Vegas went 51-24-7 (109 points) in the regular season, winning the Pacific Division while shattering NHL expansion records. In the playoffs, it swept the Los Angeles Kings in the Western Conference First Round, defeated the San Jose Sharks in six games in the second round, and the Winnipeg Jets in five games in the conference final.
"All of a sudden, you are sitting here and answering questions about the Stanley Cup Final," said defenseman Luca Sbisa, who has two assists in seven playoff games. "It's been an incredible ride. I have to pinch myself. Sometimes it hasn't kicked in. It's been crazy and a lot of fun."
The journey is far from finished. Vegas knows it has to win four more games, against a very good Capitals team, to claim the Stanley Cup that sat a few feet from where the players conducted their interviews.
"This is a big deal being in the Stanley Cup Final, but you can't let the emotion get to you," said forward James Neal, who played in the 2017 Cup Final with the Nashville Predators. "There's going to be a lot of focus on you, a lot of focus on our team. Let's try to work through it and do everything we can to win, and we can look back on everything later and see what we did for this city and what we did for each other and how we won. I think just staying in the moment and enjoying it is the biggest thing."
Staying in the moment won't be easy, but it is Vegas' mantra.