This week on ESPN.com. we've taken a deep dive into Hockey Week in America. There was our attempt to identify the center of the U.S. hockey universe, a look at how Seattle is building a hockey town, a "future ranking" of the best U.S.-born players and a look at the enormity of the "Miracle on Ice" upset through a modern lens.

In this week's power rankings, we're checking on some of the most prominent U.S.-born players on all 31 teams and their seasons so far, and declaring the best American player on every team.

How we rank: The ESPN hockey editorial staff submits selections ranking teams 1-31, and those results are tabulated to the list featured here. Teams are rated through Tuesday night's games, taking into account overall record, recent success and other factors such as injuries.

Last week's rankings

Note: Standings point pace is based on games through Feb. 19.

1. Tampa Bay Lightning

Previous ranking: 1
Standings point pace: 116

Blake Coleman (Plano, Texas). There was a lot of shock about Coleman's trade to Tampa for Nolan Foote and Vancouver's first-round pick, but he's an excellent penalty killer with some offensive pop and has one of the best contracts ($1.8 million, through next season) when compared to his output.

Best U.S. player: Ryan McDonagh (St. Paul, Minnesota)

2. Boston Bruins

Previous ranking: 2
Standings point pace: 118

Charlie McAvoy (Long Beach, New York). OK, so a 3.4 shooting percentage isn't what you want out of a defenseman in his third NHL season. But the 22-year-old remains one of the best young defensemen in the game and a solid running mate for Zdeno Chara.

Best U.S. player: McAvoy

3. Pittsburgh Penguins

Previous ranking: 4
Standings point pace: 113

Jason Zucker (Newport Beach, California). Ho-hum. Traded before the coach gets fired and throws Minnesota into chaos, and subsequently ends up on Sidney Crosby's wing. Not a bad deal for the 28-year-old.

Best U.S. player: John Marino (North Easton, Massachusetts)

4. Washington Capitals

Previous ranking: 3
Standings point pace: 110

John Carlson (Natick, Massachusetts). The 30-year-old defenseman has already matched his career high in points (70) in only 59 games this season, and has the highest points-per-game average for a defenseman (1.19) since Ray Bourque's 1.26 points per game in 1993-94. Just a remarkable season for the three-time Team USA representative.

Best U.S. player: Carlson

5. St. Louis Blues

Previous ranking: 6
Standings point pace: 104

Zach Sanford (Salem, Massachusetts). He was a part of the Kevin Shattenkirk trade, and wasn't the primary piece -- that would be the first-rounder they eventually flipped to Philly for Brayden Schenn. But we know Sanford now: After four points in eight games in the Blues' Stanley Cup run, he has career highs in goals (13) and assists (13) through 46 games for St. Louis this season. (Scoring four goals in one game against Vegas helped).

Best U.S. player: Justin Faulk (South St. Paul, Minnesota)

6. Dallas Stars

Previous ranking: 10
Standings point pace: 104

Joe Pavelski (Plover, Wisconsin). One of only three Americans on the Stars this season, Pavelski is second to only Patrick Kane (50) in playoff goals scored by an American in the past 20 years.

Best U.S. player: Ben Bishop (Denver, Colorado)

7. Colorado Avalanche

Previous ranking: 5
Standings point pace: 104

Erik Johnson (Bloomington, Minnesota). The 31-year-old has represented the U.S. in seven different international tournaments, including the 2010 Olympics and the 2016 World Cup of Hockey. And he has a rock-ribbed, All-American nickname: "The Condor."

Best U.S. player: Johnson

8. Philadelphia Flyers

Previous ranking: 9
Standings point pace: 100

Sean Couturier (Phoenix). Couturier was born in the desert but grew up in Canada, and hence has played for the Canadian national team. "For me, I'm dual citizenship, so that's the way I see it," Couturier said in 2016. Not for nothing, dude, but Team USA sure could use a shutdown center against Sidney Crosby and Connor McDavid.

Best U.S. player: Kevin Hayes (Dorchester, Massachusetts) (if we're not allowed to count Couturier)

9. New York Islanders

Previous ranking: 7
Standings point pace: 100

Andy Greene (Trenton, Michigan). After 923 games with the Devils, the 37-year-old defenseman accepted a trade to the Islanders, reuniting him with the general manager who signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2006, Lou Lamoriello (a native of Johnston, Rhode Island).

