Tag: Las Vegas Golden Knights

The Golden Knights used a giant slot machine to raise their Stanley Cup banner, because Vegas

This is the most Vegas it can be.

When you’re a sports franchise in Las Vegas, you’ve got to lean into it. Hard.

That’s what the Vegas Golden Knights have done over the years, with incredible pregame ceremonies involving knights and shows like they were on the strip.

Now? To celebrate raising the Stanley Cup banner after winning a title earlier this year, the franchise used a giant slot machine, with an arm pulled by captain Mark Stone, that helped start up the festivities.

It’s a pretty great video, with the front showing three Cups after the arm got yanked. You’ve got to love how utterly Vegas this is:

Adin Hill seemingly doing a Ricky Bobby impression was a classic moment at the Golden Knightsā€™ parade

To be fair to Adin Hill, it’s possible he really didn’t know what do with his hands!

Beyond their fabulous depth and star power, Adin Hill was undoubtedly one of the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ biggest catalysts in scoring their first Stanley Cup.

A long-time journeyman bouncing from the AHL to the NHL, Hill shined in his first year as the Golden Knights’ main man between the pipes. His .932 save percentage during the playoffs was second-best of all netminders, and he reasonably could’ve been seen as a great Conn Smythe contender.

Yet, as the Golden Knights thoroughly enjoyed their parade festivities on Saturday, Hill, for once, didn’t really have an answer for a reporter asking him about the gravitas of his team’s accomplishment. Instead, he made what definitely felt like a Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby reference.

In a video from Scripps Sports/KMCC Las Vegas, like the eponymous fictional driver, Hill “didn’t know what to do with his hands.”

What a not-so-subtle way to sneak in a dynamite joke from a top-notch Will Ferrell movie. Judging by his face from looking at someone off-camera, Hill loved that he could sneak the nod into an interview. It goes to show you that even brick walls in net understand the comedic concept of seamless subtlety.

William Karlsson delivered an all-time, expletive-filled speech at the Golden Knights’ championship parade

“I was pretty [expletive] great. You guys were greater!”

An expansion franchise, the Las Vegas Golden Knights took six years to achieve one of the greatest dreams of every hockey player — hoist the Stanley Cup. After such a journey, it’s more than understandable if any of the players wanted to take the time to bask in the afterglow of their success.

William Karlsson might be the best example all around.

The Golden Knights’ Stanley Cup parade took place on Saturday night. IJt lined the Las Vegas Strip with countless people, and Sin City, ironically, never seemed more alive with happy sports energy.

After taking the microphone, Karlsson — the Golden Knights’ third-line center — went on an all-time rant with his speech. He talked up his teammate and Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault. He discussed his personal journey and the road the Golden Knights took to get to the top. He, for some reason, mentioned the Arizona Coyotes?

In all honesty, in a video from KTNV Las Vegas, a shirtless Karlsson kind of really covered everything while throwing in a healthy number of random expletives here and there:

(Warning: NSFW language in the video below.)

Phew. That man is having the time of his life talking up the biggest moment of his career.

I’m a little disappointed someone actually took the microphone away from Karlsson because how do you possibly follow him? You’ve got the essence of the defending champion Golden Knights encapsulated perfectly in just about two minutes.

3-time (!) Stanley Cup champ Phil Kessel dunked all over doubters who thought he wasn’t a winner

This quote is for all the Phil Kessel haters and doubters out there.

Yep, take that in for a moment.

Phil Kessel has won three Stanley Cups. That would be two with the Pittsburgh Penguins last decade and then one on Tuesday night as the Vegas Golden Knights clinched the title and took down the Florida Panthers.

Kessel has taken on a seasoned vet role at age 35 and was a healthy scratch for much of the postseason. That doesn’t matter. He’s a Cup winner once again. And with plenty of doubters wondering if he could win anything during his days with the Toronto Maple Leafs … well, he’s got a message for them.

Here you go:

Boom. Also, he hoped he wouldn’t barf during the Knights’ celebration:

Charles Barkley told a hilarious story about Jack Eichel snubbing him: ‘I think he had zero idea who I was’

“He looked at me like, ‘Who the [expletive] are you?'”

It’s been decades since Charles Barkley last played a professional basketball game, but he’s still become a larger-than-life personality thanks to his various studio gigs. In fact, with his colorful personality, it probably wouldn’t be a stretch to say the retired Barkley is one of the more recognizable faces in major American sports.

But just don’t tell that to Jack Eichel.

As Eichel’s Las Vegas Golden Knights worked to take a 3-1 lead in this year’s Stanley Cup Final, Sportsnet’s Kyle Bukauskas interviewed Barkley in the box he was sitting in. Before taking a final question, Barkley relayed an amusing story about how Eichel apparently saw Barkley in Las Vegas’ team hotel and seemingly thought nothing of meeting the basketball legend.

