By Alan Snel of LVSportsBiz.com
Photos by Steve Rosenthal
Record attendance. A win against the San Jose Sharks. Fights and chippy play.
And that was just the final game of the preseason Sunday.
Imagine what the Vegas Golden Knights’ Opening Night Wednesday and a new 2019-20 season will bring you for Year 3.
The Golden Knights’ announced attendance for Sunday’s 5-1 win over the Sharks was a preseason record of 18,131, making it an average of 17,989 per game for the four home preseason games at T-Mobile Arena.
It’s Sharks Week for the Knights. After today’s VGK win over San Jose, the season starts for real Wednesday when the Knights host the Sharks. Then game 2 of VGK year 3 is in San Jose. Here are coach Gerard Gallant, forward Jonathan Marchessault and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury on Sunday’s game and two more games against the Sharks this week as the regular season starts.
From VGK owner Bill Foley on down, the Knights say they are over the way season 2 ended five months ago. In Game 7 of the Stanley Cup’s first round, the Knights blew a 3-0 third period lead thanks to a controversial five-minute major penalty that resulted in the Sharks scoring four goals en route to a 5-4 OT win in San Jose in April.
On Sunday, the Knights led the Sharks, 4-0, after two periods after VGK goals by William Carrier, Jimmy Schuldt, Marchessault and Mark Stone. Fleury looked solid.
The Knights polished off the Sharks with the 5-1 win as play grewing more chippy between the two rivals as the final period wore on.
Look for more LVSportsBiz.com coverage this week.
*
Follow LVSportsBiz.com on Twitter and Instagram. Like LVSportsBiz.com on Facebook.