You come to these games, it’s a party, and Vegas is the same.”ĭeBoer, who was Cassidy’s predecessor in Vegas and also coached at Florida, believes this kind of final four is exactly what Commissioner Gary Bettman predicted when the NHL instituted a salary cap in 2005 after a yearlong lockout and made parity a priority. “The traditional markets, you go to a game, and I’m Canadian, but you go to a game in Toronto … it’s very reserved, very corporate.

It’s a lot more of a party, it really is,” first-year Dallas coach Pete DeBoer said. The Dallas Stars and the Golden Knights open the Western Conference Final Friday, May 19, in Las Vegas. FILE - Dallas Stars coach Pete DeBoer looks back during the first period of the team's NHL hockey game against the Minnesota Wild on Feb. The Dallas Stars and the Golden Knights open the West final Friday night in Las Vegas. “There’s that old tradition, the Original Six and someone’s usually there, but that’s just the way it falls this year.”Ĭarolina will take on the Florida Panthers in the East final, with Game 1 on Thursday night. It doesn’t matter where they’re from, right?,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said Tuesday. Every game will be played in the Sun Belt for the first time, with not an Original Six franchise in sight. The NHL is about to stage a very non-traditional pair of conference finals. Free Press 101: How we practise journalism.

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