The only team with more All-Star Game representatives than the Golden Knights this season are the host Tampa Bay Lightning, who have five: forwards Steven Stamkos, Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy and coach Jon Cooper.
Though the Lightning failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs last season, they were hampered by injuries, most notably Stamkos missing 65 games because of a torn meniscus in his knee. So their rise to first place in the League standings at 34-12-3 with 71 points hasn't been a big surprise.
Few expected the expansion Golden Knights to be anywhere near a playoff spot, let alone three points back of the Lightning in the race for the Presidents' Trophy. With one more win, they'll have 33 wins to equal the NHL record for most by a team in its inaugural season, established by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim and Florida Panthers in 1993-94.
"It's been a crazy year so far, for sure," Neal said. "We all had a positive mindset going into the year. We wanted to do good things. We're kind of all in the same boat. We had to prove ourselves, kind of, again, and we've done that."
Neal is at the All-Star Game for the third time in his 10-season NHL career. He represented the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2012 and the Nashville Predators in 2016.
After helping the Predators reach the Stanley Cup Final last season, he has been a big part of the Golden Knights' success. His 22 goals rank second on Vegas, behind William Karlsson's 27, and are tied for 11th in the NHL.
"Right from Day One being a part of this team, it's been an exciting ride," said Neal, who reached the 20-goal mark for the 10th time. "So it's an honor and we're proud to represent Vegas for the first All-Star Game."
Fleury, a three-time Stanley Cup winner with the Penguins, also will make his third All-Star Game appearance after representing the Penguins in 2011 and 2015. He missed 25 games this season with a concussion, but has been spectacular when healthy.
In 18 appearances, he is 12-4-2 and ranks second in the NHL with a 1.77 goals-against average and a .942 save percentage behind Carter Hutton of the St. Louis Blues (1.74 GAA, .943 save percentage) among goaltenders with 15 or more games.
"I didn't know what our team was going to be like," Fleury said. "I didn't know we were going to be in such a good position at this time of year. When you start the season, I just [wanted to] give our team a chance to win, to stay in the game, keep the game close. It's been amazing. We have a good bunch of guys and we've been winning games."
Gallant, who coached the Atlantic Division when he represented the Florida Panthers at the 2016 All-Star Game in Nashville, said there's nothing special he has been doing that has led to this surprising season.
"I'm trying to figure this out myself," he said. "I think the players are getting the opportunities and they're taking advantage of it. I think everybody's having career years. They're having fun. They're enjoying themselves."
