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Vegas Golden Knights’ Historic Fairy Tale Season Continues

By Phyllis Hunter

WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 20: The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate defeating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals to advance to the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Canada. (Photo by David Lipnowski/Getty Images)
WINNIPEG, MB - MAY 20: The Vegas Golden Knights celebrate defeating the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 in Game Five of the Western Conference Finals to advance to the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at Bell MTS Place on May 20, 2018 in Winnipeg, Canada. (Photo by David Lipnowski/Getty Images) /
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The improbable success of the Vegas Golden Knights has been one of the best storylines in NHL history

The Vegas Golden Knights took another step into the history books on Sunday afternoon. For the first time in over 50 years, an expansion team will play in the Stanley Cup Finals in their inaugural season.

Unlikely Knights Hero

In front of his hometown team, Winnipeg native Ryan Reaves scored the game-winning goal for Vegas. Reaves, the son of Canadian Football League Star Willard Reaves, is a member of the Knights fourth line, the most unlikely of heroes. He started the season with the Pittsburgh Penguins and was a trade deadline acquisition for the Knights.

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As you look up and down the Knights bench, there are unlikely heroes as far as the eye can see. Misfits, has-beens, and unwanted players. Knights General Manager George McPhee saw more in these players, and much like the city the team calls home, he gambled big. McPhee’s gamble has paid off in a way that no one could have possibly predicted.

Unwanted Knights

Luca Sbisa, who took the shot that Reaves deflected for the game winner, was left exposed by the Vancouver Canucks. The Canucks did not qualify for the Playoffs this year. Spisa, meanwhile, had the Conference winning assist.

Ryan Carpenter assisted on the first Vegas goal early in the first period. Carpenter was claimed by the Golden Knights after being placed on waivers by the San Jos Sharks. The Sharks are watching the Playoffs, having been eliminated by the Vega Golden Knights in six games.

Marc-Andre Fleury, the Golden Knights goaltender, was left exposed by the Pittsburgh Penguins. Yes, the same Penguins that Fleury helped to the Stanley Cup a few times. Now Fleury will get another chance to lift Lord Stanley’s Cup, while the Penguins are home watching, having been eliminated by the Washington Capitals.

Golden Knights Chasing Silver

Every player on this team, save their first-round draft pick, was unwanted by another team. Castoffs no more, the Vegas Golden Knights are all getting the best revenge possible in the world of hockey. Win or lose, they will, unlike all their former teams, have the honor of playing in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Next: Ranking Each NHL Team's Expansion Draft

While they await the winner of the Washington Capitals Tampa Bay Lightning series, the Golden Knights will bask in the glow of the history that they are making with every game they play.

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