Las Vegas Sun

March 18, 2024

Is the ‘Vegas flu’ a factor in Golden Knights’ early success?

Golden Knights Defeat Los Angeles Kings 4-2

Steve Marcus

Golden Knights players celebrate their third goal during a game against the Los Angeles Kings at T-Mobile Arena Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017.

Vegas Golden Knights Defeat Los Angeles Kings 4-2

A man dressed as a Golden Knight is shown at T-Mobile Arena Sunday, Nov. 19, 2017. Launch slideshow »

Although the Golden Knights are playing their inaugural season, Las Vegas isn’t new to NHL players.

The league’s best players have traveled here since 2009 to attend the end-of-the-year NHL Awards ceremony, and the Chicago Blackhawks in particular have made it an annual tradition to come to Las Vegas to unwind in the offseason.

It’s the reason for the trip that’s transformed in the past month, as Las Vegas has gone from a leisure spot for hockey players to a business location. Unfortunately for visiting teams, the pitfalls of Las Vegas remain.

Players face a lot of temptation in the days before taking on the Golden Knights, and it could be having an effect on their performance. Fans have called it “the Vegas flu,” even though most players say they don’t believe in it.

“I do,” Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt demurred. “The bright lights, the allure and everything. Whether you’re only staying up an extra half-hour later than normal because you’re playing cards or you go to a show. Whatever it may be, it just throws you off your schedule a little bit.”

It was a concern for many before the Golden Knights even began play, and the results at T-Mobile Arena have only fueled the conversation. The Golden Knights have one of the NHL’s best home records, but have been mediocre on the road.

When the Blackhawks came to town in October, rumors of their late-night activities in the days before the game swirled and they were then dominated for 60 minutes by a Golden Knights team many hockey analysts consider less talented.

“I’d like to say it can go both ways,” Schmidt said. “It can be good if you do it the right way. You can go golfing and enjoy the nice weather and get some vitamin D, or even go to the spa, but not a lot of people do that.”

Golden Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland, who’s lived in Las Vegas for more than a decade, is more skeptical of the Vegas flu. He said it was not uncommon for players to find entertainment on the road regardless of the city.

“There’s just more out here, but you can have fun anywhere,” Engelland said. “If you’re going to do it, you’re going to do it no matter where you go. ... No matter what building you go into, the home team is going to have the advantage because of the crowd and being at home.”

Vegas’ opponents are treating Las Vegas the same as any other road trip, Engelland says. After spending nine years in the NHL on three teams, he says the routine is pretty standard.

“There’s usually someone who sets up a team dinner and most people go,” Engelland said. “Some guys like going earlier or in a smaller group. Once in a while, you’ll have a mandatory team dinner, but for the most part guys make plans and will meet up at a spot. Everyone on the team has a favorite spot. You kind of know the spots in most cities, and someone will just set a time and a reservation and see who comes.”

Players like Engelland give more credit to T-Mobile Arena, and cite it as one of the loudest venues in which they’ve played — louder than Madison Square Garden and on par with the Bell Centre in Montreal. And, of course, credit goes to the Golden Knights’ ability. Despite low expectations entering the season, Vegas has outplayed talented teams such as Boston, Winnipeg and St. Louis at home.

The Blues have aspirations of hoisting the Stanley Cup in June and skated out to a 13-5-1 record in their first 19 games. But they arrived in Las Vegas 40 hours before their Oct. 21 game and didn’t look like the same team that had won six of eight games coming into the contest.

“There’s a lot to distract you here in Vegas, as I’m looking out the window now,” St. Louis General Manager Doug Armstrong told TSN’s Hockey Central. “I think the first couple of years, it’s certainly going to happen. That’s going to test, quite honestly, the maturity of our team.”

There’s no way to pin down the exact reasoning, but some teams have not looked their best when taking on the Golden Knights in Las Vegas.

“We do talk about it; we are not naive in the sense that we are going to spend the night here Saturday night,” Armstrong said. “What we are trying to do is lob the ball and say, ‘It’s Vegas and it’s a great opportunity for you guys to have some fun and blow off some steam and become a team, but that’s for after the game.’ ”

Some players can juggle the extracurricular activities.

“For me personally, if a guy is out until 7 a.m. the night before but he comes out and plays hard the next day and does his work at the rink, then more power to you,” Schmidt said. “Not that we have that, but I’ve seen it before in my career. I can’t do that. I need my eight hours of sleep. There are guys who can burn the candle at both ends, but I’m not one of them.”

It’s a relatively small sample size, but through the first month of the season, it appears the Golden Knights have a strong home ice advantage that goes further than the 18,000 fans roaring inside the arena.