As Las Vegas’ first ever professional sports team, the Vegas Golden Knights are coming up big in a city that’s reeling from the tragic events that took place on Oct. 1.

The NHL team spent their Tuesday night home opener honoring the shooting victims and their families, as well as the region’s first responders.

In their first year on the ice in Las Vegas, the Golden Knights originally had a spectacular evening planned to celebrate their history-making debut as the city’s first pro sports team. Instead, those festivities were delayed until Friday in order to help their town recover and restore a bit of hope.

Before the puck dropped, police officers, firefighters, doctors and nurses who responded that night were introduced with Golden Knights players. During the 58-second moment of silence to honor the 58 people who lost their lives, the Knights’ opponents, the Arizona Coyotes, stood behind the team rather than across from them as the victims’ names were illuminated on the ice.

Then, Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland addressed the more than 18,000 people in attendance at T-Mobile Arena.

“I’m proud to call Las Vegas home. I met my wife here. My kids were born here. I know how special this city is,” he said. “…[We] will do everything we can to help you and our city heal. We are Vegas Strong.”

The energy was palpable, as demonstrated by the fact that the Golden Knights scored four goals within the first 11 minutes on their way to a 5-1 victory, becoming the first expansion team in league history to win its first three games.

“It was pretty emotional going out there with the first responders and seeing them out there, and all they’ve been through over the past week,” Engelland said after the game. “It was a little nerve racking to speak in front of that many people. The response from the crowd was phenomenal. It’s the least we could do for those who went through that.”

 

 

 

 

It’s still early in the season, but if the Golden Knights continue to play this way, odds are good they’ll see postseason play, and keep uplifting the Vegas community.