Golden Knights open season with heavy hearts, honor Las Vegas shooting victims
The Vegas Golden Knights were playing the first game in franchise history and the Dallas Stars were opening their 2017-18 season on Friday night, but before the action on the ice, both teams stood in solidarity.
They lined up parallel to each other before the start of the game in a salute to the victims of the Oct. 1 mass shooting near Mandalay Bay Casino in Las Vegas. "Vegas Strong" stickers had already been rolled out on some players' equipment, and both teams remained together for both the pregame national anthem and a moment of silence for the more than 50 people lost from the shooting.
Both the Stars and Golden Knights also stood together to honor Promise Hamilton, who worked for the Stars as a graphic designer and was the victim of a fatal car crash over the summer; and Dave Strader, longtime Stars play-by-play announcer, who passed away Oct. 1 after a fight with cancer.
We are all with you, Vegas. Every step of the way. #VegasStrongpic.twitter.com/OVqFXpn7we — NHL (@NHL) October 7, 2017
Stars and Golden Knights stand united #vegasstrong pic.twitter.com/olNwv2QKRH — gary lawless (@garylawless) October 7, 2017
The NHL also shared a #VegasStrong video on Friday, honoring the victims of the area shooting with sentiments from around the league, including from Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin.
Then the Knights went out and made a memory. James Neal scored two goals in the third period to rally Vegas to a 2-1 win over the Stars for their first-ever franchise victory.