Thousands of Vegas Golden Knights fans packed T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday for a watch party of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, riding an emotional roller coaster as the team rallied from an early deficit to beat the Carolina Hurricanes 5-4.
Tomas Hertl scored the game-winning goal late in the third period, sending the crowd into a frenzy. The Golden Knights had fallen behind 25 seconds into the first period but battled back to enter the third tied 3-3.
“It’s exciting because we finally have champions in the city and I just want them to win because I’m excited to be here and excited to see them hopefully win another (Stanley Cup),” said fan Juan Magana.
The watch party was the second ever hosted by the team inside T-Mobile Arena for a playoff game, the first coming in 2018. Fans lined up nearly an hour before doors opened at 4 p.m. for the 5 p.m. puck drop, with temperatures in the triple digits and lines stretching through Toshiba Plaza.
Fan Jeremy Chavez brought a hand-made Stanley Cup model that doubled as a hat. “(A lot of) time and dedication. It took about three days to officially get it finished before I could spray paint it and then an extra two days … for three layers of the silver spray paint,” Chavez said.
Fan Wynn Pajan, who brought inflatable pink flamingos, said, “There’s nothing more exciting than this. There’s all this support that gets you into it. It’s just incredible.”
Inside, the lower bowl was mostly full, with fans watching on the jumbotron above center ice. The pregame included the knight video, the lowering of the golden helmet, and the yelling of “Knights” during the national anthem.
“Hockey in the desert worked,” said fan Gina Morgan. “Everybody said it wasn’t going to work. This town – I’ve only been here seven years – I don’t want to live anywhere else. They’ve really embraced the whole team.”
Morgan and her son Derek were among the first in line. It was their first official watch party, though Derek was outside the arena for Game 5 of the 2023 Stanley Cup Final clincher.
The sibling trio of Dominic Herrera, Calista Crawford and Jordan Crawford also attended their first watch party. Herrera, who plays in the Golden Knights’ 10-U youth league, said, “It’s just cool to see us advance. Like with how we swept Colorado, it was kind of surprising.”
The Golden Knights’ run to the final came after the firing of coach Bruce Cassidy late in the season and the hiring of John Tortorella. The team won seven of their last eight regular season games. Gina Morgan recalled meeting Tortorella at a Summerlin grocery store. “I walked by him and I’m like, ‘Are you who I think you are?’ (Tortorella) goes ‘Yeah.’ He was so sweet. … We took this selfie in the canned peaches aisle. Super sweet man. Very kind and humble.”
