March Madness

The March calendar provided more game days than days off for the Golden Knights. A total of 17 games in 31 days created plenty of headlines, surprises and points for Vegas.
In the American Hockey League, the Henderson Silver Knights have taken a historic start to the top of the League standings. Southern Nevada's newest pro franchise enters April with an overall record of 16-3-0.

With another daunting month ahead, look back and appreciate some of the madness witnessed on and off the ice in March.
March 1: Fans (finally) return
After 363 days away from The Fortress, Medieval Maniacs returned to T-Mobile Arena and saw Mark Stone set a franchise record with five assists as the Golden Knights came back from a two-goal deficit to defeat the Minnesota Wild in overtime.
"Speechless, they're the best in pro sports," said Stone following the game on March 1. "This arena is the best; they bring it no matter what."

Vegas won six of its seven home games in the month and improved to 14-3-1 at T-Mobile Arena this season.
In Henderson, the Silver Knights welcomed fans for the first time in franchise history on March 20. After trailing 2-1 to San Jose after the first period, Henderson went on to win by a final score of 5-2 at Orleans Arena. The Silver Knights hold an overall record of 7-1-0 at home this season.
March 5 & 6: Two hotels, two wins
The morning after a thrilling Vegas overtime win in San Jose on March 5, Pete DeBoer revealed that the team was forced to change hotels just hours before puck drop.
"It's been a wild 24 hours," said DeBoer. "We ate pregame meal yesterday prior to the game and then got notified that our hotel was closing so we had to check out. We checked into a new hotel, and it was on the front page of the newspaper that the hotel had declared bankruptcy."
Oscar Dansk earned the win on Friday night in his first NHL action since 2018, and Marc-Andre Fleury secured the shutout on Saturday night to give the team as many wins on the weekend as they had hotels.
March 10: First-career goal, and two more
Dylan Coghlan became the first defenseman in franchise history to record a hat trick in a 4-3 loss to the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. Coghlan was just the third defenseman in NHL history to score his first three career goals in the same game, joining Uli Hiemer (Oct. 31, 1984 w/ NJD) and Joe Hall (Jan. 21, 1918 w/ MTL).
"Probably when I was 10-years-old, maybe," Coghlan said when asked about the last hat trick he recorded. "Not too sure. I've had a couple close calls in juniors, but a hat trick I haven't had since I was 10 or even younger."
The 23-year-old is the only NHL defenseman to achieve the feat this season and first since Jared Spurgeon scored three times for Minnesota at Edmonton on February 21, 2020.

March 12: Mark with a 'k' and Marc with a 'c'
Many can relate when Zoom calls lead to unpredictable moments. Mark Stone and Marc-Andre Fleury took the podium together to talk to the media virtually after a 5-4 overtime win in St. Louis.
"Please make sure we know if it's Mark with a 'k' or Marc with a 'c'," said Stone in an effort to clear any confusion regarding who a question was intended for.

Earlier in the month, Stone was named the NHL's "First Star" for the week ending March 7. The team's captain posted 23 points (8G, 15A) in 16 games during the month of March, the highest point-total by a Golden Knight in a single month in franchise history.
Between the pipes, Fleury started 13 games and went 8-5-0 with a .909 save percentage, 2.66 GAA and one shutout. Fleury's eight wins were one away from tying a career-high for the most in a single month.
March 27: 67 strikes again
Vegas bounced back with a strong effort in Colorado after losing at Ball Arena two days earlier by a score of 5-1. With the score deadlocked in overtime against the Avalanche on Saturday afternoon, Max Pacioretty scored his league-leading third game-winning goal of the month. The forward increased his overall total to four for the 2020-21 campaign and is one away from matching the most in a single season in NHL history.

March 30: Henderson Event Center becomes Dollar Loan Center
Before March was over, the newest rink in town got a new name. Dollar Loan Center secured naming rights for the building that will be home for the Silver Knights beginning for the 2022-23 AHL season.

Vegas accumulated 12 wins in March, tied with Colorado and Pittsburgh for the most in the NHL. The Golden Knights begin their April trek on Thursday night against the Minnesota Wild back at T-Mobile Arena.