Vegas Marches to the Stanley Cup Final
The remarkable story of the Vegas Golden Knights continues with a run to the Stanley Cup.
The Western Conference Champions ousted the favored Winnipeg Jets in five games, winning four straight to close out the series.
In the Golden Knights series clinching 2-1 win, it had quite the Pittsburgh connection.
There’s Marc Andre Fleury putting together a 31 save performance to close out the series, Ryan Reaves a major outcast in the Penguins system, scoring the game winning goal, and Deryk Engelland playing 23 minutes in Game 5 and on the ice for the final minute of play to preserve a one-goal lead and a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
Vegas reaching the Stanley Cup Final has already cemented them as one of the greatest stories in NHL history and winning the Cup would turn it into one of the greatest stories ever among the four major sports.
There are just so many things that have transpired that no one could foresee coming.
How so many average/good players on this roster have come together to play like stars and superstars in a few cases has been something never seen.
Expansion team or not, it is so rare in how many players on this roster have significantly outperformed their career marks/projections:
Marc Andre Fleury (.947 SV% in 2018 postseason, .913 Career SV%), William Karlsson (*43 goals, *73 pts), Jonathan Marchessault (27 Goals, *75 Pts, Reilly Smith (22 Goals, *60 Pts), David Perron (16 Goals, *66 Pts), the list goes on and on.
*=Career Highs
Even beyond the stats, a major hole viewed by many with the Golden Knights roster when it came to winning in the postseason was the lack of a No. 1 defenseman.
Nate Schmidt isn’t a true No. 1 but he’s played like it for Vegas as they’ve stormed through the West.
And that’s what makes this run so remarkable in how so many played have elevated their play to levels never expected or even imagined.
Fleury’s Hall-of-Fame Case Starting to Emerge
— Everything for Vegas in marching to the Cup Final starts with their speed game, relentless puck pursuit game and Marc Andre Fleury.
Fleury is right now playing at an unreal level.
He’s 12-3 in the playoffs with a 1.68 GAA and .947 save percentage.
In the final four games of the Western Conference Finals, Fleury posted a save percentage of .956.
Pittsburgh never saw this type of goaltending from Fleury and delivering it at age 33 is something even the biggest Fleury backer could not have seen coming, whether Fleury played in Vegas or was still in Pittsburgh.
Fleury is the face of Vegas and it’s just a fascinating situation how he ended up there with the Penguins finding no trade market for the 2003 No. 1 overall pick and the General Manager in Vegas about a week before the expansion draft even mulling the possibility of flipping Fleury after the draft.
That was shutdown by Vegas owner Bill Foley who was set on keeping Fleury because of his great personality and felt Vegas needed a named player like Fleury who was likeable and who could drive interest around the community.
Despite his projection to have the win totals when his career is over that would meet Hall-of-Fame standards, there was zero reason to look at Fleury as a Hall-of-Famer goaltender prior to this season.
Absolutely no reason.
That now has to change moving forward.
There is going to be significant weight and should be to what Fleury has done this season, most notably in the 2018 playoffs.
It’s not just Fleury among the former Penguins who have significantly played above even the highest expectations Vegas could have had.
Few saw David Perron coming in and having a 66 point season and I still can’t past Deryk Engelland and the high-pairing role he’s succeeded at with the Golden Knights.
Deryk Engelland averaging 22 minutes a game in the playoffs for a team in the Stanley Cup is another shocking development with the Amazing Knights.
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So, sammich, I was wondering about something. All this “fraud” talk with respect to players to don’t like. You catch the stat line on Stammer? 3-3 in game 7s with 9 shots and 0 points… 8.5AAV for 5 more years and one must consider that TB has some real chill taxes so his take home is close to the equivalent of a player making 13 or 13 AAV.
So in your mind, sammich, is Stamkos a fraud for collecting the big pay check but consistently coming up empty in big game situations?
Caps deserved that series win. Going to be a great final.
