The Las Vegas Golden Knights are the newest expansion team in the NHL. They kicked off their season with two wins on the road in Dallas and Phoenix.  Their home opener occurred on October 10th against the Arizona Coyotes with an emotional tribute to the victims and heroes of the Las Vegas shooting that occurred on October 1st. Vegas ended up winning that game as well putting their opening season’s record at 3-0. This record has made Vegas the first expansion team out of any of the four major professional sports leagues in the United States to start 3-0 since the San Diego Padres 1969.

As of October 20th, Las Vegas was the number one team with a record of 5-1-0 in the Western Conference at the first to 10 points but has since dropped one spot. The Golden Knights are surprising fans in Vegas as well as hockey fans across the country. In June, as part of the expansion team, Vegas took one player left unprotected by each of the 30 NHL teams. Now on the Golden Knights, players such as William Carrier, are out to prove why their former team should have protected them. On October 17th, Carrier played his first game against his former team the Buffalo Sabres on October 17th. Although Carrier didn’t get any points in the game, he still drew attention to himself by drawing penalties and creating chances that lead to a 5-4 win for Vegas. As of October 30th, the Golden Knights are 8-1-0 and are having the best start ever by an NHL expansion team. The Las Vegas Golden Knights are turning heads everywhere they go and will continue make a statement for why being an expansion team doesn’t impede their path to success.