LOS ANGELES -- One year ago, the Vegas Golden Knights had no players on their roster, and Gerard Gallant was four days into his new job as the first head coach of the expansion team.

On Tuesday, Vegas became the first franchise in NHL history to sweep a postseason series in its inaugural season when it defeated the Los Angeles Kings 1-0.

The Golden Knights will face the winner of the San Jose Sharks-Anaheim Ducks series in the next round. San Jose leads the series 3-0.

It already has been a historic season for the Golden Knights, after they took the Pacific Division to become the first modern-era expansion team in the NHL, NBA, NFL or MLB to win its division in its inaugural season, excluding mergers and all-expansion divisions.

The Golden Knights are now continuing to rewrite the record books in the postseason. With Tuesday's sweep, they became just the third team in the NHL, NBA or MLB to complete a four-game sweep in its first playoff series. The Pittsburgh Penguins did so in 1970 against the Oakland Seals, and MLB's Boston Braves pulled off the feat in 1914 against the Philadelphia Athletics.

A big reason for Vegas' success this season and in the playoffs so far has been the play of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, who was selected by Vegas in the expansion draft after he helped the Penguins win the Stanley Cup three times. Fleury now has 66 career postseason victories, and he passed Dominik Hasek (65) for 11th in NHL history among goaltenders. Tuesday's effort was Fleury's 12th career postseason shutout, tied with Terry Sawchuk for 10th-most in NHL history.

"You guys remind us or tell us about those records, but it's not something that we talk about or shoot for," Fleury said. "All season long, I didn't know any records about expansion teams. We just do what a regular team would. We just play the game and try to win. That's it."

Few expected much from Vegas coming into this season. Many had the Golden Knights pegged as the worst team in the league following the expansion draft that netted them the likes of Fleury, James Neal, Jonathan Marchessault, Deryk Engelland, David Perron, William Karlsson, Nate Schmidt, Erik Haula, Cody Eakin, William Carrier and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare.

The star and the face of the franchise was always going to be Fleury, but no one thought he would become the catalyst for another Stanley Cup contender so soon in the process.

"He had experience winning three Stanley Cups being with the Pittsburgh Penguins all those years. We knew when we got him we got a superstar goaltender. We knew that," Gallant said. "He has carried our team a lot. He makes our team better and confident, and it all started with the first 10 games of the season, when we were 8-2. He's a big part of our group."

The Golden Knights swept the Kings despite scoring seven total goals in the series and by allowing only three goals from Los Angeles. Vegas' seven goals are two fewer than any other team has scored in a best-of-seven sweep in NHL history.

"It feels great," Marchessault said. "All of us, we came in with a chip on our shoulder, and we're just looking at the next game ahead of us. When we play right away, I think we can go far, but we cannot look too far right now. We've got to look at the next game and be able to cash in the rest that we're going to have here and be ready when the second round starts."

The game-winning goal on Tuesday came from Brayden McNabb, who played the previous three seasons for the Kings before being selected by Vegas in the expansion draft. It was McNabb's first postseason goal.

"I'm not a huge offensive guy, but to get a goal and get our team going felt pretty good. I was just happy to get the team going," he said.

As Vegas prepared to leave Staples Center after the franchise's first playoff series win and sweep Tuesday night, Gallant couldn't help but recall the incredible journey of his first year as the team's first head coach.

"It's unreal," Gallant said. "When you think back to early October when the season started, we were thinking about competing and playing hard, and now all of a sudden, we're moving on to the second round of the playoffs. We're playing good hockey, and we got experienced guys and a good hockey team, so we're pretty proud of it and real happy.

"We'll have a week off here to get ready for the next one. It's awesome. It's been a great feeling." </s> (AP Photo/Chris Carlson). Linesman Derek Amell (75) separates Vegas Golden Knights left wing Erik Haula, left, and Los Angeles Kings left wing Adrian Kempe during the first period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Los Angeles, Su...