I can’t believe Josh Miller lasted as long as he did on the Fan. Dealing with Dunlap on a daily basis had to suck. I can completely avoid the morning show now and hope that Dunlap is next
Npl sucks
https://youtu.be/VHpePQ6FCkM
Hey npl I send you a song maybe you can learn and we can sing along together 🙂
Hey gaydogg can you tell us how bad I’m doing in the NHL brackets
Weren’t you just bragging about Winnipeg being in the finals? What a loser.
No way Vegas can beat Winnepeg.
You picked Philly in 6. That’s all that really matters here since the is a Pens board not a NHL board.
Vegas has more Stanley Cup Finals appearances in the last 25 years than Montreal.
Your alive fatso ? You didint kill yourself yet?
They have more than all the Canadian teams combined over the last 10 years.
Now that the weather is good in Tampax they can start golfing right away
Montreal started playing golf before Thanksgiving.
It was still cold so I can say pretty much same time as Tampax it will be
Sams favourite team is ahead… douche bag
Last I checked I have caps in finals
But most pens bandwagon’s live in lala land so they had pens in finals no matter what.
This Tampax arena is a like a ghost town
Probably because Point has killed every rush he’s been on
So now we depend on point
The way you shouldve depend on you sheary
“We”… Sheary scored big goals on two cup teams you fucken retard!
You know who would have shot the puck Point passed? Malkin…
If only Johnson decides to show up some day. Oh I forgot. Since he signed his contract 2 years ago he disapeared
For 5 million he scored 19 with 45 pts in 66 games last year and 21 for 50 this year… what a thief. I mean he’s no Nash but wow. You’re such a biased cuntrag dude
Npl closed his tv already
F-U. Tampax
For a lot of reasons I will root for Vegas (MAF main reason). With that said am I the only one who thinks if Vegas wins it all that the whole value of the NHL is cheapened by having an expansion team win it all?
Not at all.
If you asks me it validates the expansion, both the new process (draft) and where they put the team. The latter should have a long term wait period but the early returns are massive (could fuckk em later if Vegas suddenly returns to reality anytime soon). A lot of things aligned for them, Karlsson broke out; Marchessault should have cost someone in FLA a job; MAF playing historically well; Perron rediscovering his game and a couple of Dmen from teams that were real deep have all factored into building a better roster than anyone could have anticipated and Gallant is… Read more »
I would agree. I honestly think it was already watered down. The league also put Vegas in a great spot to succeed. The last expansion saw teams able to protect 15 players as opposed to 10. Two teams joining the same year also made it much harder to have any kind of immediate success. Whatever though, it will be fun to watch. I’d like to see Fleury win, but I’m pulling for Tampa. I just don’t want to see a Stanley Cup in that city, ever, especially the first year. It’s a niche city with no hockey culture.
Yeah because tampa has hockey culture
They do. You’re just jealous because they’ve done exponentially more over the past 2 decades than your favorite team.
Go cheer your Tampax with npl while you guys are at a pj party together
GM played the system and he won. Anyone who says the NHL gave them help to win is a cry baby.
Stupid dumb fans they probably wanted league does same what they did with sens back then if that was the case for Vegas team wouldve been moved next year already
They needed to make team for to attract people
After all its an american team. Fans are used to only win if they start losing they switch sports or teams.
Just look at npl. Mid way pens series he stated supporting Tampax
Case in point….
Please, the way you type and spell, you are the last person who should be using the word stupid in a sentence. Breathe, slow down, then type. Proof read what you wrote and then hit post comment. Or just go back to first grade english.
GM: I have no problem with, but I think NHL tilted the system for a lot of reasons including a winning team on a national stage. To me it looked like a set up to enhance the foothold in Vegas. Hell you see commercials about Vegas featuring the team already. The next team coming in from Seattle which is the favorite is part of the NHL trying to strengthen its position in Western North America. It all has to be part of a strategic plan which you throw in the AHL adding a whole division out there. In my opinion… Read more »
Enstrom apparently was not happy last game he was healthy scratched. He is UFA earning 5.75 this year
I wonder if Ryan Reaves is angry about being traded.
He must be as happiest as fleury by now
must be happiest… I get that you are ESL and all but you have been interacting with the English speaking world long enough that you should have picked up some of what not to do through osmosis by now!
