Marc-Andre Fleury sat shirtless in front of his locker Johan Larsson Jersey , staring blankly, his exhausted gaze fixed nowhere. Pads still strapped to his legs after another spectacular night’s work, the Vegas Golden Knights goalie looked as if he were trying to gather his thoughts, trying somehow to make sense of it all.

The rest of the hockey world is, too, as the newly minted Knights play Sunday with the most improbable prize of all at stake – a chance to go to the Stanley Cup Final.

The story is well known by now, or at least it should be. But the fantasy has never been so close to reality as it is now, with the Knights up 3-1 going into Sunday’s game against the Jets in Winnipeg.

An expansion team born last October on the heels of the Las Vegas massacre that took 58 lives is on the brink of winning it all, confounding both hockey experts and expert bookies alike.

Even the guys on the other team are shaking their heads at what the hockey gods wrought.

”You know it’s just the stars are just aligning for them,” Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck said. ”But it’s not going to stay that way.”

Maybe not, partly because hockey is a notoriously fickle game. But in this gambling town the odds are suddenly in the house’s favor.

With the hope they don’t have to play at home again until the Stanley Cup Final, the Knights trotted out some old Vegas mojo Friday night with Wayne Newton and the Blue Man Group making appearances to root the team on. The Backstreet Boys were there and rapper Lil Jon took the microphone to lead the cheers just before Reilly Smith punched in the go-ahead goal in the third period.

And, of course, this being Las Vegas the guy doing the anthems was a singing gondolier whose day job is serenading tourists in the faux canals of Venice just across the street.

There’s nothing fake about this team now one win from one of most improbable runs ever. Once 500-1 longshots to win the Stanley Cup in their first year, the Knights are now favored – at least in the sports books – to win it all.

It’s enough to make even Bark-Andre Furry – the lovable canine and goalie namesake who is now the unofficial team mascot – to sit up and take notice.

”It’s nice, but the last one is always the toughest to get William Karlsson Jersey ,” Fleury said. ”I think we have to keep the same mind set and just go and take it one game at a time and not think too far ahead and be ready to play that next game because they are going to be coming hard.”

That mentality has worked well for a team that began the season as an afterthought, a collection of unwanted players from other teams thrown together in hopes of winning a respectable number of games in their first year. The coach himself, Gerard Gallant, had been unceremoniously fired from the Florida Panthers, left on the side of a road with his luggage as the team bus headed down the road.

It’s been a remarkable run for a team that likes to call itself the Golden Misfits. They’ve struck gold in Las Vegas, a town that loves winners and has embraced its first major pro sports team.

Just how remarkable? Well, consider that while the Knights are five wins from bringing home the Stanley Cup in their first year, the Toronto Maple Leafs – a member of the NHL’s exclusive Original Six club – haven’t won one in the last 51 years.

On Friday, the Knights used the same formula – speed and stellar goaltending – that has worked for them all year to beat the Jets 3-1 and take a commanding advantage in the Western Conference finals. It was the third straight win for the Knights, who have no illusion on how tough getting win No. 4 will be.

”No team is going to go out quietly this time of the year,” Gallant said.

Still, everything seems to be aligning in the Knights’ favor. They’re playing hard, yes, but they’re also getting the kind of bounces and breaks that are usually the difference in a series between two evenly matched teams.

That continued in Game 4 as Dustin Byfuglien whiffed on an attempt near the blue line and Smith scooped up the loose puck and raced down the ice to score the winner over the shoulder of Hellebuyck with 6:58 left.

Soon the Knights were celebrating, and Elvis was singing. Viva Las Vegas blared through the arena, and the crowd of 18 Wayne Gretzky Jersey ,697 filed out happily into the warm desert night.

One win away for a team no one dares bet against.

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Tim Dahlberg is a national sports columnist for The Associated Press. Write to him at tdahlberg(at)ap.org or

ALLEN PARK, Mich. (AP) — Kerryon Johnson was just a kid when his older siblings hit him with elbows while playing hoops.

And his parents, both of whom played college basketball, did not swoop in to save their young son from the physical games.

Sure, playing at Auburn and in the SEC did a lot to get the Detroit Lions‘ rookie running back ready for the NFL .

Growing up in Huntsville, Alabama, though as the youngest of four athletic children did a lot to develop him, too.

“My parents let it go because they knew I was being prepared for moments like this,” Johnson said Wednesday after a joint practice with the New York Giants.

“When I look back at those times, I’m grateful. It taught me to be competitive and how to work hard and never give up.

“I look back on those days and I’m grateful.”

Detroit, meanwhile, is thankful it drafted Johnson in the second round.

He had a run and a reception for 30-plus yards in his professional debut, albeit it a preseason game last week against the Oakland Raiders.

While the Lions were encouraged by Johnson’s flashes of promise, and have been pleased by how well he has practiced, they are quick to pump the breaks to temper the enthusiasm about him.

“I was excited to see him have a couple big plays and show off some of his natural ability,” Detroit coach Matt Patricia said. “But from an overall standpoint http://www.officialknightsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-brad-hunt-jersey , we’ve a long way to go there.”

Detroit’s running game can’t get much worse.

Under former coach Jim Caldwell, the Lions ranked last in rushing offense in 2017 for the second time in three years.

In the other two seasons with Caldwell, the team ranked No. 30 and No. 28 in the NFL on the ground offensively.

Johnson won’t be expected to fix the lingering problem alone.

Detroit selected Frank Ragnow 20th overall in the draft, counting on him to play alongside four returning starters to bolster the offensive line.

Veteran running back LeGarrette Blount was signed early in free agency to likely lead a group that also includes Theo Riddick and Ameer Abdullah.

“I’ve had a smooth start because I’ve got a great room of guys, who have really helped me make the transition,” Johnson said.

“I owe my early success to them. They’ve helped me to develop a routine and have encouraged me to stick to it to keep my mind focused on the next day.

“This is a long season. It feels like we’ve already played three games, but we’ve only played one preseason game.”

Johnson said he goes to bed at 10:30 p.m., at the latest, so that he’s ready to wake up for 6 a.m. to tackle training camp.

The grind his parents and siblings put him through while he was growing up got him ready to thrive now.

His father, Kerry, owns and operates VSI Training in Alabama where he trains athletes. His mother, Natalie, is a home health nurse and she can keep him in line by simply saying, “Son,” with a certain look.

His brother, Kerron Womens Robin Lehner Jersey , beat out future NBA star DeMarcus Cousins for Mr. Basketball in Alabama and went on to play in Europe. His sister, Nyla, played basketball at Faulkner University and another sister, Kolanda, used her athletic skills to dance.

“We raised Kerryon in a challenging household,” Kerry Johnson said in a telephone interview while driving to Detroit for an exhibition game against the Giants on Friday night.

“Everyone in our family is competitive, and we pushed everyone to be competitive.”

NOTES: Giants rookie RB Saquon Barkley was held out of practice for a second straight day with a strained left hamstring. Like his injured teammates, Barkley was in uniform minus shoulder pads. “Just because you don’t get the rep doesn’t mean you’re not responsible for seeing what happened and try to visualize what you’d do if you were out there,” Giants coach Pat Shurmur said. “As long as they can defend themselves and it’s not a lower leg injury of some sort or something where they need immediate attention, I think it’s important for them to be out there.” … The Lions lined up Graham Glasgow at guard a day after leaving practice with a left leg injury, and rookie Frank Ragnow was moved to center.

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