It only makes sense that the Vegas Golden Knights set a new wins record for an expansion team the way they’ve piled up a lot of their wins: in a heart-stoppingly excited fashion.
Heck, their goalie Marc-Andre Fleury even might have been a little banged-up during a wild overtime period against the Winnipeg Jets.
After trading extremely close calls in OT, David Perron collected the game-winner as Vegas won 3-2. The Golden Knights are now a ridiculous 34-12-4 in their first season. Hot take: they’ll probably have more than a one-win edge on the 1993-94 Ducks by the time 2017-18 is over.
The @GoldenKnights established an NHL record for most wins by a team in its inaugural season – with 32 games remaining in their 2017-18 campaign. #NHLStats #VGKvsWPG pic.twitter.com/aT91gwLaWW
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 2, 2018
The beautiful thing for the Golden Knights is that you can’t chalk it up to a “Vegas hangover” alone, especially as the season’s gone along.
No doubt, they’re deadly in that format, going 19-3-2 at home. Still, they’ve now gone on a 9-2-1 run in their last 12 road games, and to little surprise, they’re approaching an expansion record for road dominance, too.
The @GoldenKnights moved within four road wins of matching the NHL record for most by a team in its inaugural season. #NHLStats #VGKvsWPG pic.twitter.com/XPiLgM39Q1
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 2, 2018
It’s probably heartening that Erik Haula’s goal wasn’t the decisive one, as it’s the latest example of the NHL being totally confounded by what is and what is not goalie interference. James Neal pretty much clobbered Connor Hellebuyck on this one:
(More on goalie interference soon.)
You could probably argue that it makes extra sense that the Golden Knights beat the Jets, too. It’s the latest argument that the Golden Knights aren’t just strong “for an expansion team,” even if it’s irresistible to note it as they break record after record.
With the way tonight’s games are shaking out, it looks like Vegas will end Thursday clearly on top of the NHL’s standings, without any need for tiebreakers.
It makes you wonder if this incredible run will even stop before 2018-19 rolls around.
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.