Best U.S. player: Anders Lee (Edina, Minnesota)

10. Carolina Hurricanes

Previous ranking: 12
Standings point pace: 100

Jaccob Slavin (Denver). The 25-year-old "defensive defenseman" is on pace for his best scoring season, and remains one of the league's analytic darlings: His 14.4 goals scored above average ranks sixth among NHL defensemen.

Best U.S. player: Slavin

11. Columbus Blue Jackets

Previous ranking: 8
Standings point pace: 97

Nick Foligno (Buffalo, New York). The veteran winger is having a rough campaign, with a 0.41 points-per-game average through 58 contests. If he doesn't improve, that would be his lowest rate in a non-lockout season since 2010-11.

Best U.S. player: Seth Jones (Arlington, Texas)

12. Vegas Golden Knights

Previous ranking: 15
Standings point pace: 94

Max Pacioretty (New Canaan, Connecticut). The winger recently told me about the youth team he played for, which was pretty loaded. "We just played for my local team growing up. A team that included myself, Kevin Shattenkirk, Cam Atkinson, Mark Arcobello; Jonathan Quick played on the older team ... that was just a local team. Went to the rink, put your name on a piece of paper, went out there and had fun. Now I go back and see all these kids that are Div. I commitments and first-round draft picks. I think last year there were two kids that were top 15 [in the nation] from my local youth team."

Best U.S. player: Pacioretty

13. Edmonton Oilers

Previous ranking: 16
Standings point pace: 97

Kailer Yamamoto (Spokane, Washington). A Spokane native who played for the Spokane Chiefs. It doesn't get more Spokane than that. Unless he also played in Hoopfest.

Best U.S. player: Yamamoto

14. Vancouver Canucks

Previous ranking: 13
Standings point pace: 96

Quinn Hughes (Orlando, Florida). Calder Trophy heat check: Through Tuesday night's games, Hughes (45 points) leads Cale Makar (43) in points among all rookies, but Makar (0.86) has the lead in points per game (0.78).

Best U.S. player: J.T. Miller (East Palestine, Ohio)

15. Toronto Maple Leafs

Previous ranking: 11
Standings point pace: 94

Auston Matthews (San Ramon, California). He grew up in Arizona as a Coyotes fan, and is having his best goal-scoring season in the NHL. His 43rd goal of the season on Tuesday broke a tie with Ed Olczyk (1987-88) for the second-most goals by a Maple Leafs player in their age-22 season or younger; only Rick Vaive in 1981-82 had more (54).

Best U.S. player: Matthews

16. Florida Panthers

Previous ranking: 14
Standings point pace: 96

Keith Yandle (Boston). Yandle has a legitimate shot at breaking Doug Jarvis' all-time record for consecutive games played (964). Yandle's at 852, and he's only 33 years old.

Best U.S. player: Yandle

17. Calgary Flames

Previous ranking: 17
Standings point pace: 91

Johnny Gaudreau (Salem, New Jersey). After a real struggle in the first two months of the season, Johnny Hockey has 19 points in his past 19 games for the offensively resurgent Flames.

Best U.S. player: Matthew Tkachuk (Scottsdale, Arizona)

18. Arizona Coyotes

Previous ranking: 18
Standings point pace: 89

Phil Kessel (Madison, Wisconsin). Checking in on our sweet Phil, he has 13 goals and 22 assists in 62 games, remaining one of the most durable players in the NHL with a consecutive games streak of 832. Also, no one has worn the Kachina sweater better.

Best U.S. player: Kessel

19. Winnipeg Jets

Previous ranking: 19
Standings point pace: 90

Connor Hellebuyck (Commerce, Michigan). The 26-year-old goaltender continues his push for the Vezina Trophy, with a 19.7 goals saved above average mark for a Jets team that would be nowhere without him this season.

Best U.S. player: Hellebuyck

20. Nashville Predators

Previous ranking: 21
Standings point pace: 90

Nick Bonino (Hartford, Connecticut). OK, we all knew the goal scoring was going to level off for the center. He had 10 in his first 26 games. He scored seven in his next 33 games.

Best U.S. player: Craig Smith (Madison, Wisconsin)

21. New York Rangers

Previous ranking: 23
Standings point pace: 92

Adam Fox (Jericho, New York). In any other rookie crop, Fox would be among the top contenders for the Calder Trophy. His 11.8 goals scored above average rank him second on the Rangers, behind Artemi Panarin.

