LAS VEGAS — Everyone knew that this would be a year of firsts for the expansion Vegas Golden Knights when they began play early last October.

Things like first goal (James Neal). First win (at Dallas [url=http://www.dolphinscheapstore.com/minkah-fitzpatrick-jersey-cheap]Cheap Minkah Fitzpatrick Jersey[/url] , 2-1). First shutout (Oscar Dansk, 7-0, vs. Colorado). And, if things went really well, maybe even a first playoff win (1-0 vs. Los Angeles Kings).

But very few expected the team that openly calls itself “The Golden Misfits” to possibly earn the first Stanley Cup in team history.

But that’s a very real possibility as the Western Conference champion Golden Knights begin the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals on Monday night against the Alex Ovechkin-led Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals at T-Mobile Arena.

Can you imagine a victory parade on the famed Las Vegas Strip with the Stanley Cup as the featured participant?

“No, I try not to think about that,” Neal, who lost in the 2017 Finals to the Pittsburgh Penguins as a member of the Nashville Predators, said. “I don’t want to try and get too far ahead, you know. Definitely a dream for sure. Man, it would be crazy, huh.”

Almost as crazy as people lining up at 6:30 in the morning to make sure they get a seat to watch a 35-minute practice at 11 a.m. as was the case on Saturday at City National Arena in the suburb of Summerlin [url=http://www.clevelandbrownsteamonline.com/jarvis-landry-jersey]Jarvis Landry Jersey[/url] , where the Golden Knights practice.

Or Celine Dion wearing a Marc-Andre Fleury jersey during one of her sold out shows at nearby Caesars Palace. Or the Statue of Liberty in front of the New York New York Hotel being draped in a huge Vegas Golden Knights jersey.

“It’s crazy how much support we’ve gotten all season here,” Fleury, who can become just the 11th goalie in NHL history to have his name engraved four times on the Stanley Cup, said. “Waiting in line to come into practice Having the wave and chants during practice? Never seen that before. It’s been amazing.”

Now the Golden Knights, who have had an eight-day break since knocking off Winnipeg in five games in the Western Conference final, are just four wins away from capping their storybook season in spectacular fashion.

“I don’t like thinking too far ahead,” Fleury said. “I just want to win. I don’t care what happened before and stuff. We’re so close. I want to win. I want to be a part of this team winning the Cup. That’s all that matters.”

They’ll have to get by a Washington team also trying to make history by winning its first Stanley Cup and is a remarkable 8-2 on the road in the playoffs, including a 4-0 blanking of Tampa Bay in Game 7 of the Eastern finals on Wednesday. The record for road wins in a playoff is 10.

Getting to the Stanley Cup Finals took a tremendous burden off the back of star left wing Ovechkin who has scored 664 career goals, including 12 in this postseason. The 32-year-old, now in his 13th season, has an NHL-best 15 points (8 goals, 7 assists) on the road in the playoffs and was very emotional during postgame interviews after finally garnering his first berth in a Stanley Cup Final.

“We’ve never been in this position before [url=http://www.steelersfootballauthentics.com/james-washington-jersey-authentic]James Washington Steelers Jersey[/url] ,” Ovechkin said. “All my career, I played for this team, and we never get the success like that. The town is going nuts.”

More than 6,000 fans came to Kettler Capitals Iceplex in Arlington, Va., on Saturday for the team’s final morning skate and to send the team off to Las Vegas, where the Golden Knights are a combined 35-11-2 this season. Some have joked part of the reason for the expansion team’s home success was the so-called “Vegas Flu” that hit teams that may have felt a little listless after spending the previous night out on the town.

Ovechkin said that won’t be a problem Monday night or for Game 2 on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena.

“We’re going (to Vegas) to play hockey, not to pool party and play in a casino,” he told NHL.com. “We’re going there to play hockey and do our thing, and then we’re going to have all the summer and whatever we want to do, we can to do it.”

Vegas won both regular-season meetings between the two teams, 3-0 behind 26 saves by Fleury on Dec. 23 in Las Vegas [url=http://www.officialhockeyusashop.com/pittsburgh-penguins/derick-brassard-jersey]Derick Brassard Penguins Jersey[/url] , and 4-3 on an Alex Tuch goal with 5:12 remaining on Feb. 4 at Capital One Arena in D.C.

BOSTON — The Boston Celtics had no way of knowing how much they would get out of Kyrie Irving in the upcoming playoffs.

Now they know.

Nothing.

News broke midday Thursday that Irving will undergo another procedure on his left knee Saturday, the removal of two screws and treating of an infection that will remove him for the rest of the season.

“The hardest thing to do sometimes is accept the uncontrollable things life throws at you,” Irving said in a statement on Instagram. “You try consistently to learn, grow, and prepare every day to equip your mind, body, and spirit with tools to deal with some of those things. …

” … This season was only a snapshot of what’s to come from me. Trust Me. “The journey back to the top of Mt. Everest continues.”

The Celtics host the Chicago Bulls on Friday night in what is close to a meaningless game. The Toronto Raptors have a magic number of one to clinch the best record in the Eastern Conference after beating the Celtics on Wednesday night in Toronto. The Bulls will be watching the playoffs on television.

Irving will need 4-to-5 months of recovery.

This procedure comes after a first surgery done March 24 to remove a wire from the knee.

“In this case,” Irving said on Instagram, “finding out I have an infection in my knee is definitely a moment that I now accept and move past without holding on to the (sic) all the what ifs, proving the nay-Sayers (sic) completely (expletive) wrong, and accomplishing the goals I’ve set out for the team and myself.”

The Celtics reportedly signed guard Jonathan Gibson on Thursday to fill out the roster for the final four regular-season games, but he is not likely to be eligible for the playoffs.

Irving joins Gordon Hayward and rookie Daniel Theis with season-ending injuries.

In the second spot in the conference [url=http://www.greenbaypackersteamonline.com/jaire-alexander-jersey]Jaire Alexander Jersey[/url] , the Celtics, who will see the Raptors clinch with a Toronto win or Boston loss, will face the Miami Heat, Washington Wizards or Milwaukee Bucks in the first round. All three could be troublesome without Irving — the Bucks beat the Celtics on Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

Irving, also on Instagram, said, “Let’s go Celtics!! Celtics fans, I look forward to hearing how loud it gets in the TD Garden during the playoffs and experiencing how intense the environment gets. Thank you all!”

The Bulls (27-51) have followed a seven-game losing streak with three straight wins.

“We’re going out there and try to win every game,” rookie Lauri Markkanen said after his 24 points helped the Bulls to a win over Charlotte on Tuesday night. “I hope we can keep this thing going.”

Markkanen’s comments were in response to a suggestion his team is hurting its draft position by winning these games.

They held on for the win over Charlotte with coach Fred Hoiberg sitting Markkanen and other regulars in the fourth quarter — a tanking decision that didn’t work out.

“You want your guys to go out and compete at the highest level and we’re doing that across the board right now,” Hoiberg said. “We’ve got so many young guys and they’re still learning their way in this league. They want to compete.”

The Celtics (53-25) lost the opener of the season series with the Bulls 108-85 on Dec. 11 in Chicago but have won the last two. None of the three meetings have been decided by fewer than 16 points.

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