Sharks working on a 7 year deal with Kane.
Heard it was done hours ago, 7 million per
Guess there are still details to iron out
Yes its 7 years at 49m
Just like
Bobby Ryan 7 years 50.75m
What state is Kane from? How about Lucic for that matter…
Your comparing lucic to fraud Ryan a 2nd overall pick behind Crosby. Good one tool. Good one
No I am comparing an overpriced POS that got 7 years. Why do you need everything explained to you?
Also I get a kick out of how you continue to chew on the same bone… the biggest draft bust in league history came from my side of the boarder. I can acknowledge this… it happened when Canada was still the out and out dominate force, at least in supplying the league. 25 years later, the world has caught up and you are yapping on about frauds that serve your narrative because you are a xenophobic cuntrag
Good now we can have npl stop drooling over that Kane
And more of you drooling like a bitchh in heat over the… was it “steals” lol
Montreal resigns Niemi for 1 year. Price injures groan reading about signing.
This caps love to play game 7. Since ovi in league I think this team has played the most game 7
Can someone else please confirm this? We know Sam posts nothing but lies and YouTube links that nobody will click on.
First of all I don’t post lies and second the video that I just posted was for npl not you not zerotool only for npl
All you do is lie lol
Fat npl must be depressed with Tampax losing tonight I’m sure he has turned off his tv by now if you are depressed. Here is something just for you and for no one else https://youtu.be/VHpePQ6FCkM enjoy
Don’t forget to thumbs up after you watch it.
Which team is your favourite today? Thumbs down for Washington…
Washington x 5 hey… fucken loser
Caps need some puck luck
Fleury just passed Jacques plante and now is 9th all time goalie with wins next game one more win he becomes number 8 passing Osgood.
17 out of top 20 all time goalies wins in playoffs happens to be Canadian and only barrasso as the lone American
And as for shutouts in playoffs fleury sits in 5th spot all time
Fleury sucks. Npl ,tbj and Yoda
The good news for Fleury is that it looks like he’ll hit the .900 save% mark this postseason. That’s something he struggles with mightily.
Yes, 1 year is what gets fleury into the HOF. D, you outdo yourself article after article with stupidity. Keep it up.
Finishing top 3 all time wins with 4 finals appearances, 2 as a starter and pretty much taking the 16-17 team there isn’t going to get him there.
He went finals in 08 as well. But I guess you weren’t following pens up until they won with Crosby
I said 4 finals appearances dummy.
I went to a Stanley Cup Final game before too. Does that count as a Finals appearance?
I know, Murray beating what would have been the 6 seed in the east and then the 8 seed in the west is pretty impressive in 2017. Much more impressive than beating the 1 and 4 seeds in the east. You really are as stupid as Sam says.
That’s a Sam level comment.
You can’t afford fatso.
James Neal is playing in his second finals in a row. The only one of his teammates who can say that, I think.
Never been more embarrassed in my life… Im in Boston and had to rent a car. Didnt realize at the time that the car has Quebec plates. God, i hope no one thinks I am from there
Don’t worry cops will stop you before that since you don’t fit Quebec description they will think it’d stolen since it’s a fat slob driving
LET’S GO TAMPA! DA DA…DA DA DA. LET’S GO TAMPA!
WOOOOO!
Of course fleury never had those numbers in playoffs thanks to DB and his peewee hockey system. When people bashed fleury I’ve said it minutes fleury gone from pens he will do good and if fleury was playing with jersey in the brodeur era he would’ve broken more records with the Jacques lemaire system. People didint believe me now he is the proof. Now suck on that clowns just don’t choke while you at it.
Fleury played for 5 or 6 coaches in Pittsburgh… in the previous 2 years he, like Murray, played for the same head coach for cup winners… Murray has the better performance. You can chalk it up to Bylsmas poor coaching all you like but that don’t explain the entire time he was here.
Vokoun did. What’s your excuse for him? That’s right, You don’t have one. Because you can’t tie your shoes, let alone make a rational point.
jaluco