Jamie Oleksiak got an early look at the expansion Vegas Golden Knights.
In fact, he got the first look at them.
Oleksiak was in the Dallas’ Stars lineup when they faced the Golden Knights for the franchise’s first game at Dallas’ American Airlines Center Oct. 6. He was on the ice when former Penguins left winger James Neal scored Vegas’ first goal.
Neal would score another goal later in the contest which proved to be the game-winning score and gave the Golden Knights a 2-1 victory in their NHL debut.
“They just seemed relentless on the puck,” said Oleksiak, who joined the Penguins via trade Dec. 19. “They’re a hard-working team. They’ve got a lot of depth. They might not have the crazy superstar names. Every guy on their team works hard to finish checks. Once you get the puck, there’s a second guy on you quick.
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“They’re a pretty relentless team.”
The Golden Knights have been unabating throughout a season no other team has enjoyed in the NHL’s first century.
Entering tonight’s contest against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena, they sit in first place of the Pacific Division with a 35-13-4 record and 74 points, 10 more than the second-place Sharks. Only the Lightning, which the Golden Knights defeated in both meetings this season, has more points than the Golden Knights in the entire league.
“Nobody thought we’d in first place at this point of the season,” said Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant. “But I think the surprise was coming out of the gate so well. … The guys built a lot of confidence. Every time we played a game, we built confidence. We go on the road, we beat real good hockey teams. So you build confidence as it goes. Our team can go into any building and know we have a chance to win if we play well.”
As has been the case with virtually all expansion teams in all sports, there were limited expectations as far as success, even internally, for the Golden Knights in their inaugural campaign. But having passed the midway point of the season, any astonishment over their success has waned.
“I think it’s two-phased,” said defenseman Nate Schmidt. “If you asked at the beginning of the year, I’d be awfully surprised. Then if you asked me around Christmas or around November, I wouldn’t be as surprised. Because once we found out what we were and what we had in this locker room, I think it was a feasible task to see where we’re at right now. It’s something we haven’t talked about but at the same time, the reason we’ve had a lot of fun with our group is we have a great group in here. That’s the reason it makes it fun to come to the rink. Guys love being around each other. That just helps on ice. You want to fight for those guys just as hard.”
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The process of transforming from a random collection of NHLers herded through the expansion draft into a team has taken place fairly quickly according to those who helped amass this roster.
“I think it became a team day one of training camp,” said Gallant. “I really do, I really believe that. That’s why we came together so early in the year. There’s no big egos here. The guys come to work. They come to have fun.
“I believe after the first 10, 12 games, everybody loved to be in Vegas. At first, you weren’t sure. Some of the guys that left real good franchises, they were probably a little bitter. But early on in the season, everybody (saw) what we had to offer. Everybody was happy in Vegas. I think the guys love it there now … I know they love it there now.”
Tragedy played a role in the amalgamation of this squad as well.
When a gunman claimed the lives of 58 people at a country music festival in Las Vegas Oct. 1, the Golden Knights, the city’s first major professional franchise, had not yet played a regular season game. When they made their home debut just over a week later on Oct. 10, they staged a pregame ceremony recognizing victims as well as first responders.
Off the ice, the team made appearances at hospitals and other institutions in the wake of the massacre.
“Not to try to (minimalize) what happened to the city because the city came together itself but it was really special for our group of guys to be in within the city and be able to help any way possible,” Schmidt said. “We went to a lot of hard places to go. Visited places where people were hurt and families were hurting. And just to kind of be that distraction for them was really nice because it allowed us to come and get to know each other on a personal basis as well.”
A common trait on this roster is displacement. Every member of the Golden Knights was exposed by their former team through the expansion draft for a variety of reasons ranging from salary cap relief to simply being lower on the depth chart.
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“Coming into this season, everyone knew there was a lot of opportunity for anyone,” said former Penguins defenseman Deryk Engelland, previously a member of the Calgary Flames. “Guys came in wanting to prove themselves. On their last team, they could maybe not get up in the lineup because teams were fairly deep or whatnot. It was a clean slate here and guys knew that coming in and I think guys jumped on that and ran with it.”
