Hockey Week: The 420-Game Sellout Streak Ends, the Gray Jerseys Retire, Stone Hits 400, and VGK Start 5-1-0

by Ryan Rose

What Happened This Week in Las Vegas Hockey

The sellout streak is over. News 3 Las Vegas reported that attendance for the Oct. 8 game against Toronto was 15,977. Daily Faceoff put that at nearly 1,400 seats short of T-Mobile Arena's capacity of 17,367. Before that night, the arena had sold out 354 regular-season games and 66 playoff games in a row, not counting the games played under COVID-19 limits. That is 420 games over 10 seasons. The NHL record still belongs to the Pittsburgh Penguins, who sold out 633 straight games from 2007 to 2021. SinBin.vegas, a local Golden Knights site, reported that the announced crowd for Saturday's game against the Los Angeles Kings was 16,768, which would make it a second straight game below capacity. That second number came from SinBin, and no other outlet has confirmed it yet.

The gray jerseys are retired. Saturday, Oct. 10, was "Welcome to Impossible Knight." The date marked nine years since the team's first home game on Oct. 10, 2017. The Golden Knights said it would be the final time the team wore its inaugural gray jerseys before pulling them from the rotation. The first 10,000 fans got a commemorative puck, much like the one given out at that first home game. Before puck drop, a free Fan Fest at Paramount+ Plaza brought back members of the first team, including Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Oscar Dansk, Cody Eakin, Deryk Engelland, Brad Hunt, James Neal, Ryan Reaves and first head coach Gerard Gallant. The team also held a practice open to fans on Friday at City National Arena in Summerlin, with 2017-18 players there to sign autographs.

Mark Stone hit 400 points, with a bonus. In a 6-2 win at Seattle on Tuesday, Oct. 6, Stone scored a shorthanded goal for his 400th point as a Golden Knight. The Hockey News reported he is only the third player in franchise history to get there. Later in the third period, with Vegas up 5-1, Seattle's Ben Meyers drove Victor Olofsson into the boards. Stone stepped in and fought Brandon Montour. That gave him a goal, an assist and a fight in the same game, which hockey fans call a Gordie Howe hat trick. It was the first of his career. Olofsson and Tomas Hertl each scored twice in that game, and Jack Eichel had a goal and three assists.

PWHL Las Vegas unveiled its first jerseys. On Oct. 8, the new women's pro team showed its home and away jerseys, made by Bauer. Both say "VEGAS" stitched diagonally across the front. The home jerseys are green, with a custom gold accent and navy stripes. The league said the green reflects the desert valley, the gold evokes the desert sun, and the navy is a nod to the desert at night. Single-game tickets went on sale Friday, Oct. 9, at 10 a.m. Forward Hayley Scamurra said in the league's announcement that she loves the jerseys and that the gold captures the energy of Vegas. PWHL Las Vegas is one of 12 teams in the league, which played its first season in January 2024.

The team is rolling. On the same night the streak ended, Vegas came back from a 3-0 hole to beat Toronto 4-3 in a shootout. Eichel tied it on a penalty shot, and rookie Trevor Connelly won it in the fifth round. On Saturday, Mitch Marner scored a power-play goal in overtime to beat the Kings 2-1. That made four wins in a row and a 5-1-0 start, with a road game at Minnesota on Monday, Oct. 12.

The Toronto game was one to remember for the fans who did show up. The Maple Leafs jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Stone and Brett Howden scored to cut the gap, and then Eichel buried his penalty shot to tie it. In the shootout, Adin Hill stopped four of five Toronto shooters, and Connelly beat Sergei Bobrovsky to end it. Against the Kings two nights later, goalie Carter Hart made 31 saves, according to the team recap, and Marner ended it on the power play in overtime. So the same week fans talked about empty seats, the team on the ice gave them two of the most fun finishes of the young season.

Vegas Golden Knights promotional graphic for Welcome to Impossible Knight, the Oct. 10, 2026 game that retired the inaugural gray jerseys

Why It Matters to Las Vegas Residents

For most locals, the sellout streak was never just a stat. It was proof that this town, which people used to say would never support a pro team, packed the building every single night for nine years. When that run ends, people start asking why. And the most common answer people give is cost.

Ken Boehlke of SinBin.vegas wrote an opinion piece on Oct. 10 laying out why he believes the streak ended. His view is that the team has become more focused on profit than on its relationship with fans. That is his opinion, and the team has not said it agrees. But he did list several changes that fans can check for themselves. He wrote that ticket prices have gone up for years, and that parking, food and beer have gotten more expensive, though he noted the newer VGK Locals Menu has offered some relief. He wrote that some giveaways are now limited to the first 10,000 fans instead of everyone in the building. He said season ticket member gifts and events are smaller than they used to be. He also reported that the Knights Salute program, which he said once gave more than 300 tickets per game to members of the armed forces, first responders and Clark County teachers, has been significantly reduced.

Other people pointed to other reasons. Boehlke himself listed outside factors that he says all played a part, like a Metallica concert down the street that night, the rising cost of gas and groceries, and fewer Canadian fans traveling to the U.S. Daily Faceoff noted that it was only the third home game of the season, on a Thursday in October. It also shared one fan's point that with more pro teams in town, locals may not feel the need to buy tickets to every event.

That last point is worth thinking about. Las Vegas now has the Golden Knights, the Raiders, the Aces, the Henderson Silver Knights at Lifeguard Arena, and soon PWHL Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena. Families have more choices for their entertainment dollar than they did in 2017. For anyone who has ever budgeted for a game night, a playoff run or a season plan, this is a story about value. Is the full night out, from ticket to parking to a beer, still worth it? Thousands of locals are answering that question for themselves right now.

Background and History

The Golden Knights played their first home game on Oct. 10, 2017. The team quickly became a rallying point for the whole valley. That first group, nicknamed the "Golden Misfits," was built from the expansion draft and nobody expected much. Instead, they reached the Stanley Cup Final in their first season. The team's own release calls that 2017-18 run the most successful expansion season in pro sports history.

The sellout streak started in that first season and kept going through it all. Daily Faceoff counted five Pacific Division titles, five Conference Final trips, three Stanley Cup Final appearances and the 2023 championship during the run. Vegas also reached the Stanley Cup Final last season, according to Daily Faceoff. The streak count you see depends on how games are counted. News 3 and Daily Faceoff both use 420. SinBin uses a different count. We use 420 here because two outlets agree on it.

Vegas Golden Knights players during the 6-2 win over the Seattle Kraken on Oct. 6, 2026, when captain Mark Stone reached 400 points with Vegas

The gray jerseys are a big piece of that history. Fans wore them to the first home game and through the first Cup run. Retiring them on the anniversary of that first game was the team's way of closing the chapter on Season I. "Welcome to Impossible Knight" is the first of five Anniversary Knights this season, which is the team's 10th.

Stone, the captain, is part of that story too. He wore the "C" for the 2023 championship team. Reaching 400 points with one team puts him in very small company in franchise history. Meanwhile, PWHL Las Vegas is brand new. The league named Las Vegas one of four expansion teams on May 13. The "city name on the front" jersey style follows a tradition the PWHL has used for every team's first season. The full team name and logo will be revealed before the first puck drop.

What Happens Next

The big question is whether the empty seats were a one-week blip or the start of a trend. Boehlke wrote that no one he spoke with expects a new sellout streak to start any time soon. The team has not announced any changes to ticket prices, giveaways or member perks as of this writing. Watch the announced attendance at the next few home games. A packed house would point to a slow October week. More short crowds would point to something bigger.

On the ice, Vegas plays at Minnesota on Monday, Oct. 12. The record will keep changing, so check the team schedule for the latest. The next Anniversary Knight is "Vegas Born Knight," which celebrates Seasons II through V. That game is Wednesday, Dec. 16, against the San Jose Sharks at T-Mobile Arena.

For PWHL Las Vegas, replica jerseys go on sale the week before Opening Weekend, which runs Dec. 5 and 6. Name-and-number T-shirts for Hayley Scamurra, Nicole Hensley and Tessa Janecke are on sale now through the PWHL online shop and at T-Mobile Arena. Jersey prices were not listed in the announcement. The home opener is Sunday, Dec. 6, at 5 p.m. against PWHL Detroit at T-Mobile Arena. The league says it will be the first all-expansion matchup of the season.

Ryan's Take

Big local stories like this one are a good reminder that the cost of living in Las Vegas is not just about mortgage rates and rent. It is also about what a normal night out costs. Tickets, parking, food and gas all add up, and families are paying closer attention to every line of that budget right now. When a sellout streak that lasted nine years ends, it tells you people are making real choices with their money.

It is also worth noticing how much the local sports scene has grown. In 2017, the Golden Knights were the only major pro team in town. Now there are several, plus a new women's team arriving in December. Venues like T-Mobile Arena on the Strip, City National Arena in Summerlin and Lifeguard Arena in Henderson are part of what makes the valley feel like a real hometown, not just a tourist stop. If you are thinking about where to live in Las Vegas and being close to the action matters to you, that is a fair thing to factor in, along with commute, schools and price.

PWHL Las Vegas inaugural green home jersey with VEGAS stitched diagonally across the front, gold accents and navy stripes, unveiled Oct. 8, 2026

What You Can Do

If you want to catch a Golden Knights game without paying top dollar, compare a few dates before you buy. This week showed that some home games now have open seats, so prices and availability can vary from night to night. Ask about the VGK Locals Menu at the arena, and plan your parking ahead of time so it is not a surprise. If you are a season ticket member, the team's member services staff is the right place to share feedback on perks and pricing.

For the free stuff, keep an eye on the team's announcements. Fan Fest at Paramount+ Plaza was free and open to everyone, and open practices at City National Arena are one of the easiest ways for kids to see players up close. Mark Dec. 16 on your calendar for "Vegas Born Knight" against San Jose.

If you want to support the new women's team, PWHL Las Vegas single-game tickets are on sale now. You can sign up for the team's Insider Newsletter to get notified when the green home jerseys go on sale before Opening Weekend. And if you would rather stay closer to home, the Henderson Silver Knights play at Lifeguard Arena in Henderson all season long.