An expansion team on a jaw-dropping run, an opponent that started the season with perhaps its lowest expectations in years, a superstar finally getting his first chance at glory, a head coach left at curb 18 months ago and a city that connected with its new club after an unspeakable tragedy.

As the Vegas Golden Knights B次元官网网址� yes, the Vegas Golden Knights B次元官网网址� prepare to host the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final Monday in Sin City, those are just some of the compelling storylines.

And through it all, Nate Schmidt, who played parts of four seasons for Washington before getting plucked in the expansion draft by Vegas, might have put it best.

B次元官网网址淭he Stanley Cup final that was never meant to be, right?B次元官网网址� the Knights defenceman said at SundayB次元官网网址檚 media day. B次元官网网址淵ou look at this group on both sides, they were both down and out. You look at the players that we have, it was supposed to be a down-and-out team, we werenB次元官网网址檛 supposed to be that great. And a closing window for (Washington) that just got younger, got hot and started playing well.B次元官网网址�

On one side of this series no one expected, let alone dreamed of, eight months ago is a first-year Vegas team peppered with players sent to the scrap heap by the leagueB次元官网网址檚 other 30 clubs that finished the regular season with an astonishing 109 points.

That was a nice story, but the playoffs would be different, most observers surmised.

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The Knights then went 12-3 through the first three rounds of the post-season, brushing aside the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks and Winnipeg Jets with relative ease.

Then thereB次元官网网址檚 Washington, the perennial Stanley Cup favourite that failed time and again to reach the Eastern Conference final in the career of superstar captain Alex Ovechkin.

Many believed the CapitalsB次元官网网址� window for a title might have closed after last seasonB次元官网网址檚 second-round loss, and second in as many seasons, to the Pittsburgh Penguins. But a retooled, younger and faster roster rebounded from that demoralizing setback and hit its stride when it mattered most, coming back from an 0-2 deficit to beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, finally getting past Pittsburgh and downing the Tampa Bay Lightning in seven games after trailing that series 3-2.

B次元官网网址淭hey were still a very good team, still very good key players,B次元官网网址� Schmidt said of the Capitals. B次元官网网址滷or us, you just saw guys expand their roles and be able to become players in this league that we all thought we could be.B次元官网网址�

When it comes to individual stories, thereB次元官网网址檚 no need to search any further than Ovechkin, who has been playing like a man possessed, sitting just four wins from the Stanley Cup.

B次元官网网址淲e want to be here,B次元官网网址� Ovechkin said. B次元官网网址淲e worked so hard all year. Nobody believed in us, and nobody believed in Vegas.

B次元官网网址淚B次元官网网址檓 enjoying this moment.B次元官网网址�

The coaches also have compelling tales to tell. Gerard Gallant of Vegas was fired by the Florida Panthers in November 2016 and left to get himself a cab to the airport, while WashingtonB次元官网网址檚 Barry Trotz is without a contract for next season and might have been out the door had the Capitals not made this push to the final.

Add Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, WashingtonB次元官网网址檚 playoff nemesis when he was with Pittsburgh, to the mix along with the bounce-back of Capitals counterpart Braden Holtby and there are so many ways this series could twist and turn.

B次元官网网址淓very round we played, everybody picked the other team against us,B次元官网网址� Fleury said. B次元官网网址漌e always had to believe in ourselves, be confident in ourselves.B次元官网网址�

But perhaps the most touching, most human, story heading into the final no one saw coming is how the Knights connected with Las Vegas in the aftermath of the massacre that saw a gunman kill 58 people and injure hundreds more at an outdoor concert in early October.

The club hit the right tone, honouring the victims on opening night with a sombre ceremony that included 58 seconds of silence, and hasnB次元官网网址檛 looked back as the city fell in love with its first professional sports franchise from one of North AmericaB次元官网网址檚 four major leagues.

B次元官网网址淎n extremely emotional time when youB次元官网网址檙e close to something like that,B次元官网网址� Vegas general manager George McPhee said. B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 hard to fathom when you sit back and realize youB次元官网网址檝e lost 58 people B次元官网网址� that 58 seconds felt like forever.

B次元官网网址淪ometimes beautiful things follow something like that. The way that this community came together and these people helped each really was beautiful to experience (and) to witness.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淲e donB次元官网网址檛 talk about it a whole lot,B次元官网网址� Gallant added. B次元官网网址滲ut we think about it a whole lot.B次元官网网址�

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Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

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