“Each guy probably individually thought that he had something to prove and they could grow in a role,” said Schmidt, who was a self-described seventh defenseman with the Capitals. “I know I was one of those guys. I had a little more of a chance to grow. Then you kind of do it together. That first homestand we had and then you get on the road … It was pretty much we had the group in here to do it. It’s just whether or not we’re going to do this every night. Because there’s going to be a point where we’re not going to sneak up on anybody anymore.”
Considering their position in the standings, they are probably past the point of no return as far as no longer surprising the rest of the NHL.
“What they’re doing is special, not only for an expansion team but just for a team in general,” said Bryan Rust. “They’ve won a lot of hockey games and they’re playing with a lot of confidence. They seem like they’re having fun. They’re playing four lines and six (defensemen) and their goalies are making big saves. This will be a challenge.”
The challenge now for the Golden Knights is maintaining an immediate perspective. With just over two months remaining in the season, they claim they aren’t aiming for a specific goal such as a division title or even a postseason appearance.
“No, all year we’ve done a good job just taking it one game at a time,” Engelland said. “We’ve got Pittsburgh tonight then you worry about the next one after that. We don’t want to get too far ahead of ourselves. There’s a lot of seasons left and we’ve just to keep plugging along.”
Above all else, the Vegas Golden Knights, the greatest expansion team in NHL history, just want to have fun.
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“If you put the fast forward button on the year, careers are too… they go by too fast,” Schmidt said. “We’re having a blast with each other and that’s the reason I don’t want to go that fast. Push it as far back as you can. That’s why I feel that way because we’re having such a great time here.”
“It was going to be a fun season no matter what happened really,” Gallant said. “My job was to come in here and do the best job we can do with our players. Get us ready to compete and battle every night. After the expansion draft was over, we knew we had a pretty solid team. We didn’t know we were going to be as successful right now as we have been.
“We’re 50 games in. We’ve got a long way to go. It’s been a great start but we’ve got to finish it.”
Morning skate notes:
Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury has a 15-4-2 record along with a 1.84 goals against average and .939 save percentage. (Photo credit: James Carey Lauder-USA TODAY Sports)
-Both teams had an optional morning skate.
-Matt Murray is expected to start in net for the Penguins.
-Conor Sheary skated prior to the morning skate. He has been sidelined two games due to an undisclosed injury.
-Marc-Andre Fleury is expected to start in net for the Golden Knights.
-This morning, he was presented with his ring for last season’s Stanley Cup title:
Mario: “Should be fun tonight!”
Fleury: “A little weird, maybe. Hopefully the fans don’t throw too many tomatoes (laughs).” pic.twitter.com/PxMwqo0iXr— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) February 6, 2018
-Schmidt had an observation on Fleury’s importance to his current team:
“He means so much to our team. And that’s not an on-the-ice thing. That’s why guys want to bring their best. You can look him in the eye after the game and say, ‘Man, I gave you my best.’ That’s the only thing we ask for in our room.”
-Schmidt had an amusing quip on the reception Fleury should receive tonight:
“As a seventh defenseman in Washington … I thought I had a pretty big return home (Sunday). Can’t imagine a three-time Stanley Cup guy.”
-Schmidt, who is a very thoughtful individual, also spoke on Engelland and his play this season, primarily on the Golden Knights’ second defensive pairing:
“He could skate a lot better than I thought he could. Because I knew the guys that he played with in (Pittsburgh) and the guys that I played with in (Washington), Brooks (Orpik) and Matt Niskanen. You hear from these guys, ‘Rough and tough, that mentality of a guy.’ You talk to (Capitals right winger) Tom Wilson after the game, he’s like ‘I don’t want to run around with Engelland on the ice.’ Because he still got that mantra, he’s still got it. But he skates a lot better than I thought. I thought he was one of those guys that just lumbers around. But there’s a reason he’s still playing at 35 and looking good and keeping up with (defenseman) Shea Theodore which is no easy task.”
(Photo credit: Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports)