Islanders Excited, Curious For First Game in Vegas

Several Islanders walked out onto the bench at T-Mobile Arena ahead of their 11am skate this morning, taking in the new home of the league's newest team, the Vegas Golden Knights.
Casey Cizikas tested out the acoustics in the sleek new barn, sending out a quick yell that echoed throughout the empty arena. It seemingly passed Cizikas' test, as he observed that if the sound carried well with one person, it should get pretty loud on Thursday in front of 18,000.

There's a curiosity ahead of Thursday's game, the Islanders' first in Vegas. The team playing at the arena between the Monte Carlo and New York, New York has become a main attraction on the strip.
"I was sitting in the hotel lobby and a billboard came up with a Blue Jackets logo and a Golden Knights logo," Cal Clutterbuck said, referencing Tuesday's game. "It was odd to see hockey here in a place where there was no trace of it a couple of years ago. It's exciting."

It seems odd that a city could grow and thrive in the harsh, unforgiving conditions of the Mojave Desert, but it has become a worldwide destination. You could say the same about an expansion team coming in and taking the NHL by storm, but as of Wednesday, Vegas sits atop the Western Conference standings - an unprecedented season for an expansion club.
"The days of the underdog expansion talk should have ended a while ago," said Head Coach Doug Weight. "I think they've proven that they're a heck of a team and have proven that they're not going away."
The Golden Knights are 32-11-4, one point back of Tampa Bay for the top spot in the league with a game in hand. They have the league's best home record at 19-2-2 and are one of two teams to average more goals per game than the Islanders.
"It's no secret they've been playing some really good hockey," John Tavares said. "What they've been able to do is very impressive. It was a big unknown coming into the year how they were going to do."

Vegas was given a helping hand by the NHL's modified expansion protection rules. Teams could protect 15 skaters and two goalies in the 1972 expansion draft when the Islanders and Atlanta Flames entered the league. This past summer, teams could protect 10 skaters (7F, 3D) and one goalie at most.
The Golden Knights snagged establish stars like Marc-Andre Fleury and James Neal, but the emergence of players like William Karlsson, whose 27 goals are more than his previous three seasons combined, have propelled the Golden Knights to where they are today.
"They were put in a position where they could field some talent and they did a good job of that," Clutterbuck said. "They're well coached and play hard. I think we expected them to be successful, I don't know if we expected them to be the best team in the league."

Weight has seen nine expansion teams enter the league since his playing career started in the early 1990s, but he hasn't seen anything like what the Golden Knights have accomplished on or off the ice.
"You walk around and I think you see more Golden Knights than I've ever seen for a first year team," Weight said. "They've obviously caught the fire of the city and the building is beautiful and it's a good thing going on."
The Islanders beat the Golden Knights 6-3 in their first meeting this season at Barclays Center, but doing it again - and at T-Mobile - will be a tough task. In a city full of extravagance, glitz and glam, the Islanders have to focus at the task at hand, which is playing a sound road game.
"From 11 o clock to today until tomorrow at game time, it's a regular road routine," Clutterbuck said. "It's just another test for us. We're going to show up and try and beat them. That's why we're here."