Jeff Roberson / Associated Press
St. Louis Blues’ Jordan Kyrou (25) and Vegas Golden Knights’ Ivan Barbashev (49) battle for a loose puck during the third period of an NHL hockey game on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in St. Louis.
Published Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 | 8:52 p.m.
Updated Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023 | 10:37 p.m.
A little more than 1,600 miles away from Las Vegas, the Golden Knights were getting ready to play a game in St. Louis.
Their hearts were back home.
The Golden Knights had to play a hockey game hours after three people were killed and one more injured on UNLV’s campus Wednesday afternoon. They scored five unanswered goals, four in the second, to win 6-3 over the Blues at Enterprise Center. That wasn’t the first thought on their minds.
It’s supposed to be a fun time for the Golden Knights. It’s their annual fathers trip. Activities and dinners are planned for the next few days during this trek to St. Louis and Dallas.
Instead, the Golden Knights were on the road while another tragedy involving a gun shook the Las Vegas Valley.
And once again, it felt like a moment where the Golden Knights were playing for a city that needed something to cheer about.
“First and foremost, we’re a family in Las Vegas,” defenseman Zach Whitecloud said. “The city has been through a lot in the past. It’s a city that sticks together, no matter where you’re from or how long you’ve lived there.”
The Golden Knights started their morning skate at 9:30 a.m. PST. After its conclusion, some players spent the afternoon with their dads, while others went back to their hotel rooms to get some rest.
UNLV’s X account, formerly known as Twitter, tweeted at 11:59 a.m. that university police was “responding to confirmed active shooter in BEH. This is not a test. RUN-HIDE-FIGHT.”
A person familiar with the situation told The Associated Press that the suspect was a professor who unsuccessfully sought a job at the university.
Vegas center William Karlsson said on the team’s postgame radio show on Fox 98.9 FM that he woke up from his pregame nap to the news of the shooting. He said while it not mean much, the team was glad to deliver a win for the city.
The Golden Knights hadn’t played a meaningful hockey game in the NHL before already being intertwined with the Las Vegas community. Six days before Vegas played its first ever game, 60 people were killed at the Route 91 Harvest Festival just outside Mandalay Bay on Oct. 1, 2017.
The organization spent the days before their game in Dallas meeting with first responders, visiting blood banks, and helping in any way it could.
“Vegas is our home. It’s really sad that we have to go through that again,” forward Jonathan Marchessault said on the Vegas 34 postgame show. “We’ll be there for everybody whenever we can.”
Before the game, the Blues held a moment of silence for the victims, which forward Keegan Kolesar called a “class act.”
Coach Bruce Cassidy said there were people the team is close to that were on campus when the events transpired. The difficult part was trying to turn the page quickly to play a game.
“Obviously, our hearts go out to the people in Las Vegas,” Cassidy said. “It makes it hard to play. … You’re just hoping everyone comes out of it OK. Our staff, players and the entire organization are thinking of the people back home.”
The Golden Knights extended their point streak to six games (3-0-3) and bounced back after losing 2-1 in overtime to the Blues at T-Mobile Arena on Monday. Forty-eight hours after Jordan Binnington single-handedly willed St. Louis to a win with a 33-save effort, the Golden Knights answered with six goals on a season-high 49 shots with Binnington allowing five.
Jack Eichel scored for the fourth straight game, and Marchessault added a power-play goal for the Golden Knights (17-5-5) to kickstart a four-goal second period that erased a 3-1 deficit. Eichel, Marchessault and Kolesar scored in 2:46 to take a 4-3 lead, and Michael Amadio scored with 18 seconds left in the second period to make it 5-3.
Whitecloud scored the game’s first goal 8:03 in the first, and Karlsson scored into an empty net with 12 seconds remaining in regulation.
“Just like we have in the past, we’re going to rally around the city and try to give back as much as we can, and try to heal it as much as we can,” Kolesar said.
Whitecloud said the team has felt the support of the Las Vegas community “every single night for the past six, seven years.” The Golden Knights will return to home ice on Sunday against San Jose, one day after their dads trip ends in Dallas.
Until then, they’ll carry on with heavy hearts.
“It’s a difficult day,” Whitecloud said. “We’re there for our community, we support our community, and we stand together with Las Vegas.”
Danny Webster can be reached at 702-259-8814 or [email protected]. Follow Danny on Twitter at twitter.com/DannyWebster21.
