into the chilly November air, we found our way home again, this time with a sporty Tesla Model S. It took only 10 minutes to spot the Tesla in the chaotic ride share staging area of Park MGM, once upon a time the Monte Carlo better-known for single-zero roulette than proximity to an arena.
Hot ticket or not, it was an entertaining evening.
