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More than anything, Vegas Golden Knights’ home debut is chance to heal

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The Las Vegas tragedy impacted a lot of people, including Jeremy Roenick, who believes the NHL players will help give back to the community and help them live Vegas Strong.

It’s pretty astounding that the Vegas Golden Knights are aiming to become the first NHL expansion franchise to win its first three games, part of an interesting opportunity overall. That’s also far from the most important thing going on here, something the Golden Knights will acknowledge in more than one way.

With the horrific mass shooting still on the minds of many, the Golden Knights are doing their part to live up to “When things go dark, Vegas shines,” a motto that is appearing around the city, including at T-Mobile Arena.

Tuesday marks the home debut for the franchise, but more than that, an opportunity; the team’s entertainment producer Jonny Greco described tonight as “a unique responsibility and opportunity to give 17,000 people this group hug” to NHL.com’s Nick Cotsonika.

“It’s going to be a moving experience,” Golden Knights owner Bill Foley said. “There’s going to be a lot of tears shed.”

The Golden Knights told Cotsonika that they’re going to postpone some of the more flashy things you see from a professional sports team at a game. There will be no “knight pulling a sword out of a stone” tonight.

The team is even replacing advertisements on the board to cement how serious this night is.

That’s remarkable stuff, and it’s sure to be a moving atmosphere as they host the Arizona Coyotes (the game airs on NBCSN).

It all serves as an interesting dichotomy: a reminder that wins and losses on the ice aren’t the most important thing, but also a case of sports providing a worthwhile distraction in bleak moments. The Golden Knights’ impact will vary, yet it’s nice to see them doing what they can for a community they’re joining this year.

And, again, it’s secondary ... but this is an intriguing opportunity for the team to begin 2017-18 on an unexpected hot streak.

This isn’t just their first home game; this is their first extended homestand in the NHL:

Tue, Oct 10 vs Arizona
Fri, Oct 13 vs Detroit
Sun, Oct 15 vs Boston
Tue, Oct 17 vs Buffalo
Sat, Oct 21 vs St. Louis
Tue, Oct 24 vs Chicago
Fri, Oct 27 vs Colorado

Hey, you never know ... stranger things have happened in sports.

Either way, get ready for a special night in Las Vegas. Also, check out Cotsonika’s full piece at NHL.com.