"At one point in their careers, played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Now, in 2018, on the Stanley Cup Finalist, Vegas Golden Knights."
The Golden Knights face off against the Capitals, with the extravaganza starting on May 28th. But the Knights have something up their sleeve: The have some former members of Washington's old nemesis, Pittsburgh.
For starters, let's look at Marc Andre Fleury and Ryan Reaves. Reaves was traded to Pittsburgh by St. Louis in the 2017 offseason. But 58 games into his tenure with the Penguins, it was adios to Ryan. He went west to the Golden Knights.
Fleury was exposed in the expansion draft of 2017. The goalie got Pittsburgh through the first two rounds in their Stanley Cup-winning season of 2016/17. Matt Murray took over in the Eastern Conference Finals against Ottawa. The Pens didn't use Fleury past game 3, there. But he's sure helped Vegas. Fleury also has a 2009 playoff-series win over Washington in his resume.
James Neal lost, as a member of the Nashville Predators, to Matt Murray and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. A tough six-game finals which nevertheless gave him his first taste of a championship series. The 2018 finals will be the second straight year he plays in one. James played for Pittsburgh from 2010/11 to 2013/14.
David Perron played just a half season (43 games) for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014/15. He scored 12 goals and added 10 assists, but was pretty much a non-factor in their five-game playoff loss to the New York Rangers that season.
Derek Engelland is the oldest member of the brand new expansion team in Vegas. He played for the Pens from 2009/10 to 2013/14 seasons. Though he never won a Stanley Cup, or played in the finals with them, he was a teammate of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for five seasons. At the age of 35, he's finally in the finals.
So the Vegas Golden Knights have connections to Sid and Evgeni. Now, does this tip the odds in their favour come this Monday? We shall see. The Capitals finally got by the Penguins in six games in the Metropolitan Division Finals. It was the Caps first playoffs series win over the Pens in 24 years. Now, the Caps are back in the finals for the first time in 20 years. Alexander Ovechkin and his teammates are in uncharted waters, as of course are the Vegas Golden Knights. There will be a familiar foe in the nets, from playoff battles past. Can Vegas get back what seems like a team of destiny? Again, we shall see.
References
Dividock, Kaitlyn. “The Penguins' Cup Defense Is over, but Their Exes Are Still Playing.” SBNation.com, Sports Blog Nation, Vox Media. Web. 26 May 2018, www.sbnation.com/nhl/2018/5/26/17375620/vegas-golden-knights-former-penguins.
“Official Site of the National Hockey League.” NHL.com, The National Hockey League, www.nhl.com/. Web. 26 May. 2018.
The Golden Knights face off against the Capitals, with the extravaganza starting on May 28th. But the Knights have something up their sleeve: The have some former members of Washington's old nemesis, Pittsburgh.
For starters, let's look at Marc Andre Fleury and Ryan Reaves. Reaves was traded to Pittsburgh by St. Louis in the 2017 offseason. But 58 games into his tenure with the Penguins, it was adios to Ryan. He went west to the Golden Knights.
Fleury was exposed in the expansion draft of 2017. The goalie got Pittsburgh through the first two rounds in their Stanley Cup-winning season of 2016/17. Matt Murray took over in the Eastern Conference Finals against Ottawa. The Pens didn't use Fleury past game 3, there. But he's sure helped Vegas. Fleury also has a 2009 playoff-series win over Washington in his resume.
James Neal lost, as a member of the Nashville Predators, to Matt Murray and the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. A tough six-game finals which nevertheless gave him his first taste of a championship series. The 2018 finals will be the second straight year he plays in one. James played for Pittsburgh from 2010/11 to 2013/14.
David Perron played just a half season (43 games) for the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2014/15. He scored 12 goals and added 10 assists, but was pretty much a non-factor in their five-game playoff loss to the New York Rangers that season.
Derek Engelland is the oldest member of the brand new expansion team in Vegas. He played for the Pens from 2009/10 to 2013/14 seasons. Though he never won a Stanley Cup, or played in the finals with them, he was a teammate of Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for five seasons. At the age of 35, he's finally in the finals.
So the Vegas Golden Knights have connections to Sid and Evgeni. Now, does this tip the odds in their favour come this Monday? We shall see. The Capitals finally got by the Penguins in six games in the Metropolitan Division Finals. It was the Caps first playoffs series win over the Pens in 24 years. Now, the Caps are back in the finals for the first time in 20 years. Alexander Ovechkin and his teammates are in uncharted waters, as of course are the Vegas Golden Knights. There will be a familiar foe in the nets, from playoff battles past. Can Vegas get back what seems like a team of destiny? Again, we shall see.
References
Dividock, Kaitlyn. “The Penguins' Cup Defense Is over, but Their Exes Are Still Playing.” SBNation.com, Sports Blog Nation, Vox Media. Web. 26 May 2018, www.sbnation.com/nhl/2018/5/26/17375620/vegas-golden-knights-former-penguins.
“Official Site of the National Hockey League.” NHL.com, The National Hockey League, www.nhl.com/. Web. 26 May. 2018.
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey
Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. 26 May. 2018.Web.
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