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson). Vegas Golden Knights left wing Tomas Nosek, left, battles Los Angeles Kings defenseman Dion Phaneuf for the puck during the first period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 15, 2...

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson). Vegas Golden Knights left wing Erik Haula, left, battles Los Angeles Kings defenseman Dion Phaneuf for the puck during the first period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 15, 20...

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson). Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty reacts after getting hit with a stick by Vegas Golden Knights center Jonathan Marchessault during the second period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Los Angeles...

(AP Photo/Chris Carlson). Los Angeles Kings left wing Adrian Kempe, left, battles Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Jon Merrill for the puck during the second period of Game 3 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series in Los Angeles, Sunday, April 15, ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - James Neal scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:37 to play, and the Vegas Golden Knights rallied from a third-period deficit to move to the brink of the expansion franchise's first playoff series victory with a 3-2 win over the Los Angeles Kings on Sunday night.

Cody Eakin tied it with 13:50 left, and William Karlsson scored 21 seconds after Neal's goal in a third-period flurry for the Golden Knights, whose storybook debut season just keeps getting more exciting and more outlandish.

After opening their first postseason series with two home wine, the hockey upstarts from the desert took a 3-0 series lead by coolly winning their first road playoff game in front of an angry sellout crowd at Staples Center, where two recent Stanley Cup banners hang above the ice.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 37 saves for the Golden Knights, who became the first team to take a 3-0 series lead in this postseason.

Vegas will go for a sweep in Game 4 on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.

Alex Iafallo scored his first career playoff goal in the first period for the Kings, who haven't won a playoff game at Staples Center since they last raised the Stanley Cup in June 2014. Anze Kopitar added a tipped goal with 2:04 to play, but Los Angeles couldn't get the equalizer.

Jonathan Quick stopped 23 shots, but the Golden Knights' three-goal flurry doubled their goal total against him from the first 201 minutes of play in this series.

Neal, the veteran goal scorer claimed from Western Conference champion Nashville in last summer's expansion draft, put the Golden Knights ahead when he walked in and beat Quick between the legs with a snap shot.

Karlsson then converted Reilly Smith's pass from the corner with a one-timer and the third career playoff goal for the former Anaheim prospect.

Vegas' offensive burst broke open a third straight game of tense, defense-dominated playoff hockey between a franchise that won two Cups while perfecting that style and another that didn't exist a year ago.

Drew Doughty played more than 27 1/2 minutes in the star defenseman's return to the Kings' blue line following a one-game suspension for hitting William Carrier in the series opener. Doughty also had partner Jake Muzzin back by his side after he missed the previous seven games with an upper-body injury.

The Golden Knights opened the series with the first two playoff victories in franchise history before their usual raucous fans on the Strip. The Kings kept it close in both games, losing in double overtime in Game 2, but never managed to take a lead on Vegas because they only scored one goal in the two combined games.

Back at Staples Center, the Kings looked more comfortable - but only marginally in this razor-thin series.

The Kings took their first lead of the series 13:14 into Game 3 when Iafallo roofed a shot behind Fleury so quickly that it was initially waved off by the officials, who eventually reversed themselves. Iafallo, the speedy Los Angeles rookie who became a surprise top-liner this season, hadn't scored a goal in his last 12 games since March 3, and he was scratched for Game 2.

Kopitar and Dustin Brown got assists on Iafallo's goal, earning their first points of the postseason. Los Angeles' top-end offensive talent was slow to emerge on the road, where the Knights' persistent two-way game and Fleury's goaltending ruled.

Neither team got much offensive traction in a scoreless second period, but the physical tone of the series remained. Erik Haula butt-ended Kopitar in the face after a cross-check, and Jonathan Marchessault was penalized for retaliating to a hit from Doughty, who then mock-clapped for Marchessault and pointed to his own head.

But the Knights kept pressing and tied it after a prolonged sequence of dominance in which Colin Miller's shot hit the post before Eakin buried Ryan Carpenter's cross-ice pass.

