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By Alan Snel, LVSportsBiz.com Publisher/Writer
The crowds are showing up for Vegas Golden Knights games at T-Mobile Arena and filling the venue at a capacity percentage that’s tops in the National Hockey League.
Heading into Saturday’s New Year’s Eve game against fellow entertainment market Nashville, the Knights were averaging 17,989 fans a game — well above the arena’s fixed-seat capacity of 17,367. Keep in mind the VGK can get another 1,000 or so fans into the building via standing room only spots around the venue.
That’s the highest attendance capacity percentage in the NHL. The Knights are filling T-Mobile Arena to about 103 percent of capacity, tops in the 32-team National Hockey League leading the Predators, Washington and Seattle in attendance capacity percentage.
The Knights packed the arena’s SRO sections Saturday and attendance was announced at 18,333.
There are other NHL teams with bigger arenas that have higher attendance numbers. But Team Marketing Report, a Chicago-based data research organization that tracks fan and ticket costs at major league stadiums and arenas in the U.S., said the Golden Knights’ average ticket cost is $124 — fourth highest in the league.
Multiply 17,989 fans a game times $124 for an average ticket price and the Knights are generating $2.2 million a game in ticket revenue.
Nashville jumped out to a 2-0 lead over the Knights in period one. It looked like VGK injuries plus shoddy puck movement by the Knights in their defensive end — two things that plagued this team last season — were catching up with Vegas when the VGK coughed up the puck in the D-Zone and Nashville’s Filip Forsberg scored his 12th of the season in period one.
With the Knights down, 2-0, in the first period, VGK fourth-liner Keegan Kolesar redirected a Daniil Miromanov slapshot for his fourth goal and the Knights trailed 2-1 after the first period.
In period two, the Golden Knights began playing more physical and began cleaning up their breakouts. A nice transition from the VGK, plus some nice puck movement, led to Michael Amadio tying the game at two apiece in the middle stanza.
“We need it right now. We’re down numbers. We need some secondary guys to step up,” VGK coach Bruce Cassidy said after the game. The Knights were missing top goal-scorers Jack Eichel and Jonathan Marchssault and defensemen Shea Theodore, Zach Whitecloud and Alec Martinez. “It was a grind to get through it.”
Then some dirty work by the Knights along the boards in the Nashville end led to Reilly Smith snapping a wrister past Nashville goalie Kevin Lankinen and the VGK led. 3-2, after trailing by two goals in period one.
After Nashville jumped out to a two-goal lead, the Knights grabbed their own two-goal lead nearly five minutes into the third period when center Chandler Stephenson scored his tenth of the season to give VGK a 4-2 lead.
But then Nashville (15-14-6) dominated the rest of the final period with Forsberg achieving a hat trick, including Forsberg’s third goal with only four seconds left in regulation.
Off to overtime for Nashville/Vegas and it was VGK defenseman Nic Hague scoring the game-winner for a Knights’ 5-4 extra time victory during the 12 noon New Year’s Eve game. It was Hague’s second goal of the season, his first in 25 games.
“Credit Forsberg. He’s a good player,” Golden Knights goalie Logan Thompson said. “On the third one, I have to make that save.”
The Knights played without two defensemen in the game when Miromanov was injured and Brayden McNabb was hit with a match penalty.
The Knights are now 25-12-2 on the season, good for 52 points and best in the Pacific Division.
VGK play Colorado in Denver Monday.