Golden Knights among greatest NHL expansion franchises even if they don't beat the Hurricanes

LAS VEGAS (AP) — The line to get into the Golden Knights ' practice Monday morning stretched well outside the door at the rink, and Vegas fans have had plenty to celebrate in its team's nine seasons.

Back in the Stanley Cup Final for the third time, the Golden Knights are two victories away from winning their second championship in four years.

Carolina will have plenty to say about whether the Golden Knights get there, and the Hurricanes will try to even the series at 2-2 and reclaim home-ice advantage when the teams meet Tuesday in Las Vegas. A win by the Golden Knights puts them in a commanding position.

Hockey historian Eric Zweig said Vegas is on the short list of top expansion franchises in NHL history, and another Stanley Cup should put the Golden Knights in the conversation as the best.

“It's hard to compare,” Zweig said. “Frankly, in a 32-team league — I guess it was only 31 when they started — anything you do now is harder than it had to have been before. It just is. There's so many more rounds of playoffs to go through. There's so many more teams that you have to be better than to get there.”

The Golden Knights have a locker room full of players who have lifted the Stanley Cup, and their experience is especially valuable when the goal of winning it again is so close.

“I think it goes a long way,” said forward Brett Howden , who has a playoff-leading 13 goals. “Just the experience that we have in his locker room, the leadership, the way we've gone through adversity, the way our team stays composed. It just speaks volumes to our locker room.”

Howden was on the 2023 team that won the Cup, but there are a number of notable players still chasing their first title. Players such as Mitch Marner , Rasmus Andersson and Tomas Hertl .