Six-Year Full Circle: Oct. 10, 2017 For First Home Game After Oct. 1 Mass Killing To Oct. 10, 2023 For Stanley Cup Banner Unveiling; Final: Vegas 4 Seattle 1 Before Record 18,724

---

   Story by Alan Snel   Photos by J. Tyge O’Donnell

A franchise that played its first regular season home game a mere nine days after this nation’s deadliest mass shooting in 2017 brought a community together again tonight when the Vegas Golden Knights  celebrated their Stanley Cup title with a championship banner that will hang next to the Oct. 1 memorial banner.

It’s exactly six years to the day — from Oct. 10, 2017 to Oct. 10, 2023. Who could have ever written the script for Cup in Six?

Owner Bill Foley did.

There was a blend of insane cheers, raucous yelling and plenty of goosebumps inside T-Mobile Arena when the 2022-23 Stanley Cup title banner was unveiled from a slot machine on the ice and was pulled to the arena roof.

The team packed in the biggest crowd in regular season history with 18,724.

The Golden Knights promised a pumped-up video and pregame show before the banner was raised, and they delivered with a video look back at the franchise’s astonishing six years and even a cameo by the sword-in-rock that was rolled out for the pregame entertainment before the VGK vs Seattle Kraken season-opener.

No speeches. It was a highlight reel of famed franchise goals through the years, with the team then skating behind team captain Mark Stone who held the Stanley Cup above his head.

The championship banner was raised above a giant slot machine that came up with three Stanley Cups.

 

 

 

It was a banner-raising, Vegas-style. And if the Golden Knights cannot defend the Cup this new season, at least they can look back at the pregame show and smile.

 

The Knights’ first goal in their defense of the Cup was a beauty, with Brett Howden feeding a speeding Chandler Stephenson zipping to the net and redirecting the pass into the cage past Seattle netminder Philipp Grubauer.

Then the man with a nose for the net, playoffs MVP Jonathan Marchessault, deflected a Seattle pass into the net for a 2-0 VGK lead.

VGK goalie Adin Hill looked sharp in blocking the Kraken’s 12 shots on goal.

Hill said the team was ready to go tonight after the banner celebration.

After one period: Vegas 2 Seattle 0.

In period two, Ivan Barbashev took a terrific pass from defenseman Brayden McNabb and skated in on Grubauer. Barbashev fired a sweet shot past Grubauer and the Knights had a 3-0 lead.

Seattle scored thanks to a goal by Jared McCann.

After two periods: Vegas 3 Seattle 1

Jack Eichel added an empty-netter and the VGK skated off with a 4-1 win to open defense of their Stanley Cup title.

Postgame, Stone said the Knights are all about doing the simple things great.

 

 

---