LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — After going 3-4-0 in the preseason, the Vegas Golden Knights are getting ready to open the regular season with a home game against the Los Angeles Kings on Wednesday night.
WATCH | Nick Walters has your game preview:
"Opening Knight" marks the start to an 82-game march towards what the team hopes is its eighth postseason berth in nine years as a franchise.
"If you're a baseball fan, what's better, and I'm a hockey fan, so there's nothing better than opening day," VGK head coach Bruce Cassidy told Channel 13 after practice.
"It's always a little tougher sleeping at night when you're getting ready for the first game of the year," VGK forward Jack Eichel said after practice. "I still feel like a kid."
"We're all as a Vegas community so excited," VGK fan Greg said. "We love the Knights, and every year we get more and more Vegas strong."
The Knights hope Season 9 will have the same magic in store as Season 8, as the VGK try to hoist its second Stanley Cup in four seasons.
"It's always fun when it's the start of the season. You get the butterflies and the nervous energy feeling. Really excited to really start this thing off and get the season rolling," incoming winger Mitch Marner said.
"There's always excitement in this room because they have the team to get very far," forward Tomas Hertl said. "We lost Petro, it was a big piece, he won the Cup here. We should be a really good team, but now we have to just prove it on the ice."
"This is an unbelievable time of year," Eichel said. "You feel like a kid on first day of school or Christmas. You're just getting back in the swing of things and a new season has so many possibilities."
All eyes will be on number 93 on Wednesday as the Knights' new star winger Mitch Marner, a former Toronto Maple Leaf, makes his highly-anticipated official VGK debut.
Fans flocked to City National Arena on Tuesday morning to catch the Knights' final full practice before kicking off the regular season. I caught up with a few of them ahead of Marner's debut.
"I think he's gonna bring the goal scoring and playmaking that we needed at the end of that Edmonton playoff series, but also just the energy and the hunger to win," Greg said. "We're such a strong defensive team. I think if we get the shooting in, we're going to be unstoppable."
"Our team has such great chemistry and seeing Marner join the team, I think we're just going to be so much stronger," VGK fan Benjamin said.
The Knights open the season against the LA Kings at the Fortress Wednesday night. Puck drop set for 7 p.m.
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