Golden Knights light torch ahead of Raiders' 'Monday Night Football' game

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights brought the Stanley Cup to a Monday night party right in their backyard.

The Golden Knights accompanied the Cup to Allegiant Stadium for the "Monday Night Football" game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Green Bay Packers. They were there to light the Al Davis Memorial Torch prior to kickoff, but the experience was so much bigger than that.

"I mean, when you see the stadium from up there it's pretty wild," Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said moments after walking off the stage beneath the 3D-printed torch located in the north end zone. "Big stadium. We're all football fans too so for us it's pretty cool to get up there and be on top of the stadium. Just a really cool experience."

The Golden Knights bussed to Allegiant Stadium together, leaving City National Arena, their training facility in nearby Summerlin, at 3:15 local time and arriving at 4:15, roughly 15 minutes after the Stanley Cup arrived and one hour before kickoff.

They walked up the ramp, down the tunnel and onto the field in the north end zone to a chorus of cheers from the fans who were in the area, many hanging over the railings just to get a high five or a picture.

The Golden Knights watched the Raiders and Packers warm up on the north side of the Raiders sideline. They were greeted by Raiders owner Mark Davis, former Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch and Raiders coach Josh McDaniels.

Davis jokingly bowed to the Golden Knights, congratulating them on winning the Stanley Cup. Lynch had a long conversation with goalie Adin Hill. McDaniels thanked them for being at the game and congratulated them for winning the Cup.

From there, the Golden Knights were escorted up to the 200 level. They put on their golden jerseys in the elevator lobby, and even had time to play a practical joke on forward Paul Cotter.

They hid his jersey, told him that they forgot it, and that he would have to go on stage in his black T-shirt, holding out just long enough so he would get uncomfortable before captain Mark Stone presented it to him.

They walked onto the concourse and again were greeted by fans cheering them on and looking for high fives and a picture. They took the stage beneath the torch, Stone with the Stanley Cup and forward Jonathan Marchessault with the device in his hand that lit the torch.

They were introduced with a brief history of the Golden Knights' success story as an expansion team that came into the NHL in 2017-18 played on the video boards. Then the cameras panned to the Golden Knights on stage and the crowd, including a lot of Packers fans, cheered loudly.

Stone raised the Cup and Marchessault lit the torch.

"We're trying to build a bond in the city," Stone said. "We love playing in Vegas as Knights and it's been four years now for the Raiders and I think they're starting to love the city. To get that connection between us is pretty special. They want to achieve what we achieved last season, winning a championship, and we'd love to see them do it."

The Raiders created the Al Davis Memorial Torch following the former owner's death on Oct. 8, 2011 and have been holding a ceremony to light it before every game since.

The torch lit at Allegiant Stadium is considered the largest freestanding 3D-printed structure in the world. The original torch, a gas operated torch with a flame first lit at Oakland Coliseum, the Raiders' former home in Oakland, is eternally lit at the team's headquarters in Henderson, Nevada.

The Golden Knights are the second full team to take part in the pregame ceremony, following the WNBA champion Las Vegas Aces, who lit the torch before a game against the Denver Broncos on Oct. 2, 2022.

The Raiders have had a variety of celebrities, former players and pro football Hall of Famers, law enforcement officials, local politicians, business people and fans participate in the pregame torch lighting ceremony.

The Golden Knights are the first participants from the hockey community to light the torch.

"It was really cool," said Vegas center Jack Eichel, who also was interviewed on ESPN at halftime of the football game. "Obviously to be here, that's a pretty unique experience being able to be up on that stage and lighting the torch. I thought it was awesome."

Eichel said it is important for the Golden Knights to embrace these moments of celebration. They also received their championship rings in a special ceremony at Wynn Las Vegas on Sunday and will raise their championship banner before opening the season against the Seattle Kraken at T-Mobile Arena on Tuesday (10:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, ESPN+, SN, TVAS).

"I was thinking about it last night, talking to a couple guys here, I think we understand the season starts but you don't want to overlook what we did by not making sure you're enjoying these great experiences that we get to have," Eichel said. "These are such unique and great experiences. I think it's important for us to enjoy it and enjoy each other, make sure that we're not overlooking anything, trying to stay in the moment. What we earned, what we won last year, was special."

Vegas won the Stanley Cup last season, its sixth in the NHL since debuting as an expansion team in 2017-18. The Golden Knights defeated the Florida Panthers in five games in the Stanley Cup Final.

"It's kind of cool how this falls before our home opener," Pietrangelo said. "After [Tuesday] night a new season starts and you flip the switch. It's kind of nice that we can tie this all in together."