NOTES: Forward Tomas Tatar was a healthy scratch for the Golden Knights. The Slovak scorer had played in all 22 games since Vegas acquired him from Detroit, but has just two points in the last 10. ... Muzzin scored a career-high 42 points during the regular season. To make room for his return, Los Angeles scratched D Paul LaDue, who scored their only previous goal in the series. ... Margot Robbie, David Beckham and injured Dodgers slugger Justin Turner attended the game.

Copyright 2018 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. </s> In a city where Frank Sinatra crooned, the Rat Pack roamed, Sugar Ray Leonard fought and Liberace headlined, the Golden Knights are proving to be one of the most celebrated acts in Las Vegas history.

The expansion Golden Knights defeated the Winnipeg Jets 2-1 on Sunday to win the Western Conference final in five games and earn an improbable berth to the Stanley Cup Final.

Fourth-liner Ryan Reaves, a Winnipeg native who was acquired at the trade deadline from the Pittsburgh Penguins in a complicated three-team deal, scored the game-winning goal in the second period.

If the Golden Knights triumph against either the Tampa Bay Lightning or Washington Capitals, they would be considered one of the most unlikely champions in sports history.

We are talking Buster Douglas taking down Mike Tyson, the 1969 New York "Miracle Mets" or No. 8-seed Villanova beating Georgetown to win the 1985 NCAA championship.

Historically, expansion teams are set up to initially fail. In the modern era, the Golden Knights, who went 51-24-7 in the regular season, are the first expansion team in the four major sports to post a winning record. The last two NHL expansion teams, the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild, won 28 and 25 games, respectively, in 2000-01.

Most experts predicted the Golden Knights would finish among the league's worst teams. Nobody believed they could finish with the fifth-best record.

The Golden Knights might be the best team story in the NHL since the Wayne Gretzky-led Edmonton Oilers rewrote the record book in the 1980s with four Stanley Cups in five seasons.

It is a feel-good tale. The Las Vegas community and the team bonded before the first puck was dropped because of the Oct. 1 tragedy that saw 58 people die in a mass shooting during a concert in the city.

As team members supported the victims' families and first responders, the connection with fans grew stronger. On opening night, Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland made an emotional, inspirational speech at center ice that will never be forgotten.

The community was strong, and it turned out the team was strong on the ice. With speed, passion and aggressiveness, the Golden Knights have played a perfect style for this era of hockey.

The Golden Knights have become just as unique in their presentation of the game, using theatrics and creativity at T-Mobile Arena. Laser shows. Elvis impersonators. Showgirls. Skits. Swordplay. Wayne Newton. Humorous comedy bits on the video screen. A castle in the stands.

All of the players are popular, but none more so than goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, the former Pittsburgh Penguins star who has launched the second act of his career in Las Vegas.

Although the Golden Knights' success has been an exciting story line, not everyone is celebrating it.

Some fans believe winning should take time. They point out important franchises have never won a Stanley Cup. The storied Toronto Maple Leafs haven’t won since 1967.

The NHL changed the player-protection rules in the expansion draft to give the Golden Knights a greater opportunity at forming a better roster than previous expansion teams.

The 30 other teams were allowed to protect seven forwards and three defensemen and one goalie or eight forwards/defensemen and one goalie.

That means the Golden Knights, in theory, landed the 10th- or 12th-best player on every team’s roster.

They were supposed to get third-line forwards and No. 4 defensemen, but they did better than that because general manager George McPhee shrewdly managed the assets to land first-liners James Neal, Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson and a top goalie in Fleury.

The Golden Knights have earned this impossible dream trip to the Stanley Cup Final. </s> A year ago at this time, the Vegas Golden Knights didn't have a single player on their roster. Now, they're headed to the Stanley Cup Final in their inaugural season.

The Golden Knights wrapped up a gentleman's sweep of the Winnipeg Jets on Sunday, taking their Western Conference Final series four games to one. As a result, the NHL's newest team becomes the first expansion team in all of sports to reach the championship round since the St. Louis Blues did it in 1968.

