Golden Knights Now Have NHL's Best Record After Sunday Win

What the city of Las Vegas has known for months, the rest of the hockey world had to admit yesterday. The Vegas Golden Knights are the NHL's best hockey team.

The Golden Knights didn't just claim the NHL's best record yesterday; they did it in microcosmic fashion of their incredible inaugural season, blowing it open early with three first period goals that were enough to cruise past Carolina 5-1 on Sunday. The Golden Knights finish a four-game road trip with an NHL best 31-11-4 and a league leading 66 points.

If you're waiting for complacency to set in now that the Golden Knights sit atop the league they've only been part of for one year, it might be a while.

"We know where we're at, but there's a lot of work to do," head coach Gerard Gallant said to reporters after the game.

The Golden Knights leap frogged Tampa Bay, who they beat 4-1 on Jan. 18 in the second game of the road trip, for hockey's best mark. Marc-Andre Fleury saved 27 of 28 shots in net for his 11th win of the season. Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Colin Miller, and Jonathan Marchessault each found the net in the first period. James Neal and Brendan Leipsic finished off the scoring with goals in the second and third periods, respectively.

Fleury told reporters after the game that the reason for the team's success this season goes deeper than what shows up on ice each night.

"A little unexpected, right?" he joked. "It's been a lot of fun. We started this team from scratch and the chemistry was built quick between us."

"I think we've done it as a team too," he added, saying they're equipped to handle the second half grind because of how they've learned to come out on top even when they aren't beating teams by four goals.

"We're winning in different ways and that's a great thing for our confidence and our ability going down the stretch," Fleury said.

The Golden Knights come home to T-Mobile Arena for two games - Tuesday against the Columbus Blue Jackets and Thursday against the New York Islanders - before a five-day All-Star break.

Image via Karl B. DeBlaker/Associated Press