Golden Knights Get Statement Win At Home Against Defending Champs

LAS VEGAS, NV - The reluctance to believe that an expansion team can be a real contender is only natural. But the Vegas Golden Knights aren't your typical expansion team. In fact they're the fastest in NHL history to reach 20 wins after beating the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions at home Thursday night, proving to skeptics, yet again, that they are a legitimate playoff caliber hockey team.

And beyond that, they've become on of Las Vegas' hottest tickets. Behind a stellar performance by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the Golden Knights beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 2-1 at T-Mobile Arena.

It was another dramatic win at home, something that's become a bit of a trademark for Las Vegas' first major professional sports franchise. The storyline this game was all about Fleury, who left the Penguins last summer after 13 seasons and three Stanley Cup titles. He joined Vegas and faced his old team for the first time last night. He stopped 24 of 25 shots his former teammates put against him.

"First time I faced my old team. You got a little pride, you want to do well, you want to win that game," Fleury told reporters after the win. He called the win a team effort and thanked his teammates for "the way they helped me out around the net."

"And to get two big goals. So it was nice to get a win," he said.

The Golden Knights got goals from James Neal and Jon Merrill to improve to 20-9-2. With 42 points they sit one point behind Los Angeles for the lead in the Western Conference's Pacific Division.

"We want to be strong at home and we have been all year," Neal said after the game. "I think everything going on with (Fleury) and Pittsburgh coming into the building, there's a lot more excitement and obviously you could feel it."

"He made some big saves for us, stayed calm throughout the whole thing," Neal said of Fleury.

The win on Thursday was the second of a five consecutive games at T-Mobile Arena, where the Golden Knights are 12-2-1, the best home record in the Western Conference.

Image via John Locher/Associated Press