Golden Knights are talk of town after two playoff wins against Kings

LAS VEGAS -- Forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare arrived at City National Arena about 11:45 a.m. Saturday, roughly 12 hours after the Vegas Golden Knights' 2-1 double-overtime win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 2 of the Western Conference First Round.
It was 73 degrees and sunny.
"I was driving, cruising with my windows down, and suddenly I heard, like, 'Raaahhh!' " Bellemare said, making a roaring sound. "Then you see, like, people everywhere. I was, like, 'What's going on? Am I late or something?'"

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He wasn't late, but the fans were early after the Golden Knights invited them to their practice facility around 12:45 p.m. to send off the team to Los Angeles.
Vegas leads the best-of-7 series 2-0 with Game 3 at Staples Center on Sunday (10:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, FS-W, ATTSN-RM).
The Golden Knights sent their mascot, drumline and cheerleaders. Hundreds of fans showed up in Golden Knights gear, lining each side of the driveway that curls into the team parking lot, waving flags, holding signs, taking pictures, cheering, chanting.
"BEAT L.A.!"
"GO, KNIGHTS, GO!"
Goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury pulled in a little before 12:30 p.m.
"I was like, 'What's going on here? Geez,' " Fleury said with a laugh. "Very surprised. It was a lot of people, everybody cheering us on coming in."

What's going on here? Something special. It keeps building and building, keeps reaching new levels.
Las Vegas is home to 2.2 million people, locals and transplants, who were hungry for a major league professional sports team to give them an identity beyond the Strip and a common cause.
Here came the Golden Knights, who were supposed to be good for an expansion team, thanks to favorable rules in the NHL Expansion Draft, but exceeded all expectations by shattering records for first-year teams and winning the Pacific Division.
Now they're outskating the Kings, the L.A. Kings. If there is a natural rival for Las Vegas, L.A. is it.
"Obviously we had a very strong fan base right from the start, but I think the game and our team grew on the people of Vegas, just seeing how many people wear jerseys or hats around town, T-shirts," Fleury said. "You see our logos a lot throughout the season, and now it's getting maybe a little more crazy."

Tony Koch, 57, is from Seattle but has lived in Las Vegas for 40 years. He was never into hockey until the Golden Knights were born, and now here he was in a Golden Knights T-shirt with a bag of Golden Knights merchandise slung over his left shoulder, standing on the sidewalk to cheer players in their cars.
"For years, Vegas wanted a professional team -- hockey or baseball, something," Koch said. "We never could get it, and now we've got the Golden Knights. They're the first. You've got to love the Knights. I think they're going to win the Stanley Cup."
Dave Huggins, 39, is from Belfast, Northern Ireland, but has lived in Las Vegas for five years. He wore a Golden Knights T-shirt. His 8-year-old son, Matthew, wore a Golden Knights jersey and hat, waving a Pacific Division champions pennant. His 8-year-old daughter, Sophia, held a homemade Golden Knights sign.
"Loving it," Huggins said. "We've been following them all year basically. We've really gotten into it. We've been to a few games. The kids have been to a few games. And it's a great family sport. It's a great family day out. The team's doing really well.
"Especially after [the mass shooting on the Strip on Oct. 1] … we needed something like that. From the first home game, it's just taken off. It's been a fantastic atmosphere, and it's a great way to bring the city together."

The players needed police escorts to get through the fans safely. Forward James Neal cruised out in his white Ferrari, wearing sunglasses, waving and smiling. Defenseman Deryk Engelland motored out in his black Maserati, slowly.
"Thank you," Engelland said with a wave.
"Way to go, Deryk!" a fan yelled.
"Engelland!" yelled another.

Car after car, truck after truck, cheer after cheer.
"Everyone's excited, man," defenseman Jon Merrill said. "Everyone's got Knights fever around here, it feels like. The whole city's been incredible, man. I'm not one of the more familiar faces. Every once in a while, people will recognize me. Everyone kind of joins in. 'Oh, yeah, yeah, I know who that is.' "
The fans cheered even for the plain white equipment truck.
"They are just trying to show their support, and I mean, it's helping big time," Bellemare said. "The five [periods], if we keep going as hard, it's because our fans are behind us. They're enjoying it. We are enjoying it. We just have to keep it up."