The Vegas Golden Knights’ pre-game skits, where on-ice actors fly from the rafters and enact elaborate battle scenes, have gained almost as much buzz as the team’s unlikely run to the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season.
Before their first Western Conference Finals home game against the Winnipeg Jets, an armored knight split a giant jet projected onto the ice in half with a sword, sending the crowd into a frenzy usually reserved for goals.
Before Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals against the Washington Capitals, performers in Caps gear acted as invaders who took to the ice as a narrator darkly warned that they were there to attack the team’s “fortress.”
Photo: Gary A Vasquez-USA Today
The sinister Caps actors clashed with an army of knights deployed from the team’s in-arena castle until the lead knight defeated the Caps leader and sent him flying skyward.
All of the skits lead up to a giant helmet billowing red smoke that drops from the ceiling before the team skates out of it to a deafening roar from the packed crowd.
“The No. 1 thing we’re doing is enhancing our home ice advantage,” Jonny Greco, Vegas’ vice president of entertainment production, said in an interview this week. “We want our team to feel supported and we want our fans to be proud.”
Despite the fans’ enthusiastic reaction to each new chapter of the pre-game saga, Greco said that not everyone had been thrilled about the over-the-top productions.
“You have people who say: ‘This is so crazy, this is so fun,’ but there are also people who are appalled by what we’re doing. They’re like: ‘You’ve ruined the sanctity of the game,’” he said.
Love it or hate it, Greco said the creative team had no intention to slow down and were planning something special for yesterday’s do-or-die Game 5 of the Finals, as the Golden Knights trail 3-1.
“We’re shifting our open to one that is a little more parallel to the theme of the series right now,” he said. “A big thing that we try to do is be fluid and react properly to what’s out there to create a home ice advantage.”
“We want to create an environment and put our fans in the right psychological place to be completely bananas for our team on Thursday,” he added. “Hopefully it hits.”
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care