It must be noted that the Blues faced a different set of circumstances when they advanced to the Stanley Cup Final back then. It was the first season that the NHL had expanded beyond the Original Six, and the Blues were one of six expansion teams placed in their own conference. The Blues entered the postseason in a field of eight, and they went on to be swept by the Montreal Canadiens in the Cup Final.

The Golden Knights, meanwhile, are the league's lone expansion team this season, and they entered the playoffs as one of 16 teams vying for the Cup.

They've put on a stunning performance throughout the postseason, going 12-3 through the first three rounds and making rather quick work of the Jets, who were considered to be one of the best teams in not only the conference, but in the entire NHL.

The Knights have gotten stellar contributions from their top line of William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Reilly Smith, but their leading candidate for Conn Smythe at this point is undoubtedly goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. The veteran goaltender, who won three Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins before being selected by Vegas in last summer's expansion draft, has posted a .947 save percentage throughout the playoffs so far.

The Golden Knights entered the regular season with 500-1 odds of winning the Stanley Cup. Now they're just four wins away from defying those long odds. </s> What happens in Vegas … may never happen again.

The Vegas Golden Knights, who officially did not exist 15 months ago, are four victories away from winning the Stanley Cup.

That’s right: The NHL’s latest expansion team, expected to flounder in its inaugural season, has reached the Stanley Cup Final after dispatching the Winnipeg Jets in five games in the Western Conference finals.

How can we wrap our minds around this historic achievement? Let’s start here: In the modern era, Vegas is the first expansion team in the four major sports — NHL, NBA, NFL, MLB — to even post a winning record in its first season.

The NHL’s last two expansion franchises — the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild — won 28 and 25 games, respectively, during their first season in 2000-01. The Golden Knights went 51-24-7 this season to finish with the NHL’s fifth-best record.

How about the postseason? No expansion club in any sport has ever won a title in its first season, but have any even reached the championship round?

There’s one: The 1968 St. Louis Blues, who were one of six teams to added to the NHL when it expanded from six to 12 franchises. But those Blues needed to win just one playoff series to make the Stanley Cup Final and were swept by the Montreal Canadiens in the championship.

The Golden Knights, meanwhile, have rolled to a 12-3 record in the playoffs, taking a roster of other teams’ cast-offs to heights not seen by 17 other major franchises in their entire histories.

Did we mention the Detroit Lions have been around since 1930?

Fittingly enough, Vegas also is a good barometer of Vegas’ absurd run. The Golden Knights began the regular season with 500-1 odds to win the Stanley Cup and had long odds throughout the season, which could mean absurdly large paydays if they can knock off the winner of the Tampa Bay Lightning-Washington Capitals Eastern Conference finals.

Even if they fall short in the Stanley Cup Final, the Golden Knights will be remembered as the greatest expansion franchise ever. But if they manage to win it all, they’ll go down as one of the best stories in sports — period. </s> Harry How/Getty Images(LAS VEGAS) – The Vegas Golden Knights went into their inaugural season with a plan most expansion teams follow: form the best roster possible with a mix of veterans and young players while amassing draft picks in an effort to build for future success. Ironically, and luckily for Vegas, things did not go according to plan.

A mix of seasoned veterans like Marc-Andre Fleury and James Neal combined with impressive performances by young players like William Karlsson not only allowed Vegas to be serviceable in the Western Conference, but be viewed as one of the most dangerous teams in the league. The misfit bunch soared to the top of the standings early on in the year and almost never looked back, stunning its fans and the league as a whole.

Golden Knights general manager George McPhee soon realized come the trade deadline the team wouldn’t be looking to add more future draft picks, but build this young team for a playoff run. Acquisitions of Ryan Reaves and Tomas Tatar helped fill out the depth in the roster, allowing Vegas to be the first team to clinch a playoff berth in its inaugural season since the 1979-80 Whalers and Oilers.

