Lawless: Bonds Forged Off the Ice Breed Togetherness On the Ice

So that's what it feels like. Excuse Golden Knights fans if they don't enjoy it.
The "it," we're discussing is losing which is something Vegas hockey folks haven't had to deal with very often this season. Or really in the franchise's existence. But more about that later.

The Golden Knights lost for just the third time this season on Saturday night falling 3-2 to the visiting St. Louis Blues. Vegas was pretty good in the first and third periods but well below its standard in the second period and paid for it as the Blues scored a pair of goals which eventually stood up for the win. A third period push came real close for the home side and picking up points was a possibility right until the final buzzer.
Bruce Cassidy's Golden Knights had won nine straight games and now sit with a record of 13 wins and three losses on the season.
There are all kinds of numbers to crunch. Vegas is scoring better than ever before and sits second in goals-for per game. Cassidy's defensive structure is also paying dividends and the VGK sit second in goals-against per game. That's the game. Score more goals than you allow and you win. The Golden Knights are elite in both areas and that sets them up for a tremendous season.
The team missed the playoffs last season with a very similar roster. The biggest question people are asking is what's the difference? Why is this team so good all of a sudden?
Well, it's not all of a sudden. Vegas has always been an elite team since it joined the NHL and but for a blip last season caused by catastrophic man games lost totals, we wouldn't be having this discussion.
Since Bill Foley's Golden Knights joined the NHL they've won 229 regular season games which ranks third in the NHL over that span. Only the Tampa Bay Lightning and Boston Bruins, respectively, have won more often.
In the playoffs, the Golden Knights have won seven series which is tied for second with the Colorado Avalanche and the Lightning are tops at 13. Those franchises have had decades to draft prospects, build farm systems and establish their organizations. Vegas has done what they've done in five seasons and a bit.
The players and coaches assembled by hockey operations bosses George McPhee and Kelly McCrimmon have made the post-season in four out of five seasons advancing to the Stanley Cup Final once and the final four on three occasions.
There's an argument to be made they run the best hockey operation in the NHL.
Past success aside, there is something different about this season's team. It's the most complete group the Golden Knights have ever iced and while different than the Misfits of Season 1, this group is as tight as it gets in NHL hockey.
The group has gone through a number of early season stresses together and pulled together to make them positives. Newcomer Phil Kessel setting the NHL's Ironman record for consecutive games played and Jack Eichel's return to a hostile environment in Buffalo.
In both instances the players supported their teammates in an organic and authentic manner.
"And I'll use two other examples. The hit from behind on (Alex Pietrangelo) Petro in Montreal and we were right there. And then Reilly Smith going into the boards in Washington and (Jonathan Marchessault) Marchy was right there. You have a team where it's automatic and not scripted," said Cassidy. "No one has to tell a guy to get in there. It happens right away. So it just tells you there's something special in the room with the guys."
Eichel was emotional discussing his teammates supporting him in Buffalo where he was greeted with boos every time he touched the puck en route to a win which saw him pick up three goals and an assist.
"I've never experienced support like that from teammates. It was one of the most special things I've ever gone through in hockey. Not the win, not the goals. The guys reacting to me and picking me up," said Eichel. "It was incredibly special to me."
The picture taken in the spartan visitor's dressing room in San Jose following Kessel's setting of the record exuded joy and togetherness and set an early tone of playing for one another with this group.
"I don't know if there's any team that has had any level of success if the guys don't play for one another," said Cassidy. "At the end of the day, there's too much that goes on on the ice where you have to be tight. You have to have one another's back. It's a violent sport and they have to know if they make a mistake someone will cover up or if something is going on their teammates are going to be in there. That's just the nature of hockey. Most good teams, you'll hear a story about the dressing room and the guys loving one another."