Las Vegas’ Golden Team Heads To Stanley Cup Final

By ALAN SNEL

LVSportsBiz.com

 

You might know Marc-Andre Fleury as the super nice guy with a perpetual smile who performs Cirque du Soleil moves to stop hockey pucks for the Las Vegas Good Guys also known as the Golden Knights.

 

For all his dazzling saves, his super-bright smiles and personal touches he doles out to anyone to crosses his path, Fleury is remembered — for me — by one image.

 

 

Two days after a madman with rapid-fire rifles and ammo slaughtered 58 country music festival fans and injured another 500 people, the Golden Knights made a pit stop at a blood donation center.

 

I just couldn’t help but notice a young woman who had attended the Route 91 Harvest festival and kept on breaking down in tears every 10 or 15 minutes.

 

And I remember the small circle of Golden Knights players who listened to her and gave her an ear to hear the horror of bullets flying through the night sky at a festival grounds.

 

That circle included Fleury who gave her hugs and smiled — and also exposed a serious side when he listened to her tales of horror. LVSportsBiz.com was there.

 

The date was Oct. 3.

 

*

 

The Golden Knights staged an emotional pregame ceremony before the Oct. 10 home-opener to help the healing of the Oct. mass shooting.

 

And at the final home game of the regular season, a banner with 58 stars was retired before that game started.

 

The number 58 lives on.

 

Bear witness to a fan Sunday at the big watch party on the plaza outside T-Mobile Arena.

 

*

 

In the middle of the afternoon before 3 p.m. a few thousand fans were delirious after their Golden Knights polished off the powerful Winnipeg Jets, 2-1 to claim the Western Conference Final title.

 

A woman was so full of joy that she just screamed over and over and over. No words. Just high-pitched screams.

 

I went over to her and allowed her to tell her story.

 

 

*

 

These are times of political conflict and extremism, where civility is a precious commodity.

 

Las Vegas was also a town still hurting after Oct. 1.

 

Yet sports — and the Golden Knights — provided a safe haven to help heal after Oct. 1.

 

In fact Sunday, the plaza filled with fans rooting for a single team was a place where you can just start talking without introductions.

 

“Think Fleury can hold the fort for the rest of the game,?” the flag man asked.

 

“Sure,” I replied.

 

 

*

 

This fan loves his belts.

 

And he had to show me an improvement he made.

 

 

*

 

 

When the last seconds counted down, people celebrated and documented the moment with their phones.

 

Click and you’ll witness history.

 

 

*

 

Follow LVSportsBiz.com on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Contact LVSportsBiz.com founder/writer Alan Snel at asnel@LVSportsBiz.com