BOISE, Idaho — THIS DAY IN SPORTS…May 20, 2018:
The Vegas Golden Knights become the first expansion franchise in a major North American sport to play its way into a championship series the conventional way. The Golden Knights beat Winnipeg 2-1 to win the NHL’s Western Conference and advance to the Stanley Cup Final against the Washington Capitals. As many expansion teams do—regardless of the sport—Vegas played with a chip on its collective shoulder, calling itself the “Golden Misfits.” The Capitals would finally put an end to the fairytale season by taking the series from Vegas four games-to one. (The Knights won their first Stanley Cup last year.)
The expansion St. Louis Blues had made the Stanley Cup Final 50 years earlier, but a new franchise was guaranteed to advance, as all six expansion teams in 1967-68 had been placed in the same division. The others were the California Golden Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins. The Blues were no match for the NHL’s old guard in the 1968 Final as they were swept in four games by the Montreal Canadiens. The Golden Knights were clearly different.
The Knights had captivated Las Vegas since debuting the previous October, stunning the NHL by winning eight of their first nine games. They were as hot as any show on the Strip. By February 1, Vegas had won its 34th game to break the previous record for most victories by an expansion team. On the final day of March, the Knights clinched the Pacific Division title, becoming the first NHL team since the 1926-27 New York Rangers (excluding the 1967-68 expansion year) to win a division in their inaugural season. Vegas ended the regular season 51-24-7.
There’s been one NHL expansion franchise since the Golden Knights. The Seattle Kraken made their debut in October, 2021, in a 4-3 road loss to Vegas (coincidentally). The Kraken were enthusiastically welcomed around Puget Sound, playing their home games in Climate Pledge Arena, which had just finished a three-year renovation which included everything but the exterior walls and roof of the old Key Arena. The Kraken didn’t fare as well as Vegas in their first season, though, going 27-49-6.
(Tom Scott hosts the Scott Slant segment during the football season on KTVB’s Sunday Sports Extra. He also anchors four sports segments each weekday on 95.3 FM KTIK and one on News/Talk KBOI. His Scott Slant column runs every Wednesday.)
Watch more Sports:
See KTVB sports coverage in our YouTube playlist:
HERE ARE MORE WAYS TO GET NEWS FROM KTVB:
Download the KTVB News Mobile App
Apple iOS: Click here to download
Google Play: Click here to download
Watch news reports for FREE on YouTube: KTVB YouTube channel
Stream Live for FREE on ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching 'KTVB'.
Stream Live for FREE on FIRE TV: Search ‘KTVB’ and click ‘Get’ to download.