If the story stopped there it would already be a fairytale, but it hasn’t. Vegas opened the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Los Angeles Kings, a team known for upsetting top seeds in recent years, and made an emphatic statement, sweeping them in four games. The Golden Knights became the first NHL team, and just the third team in the four major sports, to sweep its first every playoff series.

With the shooting tragedy that occurred in Vegas in October, the Golden Knights were there to give the people of Sin City a way to escape, even just for a few hours, and rallied behind people who so desperately needed a reason to smile. The Golden Knights are an amazing story already, not only for just the NHL, but for the city of Las Vegas. And, the Cinderella story is not over yet. </s> Marc-Andre Fleury posted his second shutout and Brayden McNabb’s second-period goal proved the game-winner as the Golden Knights beat the Los Angeles Kings 1-0 to sweep their Western Conference quarterfinal series Wednesday night.

LOS ANGELES — Brayden McNabb was not a member of the Los Angeles Kings team that captured the Stanley Cup in 2014 and affectionately was known as the “cockroaches.”

But after spending the past three seasons with the Kings, it was appropriate that the Golden Knights defenseman helped exterminate his former team.

McNabb scored early in the second period for the lone goal to help the Knights to a 1-0 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday at Staples Center and a sweep of their Western Conference quarterfinal series.

The Knights are the first franchise in NHL history to sweep a Stanley Cup playoffs series in its inaugural season. They also became the third team from the NHL, NBA or Major League Baseball to complete a four-game sweep to win their first-ever playoff series, according to Elias Sports Bureau.

The Knights await the winner of the San Jose-Anaheim series in the conference semifinals. San Jose leads that series, 3-0.

Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury finished with 31 saves for his 12th career postseason shutout, tying Terry Sawchuk for ninth all time. He also moved past Dominik Hasek into 11th on the all-time list with his 66th career postseason victory.

Fleury, who also blanked Los Angeles 1-0 in the series opener, made a huge glove stop on Kings’ leading scorer Anze Kopitar from point-blank range with a little more than 12 minutes remaining in the third period.

Los Angeles is one of four franchises to overcome a 3-0 deficit, knocking off San Jose in the first round in 2014. Kings defenseman Alec Martinez described the team as “cockroaches” because they wouldn’t die that season en route to their second Stanley Cup in three seasons.

But the Knights made sure there wouldn’t be a repeat performance.

After a scoreless first period dominated by Los Angeles, the Knights found their legs and took the lead on their first shot of the second.

Jonathan Marchessault took a hard check in his own zone from Kings defenseman Christian Folin in order to make a breakout pass to William Karlsson at center ice. Karlsson dished the puck to Reilly Smith and McNabb, who jumped into the rush to create a 2-on-1, one-timed Smith’s feed past Quick at 4:04 for his first postseason goal.

Ryan Carpenter nearly gave the Knights a 2-0 lead with a little less than five minutes remaining in the second after a Kings turnover, but his backhander was turned away.

Los Angeles’ best chance of the period came midway through when Alex Tuch tried a no-look, behind-the-back pass in his own zone that was intercepted. The puck eventually ended up with Tobias Rieder, and his drive was smothered by Fleury.

The Knights spent most of the first period pinned in by a tenacious forecheck from Los Angeles and were fortunate to head to the locker room scoreless after 20 minutes.

Fleury made 14 saves and the Knights also blocked nine shots, as Los Angeles held a 33-11 advantage in shots attempts.

Kings forward Kyle Clifford tested Fleury six minutes in with a low shot that was kicked out. Also, Knights defenseman Deryk Engelland got his stick on Tyler Toffoli’s drive from a prime scoring area in the final minute of the period after some strong work along the wall by Los Angeles’ Jeff Carter.

The Knights struggled to break out of their own zone and went more than seven minutes without a shot on goal in the first period after Quick turned aside Shea Theodore’s drive 1:11 into the first.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

More Golden Knights: Follow all of our Golden Knights coverage online at reviewjournal.com/GoldenKnights and @HockeyinVegas on Twitter.

