Newest Hockey Team Leading the Stanley Cup Finals

 

The newest professional hockey team in the United States is leading the series for the championship of North American hockey.

The Vegas Golden Knights¹ of Las Vegas, Nevada, defeated the Washington Capitals of D.C., Monday night in Game One. The score was 6 to 4.

The Stanley Cup Finals is a best of seven games series.

The Knights began its first season last October. At the time, Las Vegas was recovering from the worst mass shooting in the U.S.

On October 1, an attacker on a high floor of a Las Vegas hotel used a military-style assault² rifle³ to shoot at a concert crowd below. The gunman killed 58 people and wounded more than 700. He then killed himself.

Bill Bradley is with the sports department of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He said the Golden Knights worked to help the city recover.

He said team members "went to blood banks, went to food banks, went to meet with first responders. People felt like they cared."

The Knights are the first expansion⁴ team in the National Hockey League since 2000. They have broken several records in their first season.

The team won eight of their first nine games. Then came some losses and injuries. But Bradley said the team had made fans, with "600, 700, 800 people showing up for practices every day."

One such fan is John Laubhan. He said supporters started to think that the team could win a first-season championship.

He added, “As the season went on, they proved it could happen. And look where we are - Stanley Cup finals!"

Laubhan's son Brandon was also at the practice. He said the city's spirits lifted as the team continued to win. He said, "To have the team come at that time to lift the spirits of everybody, it was truly indescribable."

Energized⁵ the city

Fan Anthony Valdovinos agrees, calling the city “energized.”

He added, "People are happy, shaking hands, (saying) 'Oh my God, you're a Knights fan? I'm a Knights fan.' It's good for the city."

Camille Gabel moved to Las Vegas from Michigan. She said Las Vegas is a city of transplants⁶.

She added, "Very few people are from here. Everybody moves here. So, the Knights have really given the community something to band around."

Already champions

The Golden Knights are good, but can they win the Stanley Cup?

"Definitely," said fan Kevin Lewis, as he and his family watched the team practice. "We've got the momentum⁷...we're going to win it."

Fans say whatever happens now, the Vegas Golden Knights are already champions to the desert city.

Words in This Story

ice hockey – n.a game played on an ice rink in which two teams of six players on skates use curved⁸ sticks to try to shoot a puck into the opponent's goal

league – n. a group of sports teams that play against each other

motive⁹ – n.the reason to do something

editor – n.one who corrects written articles or products

responder– n. one who is first on the scene of an accident

expansion– adj. growing larger

practice – v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

odds¹⁰ – n. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

transplants – n.one who has moved to a new place to live

momentum – n.the strength or force that something has when it is moving

1 knights   

骑士； （中古时代的）武士( knight的名词复数 )； 骑士； 爵士； （国际象棋中）马

参考例句：

• stories of knights and fair maidens 关于骑士和美女的故事
• He wove a fascinating tale of knights in shining armour. 他编了一个穿着明亮盔甲的骑士的迷人故事。

2 assault   

v.猛烈地攻击，袭击；n.突然而猛烈的攻击

参考例句：

• She appeared in court on charges of kidnapping and assault.她因受到拐骗和侵犯人身的指控而出庭。
• The trainees were put through an assault course.受训人员接受了突击训练课程。

3 rifle   

n.来复枪，步枪

参考例句：

• The soldiers keep a tight hold of the rifle.战士们紧握手中的枪。
• They armed him with a rifle.他们发给他一支步枪。

4 expansion   

n.扩张，扩充；扩大；扩充物；扩展部

参考例句：

• The company has promised wide consultation on its expansion plans.该公司允诺就其扩展计划广泛征求意见。
• The plan will give an impulse to industrial expansion.这个计划将促进工业的扩展。

5 energized   

v.给予…精力，能量( energize的过去式和过去分词 )；使通电

参考例句：

• We are energized by love if we put our energy into loving. 如果我们付出能量去表现爱意，爱就会使我们充满活力。 来自辞典例句
• I am completely energized and feeling terrific. 我充满了活力，感觉非常好。 来自辞典例句

6 transplants   

n.（器官、皮肤、头发等的）移植( transplant的名词复数 )；移植的器官，移植物

参考例句：

• The heart transplants have been read about and discussed everywhere. 人们已读到关于心脏移植的报道，到处都在议论此事。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• A number of terms are used in various classifications of transplants. 移植物的各种分类中应用了一系列的名词。 来自辞典例句

7 momentum   

n.动力，冲力，势头；动量

参考例句：

• We exploit the energy and momentum conservation laws in this way.我们就是这样利用能量和动量守恒定律的。
• The law of momentum conservation could supplant Newton's third law.动量守恒定律可以取代牛顿第三定律。

8 curved   

a.弯曲的

参考例句：

• His lips curved in a barely perceptible smile. 他的嘴角弯了弯，露出一丝几乎察觉不到的笑容。
• The missile curved gracefully towards its target. 导弹呈优美的曲线状飞向目标。

9 motive   

n.动机，目的；adv.发动的，运动的

参考例句：

• The police could not find a motive for the murder.警察不能找到谋杀的动机。
• He had some motive in telling this fable.他讲这寓言故事是有用意的。

10 odds   

n.让步，机率，可能性，比率；胜败优劣之别

参考例句：

• The odds are 5 to 1 that she will win.她获胜的机会是五比一。
• Do you know the odds of winning the lottery once?你知道赢得一次彩票的几率多大吗？