Related content
As the buzzer sealed the Golden Knights' inaugural season, three wins short of an unprecedented feat, some of the team's fans at Toshiba Plaza threw their hands to their heads, a woman cried, and a couple of rowdy attendees launched empty aluminum cans toward the sizable group of jubilant fans in red and white jerseys.
Then there was Matt Helfst, toting a Golden Knights flag and decked out in the team's black and gold gear. He approached Washington Capitals fans, extended his hand and voiced a congratulatory message.
"I'm trying to represent us well out here and be gracious to all of the Washington fans," he said. "They deserve all the credit and all the congratulations."
Helfst said he moved to Las Vegas last summer as the team was gearing up to choose its initial roster, and he was instantly hooked. So he adopted the team from the start and relied on them, like much of the city did after the Oct. 1 shooting, he said.
"Who would have thought it would be an NHL hockey team out in the hot desert to help unite us and bring us all together?" he said. "It was beautiful.”
Helfst was one of hundreds of people who crowded the plaza outside T-Mobile Arena, where on Thursday the Capitals were crowned Stanley Cup champions.
The heat, which sweltered near triple digits, did not deter them, though they sought out the more comfortable arena-cast shade.
As has become tradition, the fans watched the game for free on big screens as close to the action as possible, without shelling out hundreds of dollars to be inside.
With the Golden Knights facing elimination, the atmosphere's intensity was palpable. Yet there they were, chanting "Go Knights Go!" and they reveled in blocked shots as fiercely as they did their team's three goals.
With their friends inside the arena, mother and daughter Janet and Amber Franco stood outside, cheering every Golden Knights goal, jeering each time the Capitals got on the board, and smiling for a selfie.
The younger Franco had just flown in from Reno earlier in the day. She said that despite living up north, where she studies at UNR, she's kept up with the success of the Las Vegas team, noting that others there have done the same.
“Everyone in Reno that I know supports the Golden Knights 100 percent, it’s crazy,” Amber said. “The fan base in Reno is almost as good as it is in Vegas. It’s awesome.”
The mother said she's become a fan, attending several games this season, something her daughter said she'd like to do soon. "My plan is to make it out to at least one game next year,” Amber said. “I’m 100 percent behind that.”
Mixed in the sea of black and gold, there was a healthy mix of red, as the Capitals fans had considerable representation inside and outside. Despite their teams' heated battle, the fan bases coincided well for the most part.
Although Michael Liang, a professional poker player from the Washington, D.C., area, in Las Vegas for the World Series of Poker, was ecstatic to see his hometown team take home the Stanley Cup, he said he secretly held out hope for the series to be stretched one more game because he had a ticket for Game 6 Sunday night. “It would have been great to see them clinch it on home ice, but I can’t complain.”
“I love the story of the underdog and how this team came together,” Liang said. “They just really gelled unlike any expansion team anyone’s seen. I think I’d root for them if the Caps weren’t in it. I really love Las Vegas.”
The most jubilant appeared to be the children, who likely didn't know the consequences of a win or a loss on Thursday night.
There was the little girl with the wide smile who wore her Fleury shirt and lifted a plastic golden sword with her tiny arms. Then there was the diminutive boy, who wore an adult cap and sat on the shoulders of a man, gyrating to the music and clutching a toy shield with the team's logo.
As fans streamed out of the arena, some ecstatic, most mournful, a few black and gold flags still waved proudly.
Join the Discussion:
Check this out for a full explanation of our conversion to the LiveFyre commenting system and instructions on how to sign up for an account.
Full comments policy