Contact David Schoen at dschoen@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5203. Follow @DavidSchoenLVRJ on Twitter.

1. Thrill kill. The Golden Knights came up with a huge effort on the penalty kill in the third period to stymie Los Angeles after Reilly Smith went off for tripping with 7:44 remaining. The Knights were 2-for-2 on Tuesday and killed 12 of 13 Kings’ power-plays in the series. 2. Block party. The Knights finished with 20 blocked shots, as Los Angeles owned a 67-41 edge in shot attempts. Defenseman Brayden McNabb posted a game-high five blocked shots for the Knights. 3. Deserved better. Kings goaltender Jonathan Quick was outstanding again but didn’tget enough offensive support. Quick finished with 20 saves in Game 4 and allowed seven goals in the series. </s> The Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion NHL team in its first season, beat all the odds and made it to the finals of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

And we're going to turn now to hockey and an incredible Cinderella story.

GREENE: That's the sound outside an arena on the Las Vegas Strip last night. Fans of the Vegas Golden Knights were watching as their team beat the Winnipeg Jets to reach hockey's Stanley Cup final.

DAN D'UVA: (Yelling) A (unintelligible) feed. And it goes wide. And that's it. It's over. The Knights are going to the Stanley Cup Final.

JIM HUGHSON: The incredible journey continues for the Vegas Golden Knights.

KENNY ALBERT: Two hundred and twenty-seven days after their first regular season game in franchise history, the Vegas Golden Knights are headed to the Stanley Cup Final.

OK. The announcers sound a little excited, but this is exciting. An expansion franchise in the very first season, a team made up of castaway players not wanted by other teams, and here they are even though they've been calling themselves the misfits.

GREENE: Yeah, the misfits, but coaching and chemistry and some unbelievable goaltending saw them set the league on fire.

INSKEEP: Jonathan Marchessault is on his fourth NHL team in five years but is now leading scorer in the playoffs.

JONATHAN MARCHESSAULT: We went against the odds all year. We're going to keep doing what we do best. I mean, it's just prove people wrong. And whoever we're facing, we're probably not going to be favorite next round. So it's just the way it goes, and that's fine with that.

GREENE: And this is what makes this story even more special. The Golden Knights bonded with this city in a moment of tragedy. Their first-ever game last October came just days after the mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 people dead.

INSKEEP: Yeah, Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury says the team was happy to be a rallying point.

MARC-ANDRE FLEURY: It was a big moment, obviously, in the city. And I think as a team, if we - you know, we couldn't, you know, heal anybody, you know? But if we could just change their mind a bit, you know, throughout those first few weeks and throughout the season and get them to be proud of their team, cheering for something - you know? - they can - I'm happy that we're able to provide a little bit of that, you know, to Vegas.

GREENE: And now this team, the Golden Knights, could be Stanley Cup champions if they can pull off four more wins. </s> The Vegas Golden Knights are in their inaugural season, and they’re making history for an NHL expansion franchise. Now up 3-0 in their series with the Kings, the Golden Knights look poised to move on to the second round.

And maybe, just maybe, they’ll earn the respect of the Los Angeles Kings. Because back in September, they certainly didn’t have it.

On Tuesday, NHL fans uncovered a Kings tweet from a Twitter argument in September that mocked the Golden Knights as “wannabes.” The tweet did not age well … at all.

That, of course, opened the Kings up to plenty of mocking on Twitter as they now face elimination at the hands of the Golden Knights.

Yeah, the Kings probably deserved that.

They might want to take notes from the NBA after brand accounts were encouraged to be nicer to one another. The Sacramento Kings and Atlanta Hawks followed the guidelines to perfection.

The Golden Knights will have a chance to complete the sweep on Tuesday night in Los Angeles.
In ice hockey, the Las Vegas Golden Knights became the first NHL franchise to complete a 4-game sweep in the postseason during their inaugural season after their victory over the Los Angeles Kings.