As a credit to Barkley, he kept his cool and managed to turn the event into something funny:

Though I can’t confirm for sure, I find it rather unlikely Eichel doesn’t know who Barkley is. The young man grew up in Massachusetts and likely eventually had some kind of exposure to Barkley’s personality. Regardless of the reason, it’s hysterical that Eichel didn’t readily exchange friendly pleasantries with the basketball icon.

Jack Eichel doesnā€™t think Matthew Tkachukā€™s dangerous hit on him was dirty: ā€˜Itā€™s a physical gameā€™

“You’re gonna get hit sometimes.”

Game 2 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final featured a hitting moment where it was hard to ascertain if the play was “awkward” or “dirty.” No, I’m not talking about a vicious high hit by the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ Ivan Barbashev on the Florida Panthers’ Radko Gudas — that seemed pretty clear.

I’m referring to a strange exchange between Jack Eichel and Matthew Tkachuk.

As Eichel skated out with the puck toward his blue line, he tripped and made what probably would’ve been a routine check from Tkachuk look absolutely brutal from most angles. After the game, and after Las Vegas prevailed 7-2 to take a 2-0 series lead, Eichel clarified what happened on the play from his perspective.

The star Golden Knights center admitted he thought Tkachuk landed a “clean check,” chalking it up to the randomness of hockey.

Indeed, not every hit is made equal. There are sometimes some truly savage blows that shouldn’t belong in the game at any level. This Tkachuk blow on Eichel seemed just to be a case of poor fortune, making the routine seem a lot worse than it really was. Heck, even Eichel himself thinks so.

Panthers coach Paul Maurice was so delightfully cheeky despite losing Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final

There’s no panic in sight for the wise-cracking Maurice.

Game 1 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final proved to be a tough opener for the upstart Florida Panthers — and a clearly frustrated Matthew Tkachuck — on Saturday night.

After holding their own for two stanzas, the Las Vegas Golden Knights busted the matchup open with three third-period goals to take home the 5-2 win and a 1-0 series lead. If not for the ridiculous heroics of Las Vegas goaltender Adin Hill, the game potentially never shifts this much against the Panthers.

But, even while his team took one on the chin, Florida head coach Paul Maurice kept a positive attitude in the postgame. Maurice was so positive, in fact, that he couldn’t help but crack a few wise jokes to cut the tension.

First, he urged the gathered media to relax in his own unique way.

(Warning: NSFW language in the video below.)

Then, he made light of the referees giving the Panthers a penalty after a seemingly fast review:

And he also had thoughts on what the Golden Knights breaking a 2-2 tie meant to the Panthers. It was a pretty straightforward explanation!

Las Vegas may have landed the first punch of this Stanley Cup Final, but I have a feeling the Panthers are far from done. Maurice’s loose and free-wheeling approach to his interviews after Game 1 is an excellent sign for his squad.

The NHL must suspend Alex Pietrangelo for his dirty two-handed slash on Leon Draisaitl

This was so dirty and deserves a suspension.

Alex Pietrangelo should know better.

And that’s especially true given the fact that he was just on the wrong end of a reckless cross-check to the face courtesy of Edmonton Oilers forward Evander Kane.

But there he was, with the Oilers sealing up Game 4 on Wednesday night and attempting to score on an empty net, taking his stick and slashing leading playoff scorer Leon Draisaitl with two hands, which very much looked deliberate and could be interpreted as an intent to injure.

After review, Pietrangelo was given a five-minute major and game misconduct, although it wasn’t a match penalty. Still, it’s time for Player Safety to take a look at this and suspend the defenseman for at least a game.

Connor McDavid clearly agreed:

Jack Eichel trade grades: Who won the reported Golden Knights and Sabres deal?

Eichel finally leaves the Sabres.

At long, long last, the Jack Eichel saga in Buffalo is reportedly over.

Per TSN, Eichel is off to the Las Vegas Golden Knights, ending a feud between the Sabres and the star they drafted second overall in 2015 that started last year and has continued until Thursday.

The issues they had came to a head earlier this year when the injured Eichel wanted cervical disc replacement surgery and the Sabres wanted him to go with disc fusion. They couldn’t agree and then Eichel was placed on injured reserved and had his “C” for captain stripped.

Now? He’ll join a Stanley Cup contender, although we’ll see when he actually plays.

In the meantime, let’s grade the reported deal:

The best NHL opening night moment was the Las Vegas Golden Knight defeating a (virtual) Kraken

What a show!

The Golden Knights always know how to put on a show before games, infusing it with some Las Vegas flair.

And that’s exactly what the world got on Tuesday night, when the Golden Knight — if you haven’t seen him before, it’s a dude in armor with a giant sword and shield on skates — faced off against a Kraken.

Well, not a literal Kraken, although that would have been a much bigger deal. But thanks to the use of some on-ice imagery, it looked pretty amazing to see the Knight take down the Kraken before Vegas took on Seattle in the Kraken’s first NHL regular-season game ever.

Check this out:

I love every bit of this. We need more of this in sports.

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