Home team versus goalie with the city’s heart

Due to friends having to quarantine from COVID, I attended the Vegas Golden Knights hosting the Chicago Blackhawks in their place. My daughter and one of her friends joined in on the fun.

Vegas Golden Knights’ home games do not disappoint when it comes to Las Vegas theatrics. Showgirls attempt to distract the opposing team during warm ups. The pregame shows also include projections on the ice. These include highlight reels with best of video clips and animations.

Along with this, a “battle” occurs between the knight defending his castle and an attacking intruder. Skating along the ice, the invader has a projection of the opposing team’s logo. The knight, of course, successfully defends his castle as the crowd gets hyped for the game.

Dramatic music and lighting fire up the crowd before and during the game. A huge, golden helmet slowly lowers onto the ice for the home team to skate through.

This game came with an additional tribute

Before the puck dropped, upon the jumbotron, a tribute was played for Marc-André Fleury. It was a strange feeling in T-Mobile Arena at that moment. The love the city has for its original goalie is strong. The team might have traded him for strategy or logistics, but Las Vegans never wanted him to leave.

When the tribute finished playing, the jumbotron zoomed in on Fleury’s face. Through his goalie mask was a look of what seemed at first to be confusion. To be fair, it was confusing to me that the team that traded him away, without telling him, was playing him a tribute. As if he left them, not that they traded him away. Then, as the crowd stood and cheered for Fleury, the opposing goalie, his love for Las Vegas fans seemed to reflect back.

However, the crowd did not know how to cheer

The crowd cheered when Fleury made some nice saves. Yes, the home team originally cheered blocked goals that night. Quickly, the Knights scored first blood and the crowd cheered some more. A few more cheers were given for Fleury’s saves. At the end of the first period, the Knights were up 1-0. The sea of Golden Knight, Fleury jersey wearing fans were happy.

Then, the score changed in the second period. The Knights outshot the Blackhawks, but Fleury was not letting in any more goals. Cheering for his saves diminished after the Golden Knights let in two goals. Finally, the game ended 2-1 with Chicago over Las Vegas. A huge cheer roared for Fleury before leaving the ice.

The Vegas Golden Knights are Vegas Born, but Marc-André Fleury forever holds the hearts of many in this city.