The words and actions of coaches and management and anyone with a final say on things have made it incredibly clear that Conley is the team’s No. 1 and best hope at cornerback entering the season.
Ed Graney
Sports columnist
Email: egraney@reviewjournal.com
Phone: (702) 383-4618
X: @edgraney
Ed Graney came to the Review-Journal in May of 2006 as its lead sports columnist. He has covered all major sporting events, including Super Bowls to NBA championships to every Final Four since 1995. Graney also covered the Olympic Games in Beijing (2008) and London (2012). A graduate of San Diego State University, he is a five-time Nevada Sportswriter of the Year and past winner of Associated Press Sports Editors Top 10 for columns. He and wife Bonnie have two children, a son (Tristan) and daughter (Bridget).
The only thing that changed since the season began is that George McPhee did such a good job with the expansion draft, Vegas should never have to endure the constant losing usually attached to a first-year team.
Days and weeks and months will pass and history will be more and more appreciated, but for now, the magical expansion season of the Golden Knights is over after a 4-3 loss to the Washington Capitals.
Teams with a 3-1 lead have won the Cup 31 straight times, an advantage Washington now owns following a 6-2 victory on Monday night at Capital One Arena.
Golden Knights defenseman Shea Theodore struggled mightily in Game 3 loss to the Capitals, which allowed Washington to assume a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final series.
Washington appears more and more comfortable in its style and has taken the lead in this best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final, beating Las Vegas 3-1 on Saturday night at Capital One Arena.
History and those subjective lists that folks like to assemble have for years told us Washington, D.C., is one of the country’s most cursed sports towns, a fact that could change should the Capitals defeat the Golden Knights in the Stanley Cup Final.
In their own unique ways, the Golden Knights and Capitals advanced to the Stanley Cup Final by proving themselves overly tough throughout the postseason.
Washington played as you might think a team trailing in the Stanley Cup Final would in beating the Golden Knights 3-2 on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena, meaning the Capitals showed a focus and determination and toughness that Vegas must now combat as things head to the nation’s capital for Games 3 and 4.
It was apparent during a 6-4 win by the Golden Knights in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, that hockey remains the most inconsistently officiated sport in the world.
For openers, Marc-Andre Fleury and counterpart Braden Holtby weren’t sharp to begin the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final, won by the Golden Knights 6-4 over the Washington Capitals.
A best-of-seven series between the Golden Knights and Washington commences Monday evening, and the Vegas general manager also spent 17 years with the Capitals in the same capacity.
Underdogs have forever played a major role in scripting some of history’s better storylines, and Vegas in reaching the Stanley Cup Final certainly qualifies as a narrative of unforeseen achievement.
If you’re this close to earning a championship, be it in your first season or a franchise that has hungered for such a chance decade after decade, you do everything in your power to be the last one skating.
Nothing stresses a community like having to recover from bombs or a mass shooting, and nothing can emerge as a beacon of hope like the simplicity of a winning team.