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On Thursday night, defending Stanley Cup champions the Vegas Golden Knights halted a four-game losing streak by defeating the Los Angeles Kings, 3-2, at T-Mobile Arena.
The win improved the franchise's record (17-12-3) over their California rivals and reminded everyone that they are the best professional sports team in Las Vegas and still one of the top teams in the NHL.
The NFL's Las Vegas Raiders have a 7-8 record in the AFC West, while the Golden Knights are tied atop the NHL's Pacific Division and remain in a three-way tie for the top spot in the league.
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Even though this was just the 37th game of the 2023-24 season, it was a crucial moment in Vegas' season. They ended an unusually long losing skid and now go into the upcoming NHL Winter Classic (Jan. 1) against the Seattle Kraken on a high note.
3 takeaways from the Golden Knights' 3-2 win over the Kings
#1, Logan Thompson bounces back as the Golden Knights' goaltender
Since their inaugural season (2017-18), when Vegas employed future Hall of Famer Marc-Andre Fleury between the pipes, the franchise has been blessed with superb netminders. This explains the impressive 289-157-46 record across seven seasons.
On Wednesday night, the first game out of the Christmas break, Logan Thompson had a poor performance against the Anaheim Ducks. He conceded five goals and skated away with a .808 save percentage.
Although most people would have thought he'd have the night off since the Golden Knights were playing back-to-back games, head coach Bruce Cassidy sent Thompson back out there. He didn't disappoint, recording 32 saves and his 11th win of the season.
Last year, Thompson was the team's All-Star Game representative and watched Adin Hill lead the team to the championship after sitting with an injury for most of the second half of the season.
Unfortunately, Hill is now the one out. Thompson stepped right back into the starter role without the transition affecting the team, which remains a front-runner to capture the franchise's first Presidents' Trophy as the NHL's best regular season team.
As the saying goes, "defense wins championships," however, in hockey, most teams win the Stanley Cup with great goaltending, which the Golden Knights have been fortunate enough to have since their inception.
#2, Acquiring Jack Eichel may be the franchise's most significant move
Unsurprisingly, Jack Eichel collected a goal against the Kings, giving him a three-point cushion as the leading scorer for the Golden Knights, with 40 points through 37 games. As the former second-overall pick (2015) skates in his second full season with Vegas, he's on pace to lead the team in scoring in consecutive campaigns.
Although many consider the Golden Knights' expansion roster in 2017 to be the deepest ever assembled for a first-year club, they did lose in the Stanley Cup Final that season. The chance to play in Las Vegas is also a significant selling point for free agents.
Since their inception, the Vegas has acquired All-Star caliber skaters like Eichel, captain Mark Stone, and former Stanley Cup champion Alex Pietrangelo. They all played vital roles during the club's journey to the title in 2022-23.
Las Vegas is a unique place with some of the world's best entertainment venues and preferred weather year-round, so the Golden Knights have an advantage over cities like Edmonton, Alberta, or Columbus, Ohio.
Even though players would love to skate in Florida year-round, outside of the recent run of the Tampa Bay Lightning, those NHL franchises have not experienced the same level of success as Vegas has out of the gate.
Acquiring Eichel in November 2021, who has done nothing but revitalize his career over the last 138 games, is a testament to the club's commitment to winning.
#3, Golden Knights are building an unthinkable legacy as an expansion franchise
When the Raiders moved to Vegas in 2020, they had previous homes in Oakland and Los Angeles, which is the same for the MLB's Athletics, who are scheduled to move to town later in the decade.
The Golden Knights were a brand-new franchise with no previous history. With each win they collected, they continued to build upon an unimaginable legacy as one of the most successful, if not the most successful, expansion teams in professional sports history.
Thanks to ownership, management, and the players sticking to the plan, Vegas maintains a spot near the league's top, making them a model franchise.
Vegas has had the fourth-most wins (289) in the NHL since 2017, another testament to their unusual success out of the gate. Most expansion teams struggle and take years to reach respectability.
Considering that they have been one of the best teams in the league when a team with a long, storied history like the Kings comes to town, it's a clash of titans contest, not a meaningless game in the middle of the season.
Of course, winning over a divisional and neighbor rival is always a plus, but with their win on Thursday, Vegas showed they can overcome adversity just like every other team that goes through slumps.
Securing two points in December helps ease the pressure of must-win situations in March while reminding everyone that this is a marathon, not a sprint.
Whether you love or loathe the Golden Knights after seven seasons, they testify that consistency is the key to success in professional sports, especially in a global market like Las Vegas.
