Vegas Golden Knights owner Bill Foley was on hand to see his team defeat the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, but there is one notable change he'd like to make moving forward.
Foley was irked by the Capitals' traveling fan base that occupied large portions of the arena and is considering not selling blocks of tickets as the Golden Knights look to win a title in their inaugural season.
"I can move around the ticket locations," Foley told Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com. "I don't want to see them together."
Foley said he believed Capitals supporters occupied approximately 12 percent of T-Mobile Arena.
It doesn't appear Foley will get his wish imminently, but a raucous home crowd figures to give Vegas the home-ice advantage it needs entering a pivotal Game 2.
Vegas Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has played a key role in the team's run to the Stanley Cup Final, a fact not lost on his teammates.
Fleury wasn't nearly at his best Monday in Game 1, allowing four goals on 28 shots, but the Golden Knights emerged with a 6-4 victory over the Washington Capitals.
It's clear that Fleury has earned a pass from his teammates, who attributed the goals to mere misfortune.
"He still made big saves," Golden Knights forward James Neal said via Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "You can look at the ones he let in, the one that got stuck in his pad and he pushed in, and he'll be hard on himself, but we'll battle and do anything for him to get a win."
"I don't think he should be hard on himself at all," Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland added. "It's a tip, couple wide-open tap-ins. I think he shouldn't be hard on himself. We kind of hung him out to dry there on those ones. We just know we can be better for him for the next game."
For his part, Fleury was quick to credit his teammates for their contributions while admitting he demands perfection from himself.
"I just want to stop them all, right?" Fleury said. "It doesn't matter. You can score 10, you still don't want to give up any. That being said, it's fun to play for a team that never quits, that always has a chance to come back in the game."
Should the Golden Knights win the Cup, Fleury will likely be raising the Conn Smythe Trophy as the first goaltender to win the postseason MVP award since Los Angeles Kings star Jonathan Quick in 2012.
Although there's a stark contrast in the roster composition between the Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals, both teams share a passion off the ice.
In a profile written by Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post, it was revealed that the Capitals and Golden Knights share an affinity for the Nintendo 64 classic video game "Mario Kart 64."
"You can’t practice all day, every day,” Capitals defenseman Matt Niskanen said. “You’ve gotta find something to do with your downtime. It’s funny, too, because I’m not a gamer at all, but I can’t get enough of that."
Capitals forward Jay Beagle said the game provides some levity during the most important stretch of his and his teammates' careers.
"We do keep it loose, but at the right times, too," he said. "We’re also focused and dialed in, and keeping it loose, it allows you to have fun with it and realize this is a game and this is an opportunity that you only get once in a lifetime."
Nate Schmidt is credited with purchasing the Nintendo 64 console and the game for the Capitals during last year's playoffs, and started a similar tradition with his Vegas teammates this postseason.
"I thought I would leave it (the original console with the Capitals) so hopefully it would bring them to a place that’s here (the Cup Final), I guess," Schmidt said.
Mario Kart emphasizes speed, skill, and cunning tactics, so it's only fitting that both Cup finalists would be so enthralled with the game during their spare time.
The Vegas Golden Knights have overwhelmed teams with their impressive speed and entries into the offensive zone this season, but Washington Capitals star Evgeny Kuznetsov - one of the most dynamic skaters in the Stanley Cup Final himself - doesn't agree that Vegas is all that intimidating.
ESPN's Emily Kaplan relayed the following exchange Tuesday:
The Golden Knights took Game 1 of the series 6-4, in large part due to their ability to generate pace through the wings and catch the Capitals flat-footed in their own end.
Kuznetsov, who notched an assist in the opener, will likely need to be a catalyst for Washington if the team hopes to keep up with Vegas and even the series on Wednesday night.
The Vegas Golden Knights have overwhelmed teams with their impressive speed and entries into the offensive zone this season, but Washington Capitals star Evgeny Kuznetsov - one of the most dynamic skaters in the Stanley Cup Final himself - doesn't agree that Vegas is all that intimidating.
ESPN's Emily Kaplan relayed the following exchange Tuesday:
The Golden Knights took Game 1 of the series 6-4, in large part due to their ability to generate pace through the wings and catch the Capitals flat-footed in their own end.
Kuznetsov, who notched an assist in the opener, will likely need to be a catalyst for Washington if the team hopes to keep up with Vegas and even the series on Wednesday night.
Wilson crushed Vegas center Jonathan Marchessault with a late hit in the open ice, drawing the ire of Perron, who hopped the boards to seemingly confront the Capitals' winger. Both Wilson and Perron were assessed two-minute minors for their role in the confrontation but received no further infractions.
"(I was) just testing out my edge," Perron told reporters Tuesday. "I was going to see the ref, to be honest with you. I heard the whistle, so I went on to go see the ref to find out what was going to happen.
"Obviously, it was a bad hit. We were expecting a power play there. I don't know. (Alex Ovechkin) ran into me. At the same time, I gotta be careful. I know what the rule is and all that. I gotta be careful. Obviously, there was no intention for me to do anything or start anything. After he ran me, I kind of pushed him a little bit."
Many lobbied for Perron to be suspended but he did not join an ongoing fracas, nor did he start an altercation upon hopping the boards, and thus skirted any supplementary discipline on a technicality.
Perron, who notched an assist during Vegas' Game 1 victory, will likely be considered on thin ice for the rest of the series, which is slated to resume Wednesday.
Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby was nowhere near his best during Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, but he's moving forward quickly.
Holtby took accountability for his team's performance in Monday's 6-4 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights, where he surrendered five goals on 33 shots. Tomas Nosek added an empty-netter with three seconds remaining to preserve the win for Vegas.
"For us, we just can't give up five goals and expect to have success," Holtby said via Lisa Dillman of NHL.com. "There's some areas where myself and our group, we can be more working on the same page and find ways to limit those and let our offense take over."
The Golden Knights present a unique complication for other teams, as they don't have an established precedent to base their play off of.
Holtby is well aware of the challenges the Golden Knights pose, but he's confident he will adapt to them as the series wears on.
"You can watch all the video of how to play other teams but you don't know how they're going to play you until they actually do it," Holtby said. "Every building is going to be loud. It's also another area, getting used to their team a little bit is going to help us."
It's clear that Holtby will need to be better if the Capitals are to split the series heading back to Washington, and the 2016 Vezina winner will surely be sharing his analysis with his defensemen as they prepare for Game 2.
Las Vegas is entertainment incarnate, and the opening game of the 2018 Stanley Cup Final ended up being the best show in town Monday night.
In an absolute thriller with wire-to-wire action, the Vegas Golden Knights emerged with a 6-4 victory over the Washington Capitals, putting them just three games away from winning the Cup in their inaugural season.
Here are the five most memorable moments from a back-and-forth Game 1:
This is the NHL that millennials want! Many expected raucous theatrics ahead of puck drop, and "America's Playground" didn't disappoint.
Lil Jon's cachet isn't as strong as it once was, but the rapper put on a show for the Golden Knights faithful outside the arena, riling up the crowd with his party-starting anthems.
Next, the elaborate pregame show inside T-Mobile Arena lasted a full five minutes and went above and beyond with a theme that mirrored HBO's "Game of Thrones."
Tickets were going for exorbitant prices, but fans got their money's worth Monday - before and during the game.
What do you think hurts worse - a puck to the face or a Game 1 loss after finally getting to the final in Year 13? For Alexander Ovechkin, it's a cruel dilemma that served as reality.
Ovechkin was watching the game intently from the bench when he was inadvertently drilled. Although he didn't miss a shift, the play almost added injury to insult.
In a high-paced contest, T.J. Oshie and John Carlson teamed up for arguably the nicest goal of the game on an evening that featured a few candidates. Trailing 3-2, Carlson corralled the puck at the opposing blue line to keep his team onside, delivered a pass to Oshie, pinched, and then received a perfect no-look feed from his teammate before burying a backhand past Marc-Andre Fleury, who simply had no chance. If this is going to be Carlson's payday summer, his agent is surely saving this clip for negotiations.
Tom Wilson's all-around game is often overlooked because of his propensity for dirty plays, and he didn't help his reputation on Monday. Wilson scored on a deflection early in the third period to give the Capitals a 4-3 lead, but moments later, the aggressive forward crushed Vegas' Jonathan Marchessault with a late hit in the open ice. It'll be interesting to see if Wilson is disciplined by the league office ahead of Game 2.
For a team that's built around unsung heroes, it shouldn't be all too surprising that one of its least heralded players shone brightest in Game 1. That would be Tomas Nosek, who scored the game-winner after taking a perfectly placed cross-ice feed from Shea Theodore in the third period.
Nosek played a strong all-around Game 1 with numerous entries into the offensive zone, and was part of an excellent late showing from the fourth line that included Ryan Reaves scoring an unassisted goal to tie the game at 4-4.
And to put the cherry on top, Nosek added an empty-netter to seal the Golden Knights' victory in the final seconds.
Wilson, who received a two-minute minor for interference on the play, defended himself following Washington's 6-4 loss.
"You always have your reputation," he said via Greg Wyshynski of ESPN. "When you play my physical style, you’re going to have that reputation. I trust myself. I play the game hard. It’s my job to bring that energy, that physicality. Right after he (Marchessault) got up he said 'good hit.'"
Although Wilson only received a two-minute penalty for the hit, many fans and reporters speculated about potential supplementary discipline from the league. However, Capitals head coach Barry Trotz was thoroughly unconcerned about his power forward's availability for the next game of the series.
Trotz on Tom Wilson: “I expect him to play in Game 2”
It took just over two periods of Game 1 for Washington Capitals forward Tom Wilson to make himself the center of some controversy in the Stanley Cup Final.
With the score tied 4-4 in the third period of a hotly contested game, Wilson leveled Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault, briefly sending him to the locker room.
Marchessault confirms he went through the concussion protocol before returning
After the officials huddled for a conversation, Wilson received a minor penalty for interference on Marchessault, while Vegas forward David Perron was assessed a minor of his own for cross-checking Alexander Ovechkin after the play.