pushed hard and (Anderson) was outstanding at the right moments.”The Senators took nine of the first 10 shots on goal in the gam

LAS VEGAS (AP) Gerard Gallant took time out from preparing for the Stanley Cup finals to watch a Little League game this week http://www.arizonacardinalsteamonline.com/pat-tillman-jersey , something that might be surprising to those who think there is little in Las Vegas besides showgirls, craps tables and nightclubs.There is a real city beyond the Las Vegas Strip, though, and that isn’t a surprise to the Vegas Golden Knights coach or the rest of a team that has embraced a city that has eagerly embraced them back.They play here, and they also live here. Turns out hockey works in the desert – even for real hockey guys.”It’s been, for all of us, one of the neatest experiences of our lifetime,” general manager George McPhee said. ”Maybe the neatest, most unique experience. Las Vegas has been a wonderful place to live and work.”The love affair between a city and its new team wasn’t totally unexpected. Las Vegas was, after all, a town starved for major league sports.But no one could have expected a hockey team would also help a city deal with its grief after a gunman killed 58 people on the Las Vegas strip just days before the team’s home opener.They’ve done that and more, thrilling a town that’s hard to impress on a remarkable run to the finals in their first year of existence.”We knew we couldn’t heal everyone,” goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said. ”But we wanted to give (the city) something to cheer for, to be proud of their team.”They call themselves the ”Golden Misfits” because they all ended up in Las Vegas after being discarded by other teams. Even Gallant was unceremoniously dumped from his last job, kicked off the team bus after being fired by the Florida Panthers.They came to this gambling city wanting to be wanted again. And a city that waited 112 years for a major sports franchise to call its own responded with open arms.The games are all sellouts, of course. But the practices have also become events to see and be seen, with hundreds of fans crowding the team’s practice rink in the planned community of Summerlin where most players live.And everywhere people wear Golden Knights hats and shirts and talk about strange things like icing and forechecking.”I see it every day of practice when you got 800 people watching our practices,” Gallant said. ”It’s definitely not one on one with people, but you see the fan support that we get is unbelievable. They love our players, they love our team, and they love what’s going on Authentic Josh Rosen Jersey , and I know our players appreciate the things they do for us.”One of those players showed that Thursday night at another Little League game. Alex Tuch was watching the son of an assistant coach play, but a lot of other people at the ballpark were watching him.As word spread that a Golden Knights player was in the stands, kids of all ages surrounded Tuch, who graciously obliged one picture request after another.For some, the bond between city and team started developing when billionaire Bill Foley plunked down $500 million and Las Vegas was awarded an expansion franchise. For others, it began when Foley announced the team would be called the Golden Knights and started selling season tickets.For many, though, it came when Deryk Engelland – a Las Vegas resident for more than a decade – stood on the ice before the first home game with hardly a dry eye in the crowd. It was nine days after the massacre of fans at a country music concert just down the street from the T-Mobile Arena where the Knights play, and emotions were raw.England’s speech was short, his message poignant.”I know how special this city is,” he told the crowd. ”To the families and friends of the victims, know we will do everything we can to help you and our city heal.”We are Vegas Strong.”Engelland, a defenseman, had scored only 22 goals in eight years in the NHL prior to that game. But he scored one that night and, for a brief moment at least, gave a grieving city something to cheer about.And it was Engelland who was chosen on a team with no captains to accept the trophy for winning the Western Conference finals from NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly.”After Oct. 1, those first games … you want to play for the city, the people that were affected by it,” Engelland said. ”To make this run, it’s awesome for us, but it all comes back to the city and the people affected by that.”In a city that values winners http://www.arizonacardinalsteamonline.com/josh-rosen-jersey , it helps that the team McPhee put together is a big winner. That was unexpected by most in hockey, who figured the Knights would finish last in their division like most expansion teams do, even though the NHL made sure they had a lot of good players to choose from.Now they’re playing for one of the great trophies in sports: the Stanley Cup.”It’s been fun to watch,” NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said. ”Nobody could’ve anticipated it. Our goal was that they be playing meaningful games in March and April, and if they were lucky, they might make the playoffs. Whoever could have predicted that they’d be on this run?”Not many, and that includes the bookies on the Las Vegas Strip. They made the Knights as much as a 500-1 underdog to win the Stanley Cup, and will likely lose several million dollars if it actually happens.It just might, and they don’t seem to care.The bookies live here, too. And they want to see the Stanley Cup paraded down the Las Vegas Strip.—-AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno and AP stringer W.G. Ramirez contributed to this report.—-Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or http://twitter.com/timdahlberg The Buffalo Sabres get another chance at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday afternoon.This time they will be at home, where they will try to carry over what they did in the third period of their 4-2 loss Thursday night in Ottawa into the rematch.The Sabres took 23 shots on goal in the final period, scoring on two of them, before Ottawa scored an empty-net goal to clinch the win.Article continues below ...“We knew they were going to come out and push hard in the third,” said Senators goaltender Craig Anderson, who made 46 saves. “They get one early and then get one on the power play, and before you know it, we’re not panicking, but we’re definitely on our heels a bit. “Give them some credit, they came out flying and we need to be a little more prepared for that. But we did the job. We got the win and at the end of the night, that’s what matters right now.”The Sabres (6-5-2) have lost three in a row.“That third period I mean, man Josh Rosen Jersey Limited , we were going,” said Sabres right winger Jason Pominville, who scored a goal in the 1,000th game of his NHL career. “We were on our toes, had zone time, had scoring chances and probably could have tied the game. That should be our standard as a team.”The Senators (5-5-2) ended a four-game losing streak with the victory.“I thought our first two periods were terrific — solid,” Senators coach Guy Boucher said. “We wanted to get our work ethic back the way it normally is, and our speed, and that’s exactly what we did.“We know it’s tough for us to sustain what we did for two periods for three periods. There’s a confidence issue there, an experience issue there, but I think, in the end, the guys pushed hard and (Anderson) was outstanding at the right moments.”The Senators took nine of the first 10 shots on goal in the game.“We’re not moving our feet to check,” Sabres coach Phil Housley said. “We’re reaching and let’s face it, we had to be a little bit more on toes. … Guys are getting on the inside of us and we didn’t lean on people in the D zone either. We weren’t aggressive enough to kill their cycle play. Now we’re chasing it and eventually we take penalties.”Sabres left winger Evan Rodrigues, who on a line with Zemgus Girgensons and Pominville for the first seven games of the season, could be ready to return to the lineup Saturday.Rodrigues missed the game in Columbus against the Blue Jackets last Saturday to be with his wife while she gave birth to their first son. He also has been a healthy scratch in the two games since. He was on a line with Vladimir Sobotka and Kyle Okposo at practice on Friday. He has four assists and no goals in 10 games.Sabres right winger Tage Thompson will not play Saturday after being a healthy scratch Thursday. Housley said the team will keep the 20-year-old with Buffalo instead of sending him to the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League and the intention is to play him in a game soon. He has one assist in nine games.The Senators were joined at practice Friday by injured left winger Brady Tkachuk. It was his first practice with the team since he suffered a torn ligament in his left leg on Oct. 15. He will not be available until Thursday at the earliest when the Senators play the Vegas Golden Knights if he continues to progress. Tkachuk has three goals and three assists in four games.