Best U.S. player: Jacob Trouba (Rochester, Michigan)

22. Montreal Canadiens

Previous ranking: 20
Standings point pace: 82

Jeff Petry (Ann Arbor, Michigan). A solid defenseman who provides steady D with surprising offensive upside -- 175 points in 376 games for the Habs. It's no wonder he's coveted at the trade deadline.

Best U.S. player: Petry

23. Chicago Blackhawks

Previous ranking: 22
Standings point pace: 82

Patrick Kane (Buffalo, New York). John Buccigross took a trip to the year 2040 and discovered that Kane is regarded as the best American-born player of all time.

Best U.S. player: Kane

24. Minnesota Wild

Previous ranking: 24
Standings point pace: 88

Zach Parise (Minneapolis). The Wild have 10 American players, but we'll put the spotlight on Parise here. He passed 1,000 games in the NHL for his career, but alas last season's offensive uptick (61 points in 74 games) has ticked back down a bit (36 points through 58 games).

Best U.S. player: Ryan Suter (Madison, Wisconsin)

25. Buffalo Sabres

Previous ranking: 25
Standings point pace: 85

Jack Eichel (North Chelmsford, Massachusetts). The Sabres' star has 74 points in 59 games, and yet this will (most likely) be his fifth NHL season that ends without a playoff berth. We're getting close to "send in Seal Team 6 to rescue this guy" territory.

Best U.S. player: Eichel

26. Anaheim Ducks

Previous ranking: 26
Standings point pace: 75

John Gibson (Pittsburgh). Gibson, 26, is having his roughest season as an NHL starter. For the first time since taking the Anaheim crease in 2016-17, Gibson has a negative goals saved above average mark (-6.27).

Best U.S. player: Gibson

27. San Jose Sharks

Previous ranking: 27
Standings point pace: 78

Kevin Labanc (New York). The Brooklyn native famously signed a one-year, $1 million deal with the Sharks to bail out their salary cap this season. The gamble ... didn't totally work. His 0.53 points per game matches his 2017-18 level, but is below his 0.68 points per game of last season.

Best U.S. player: Labanc

28. New Jersey Devils

Previous ranking: 28
Standings point pace: 75

Kyle Palmieri (Smithtown, New York). Will the 29-year-old winger move at the trade deadline? Or will the Devils keep him around for the last year of his contract so Nico Hischier and Jack Hughes have someone to pass the puck to next season?

Best U.S. player: Jack Hughes (Orlando, Florida). We're going with potential on this one.

29. Ottawa Senators

Previous ranking: 29
Standings point pace: 72

Brady Tkachuk (Scottsdale, Arizona). The 20-year-old Sens forward's sophomore season is ... just as good as his freshman season, with an identical 0.63 points-per-game average.

Best U.S. player: Tkachuk

30. Los Angeles Kings

Previous ranking: 30
Standings point pace: 64

Jonathan Quick (Milford, Connecticut). Say what you will about the 34-year-old goaltender's current NHL value -- and he's around a minus-43 in goals saved above average for the past two seasons combined -- he was the goalie who won the "T.J. Sochi" game in Russia, and that's always going to be good enough for us.

Best U.S. player: Alex Iafallo (Eden, New York)

31. Detroit Red Wings

Previous ranking: 31
Standings point pace: 45

Jimmy Howard (Syracuse, New York). The 35-year-old goalie is 2-22-2 this season, with a minus-18.33 in goals saved above average. Remember the better times, everyone.

Best U.S. player: Dylan Larkin (Waterford, Michigan)

PHOENIX -- Driving down 32nd Street in north Phoenix, it's easy to miss the large building to the right.

It's nondescript, the brick painted white, the roofing a greenish-grayish tint. At first glance, it looks like it could fit into any old business park. Then its sign explains the size: Black Rock Bouldering Gym. The marquee on this day is inspiring. It reads, "Resolutions don't stop in February!"

It was inside those walls, however, long before they were climbable, that one of the best hockey players in the world honed his craft. It's been years since Auston Matthews, who grew up in neighboring Scottsdale, spent hours practicing on the two mini sheets at Ozzie Ice, which called that building home for about 10 years starting in 2002. It first housed synthetic ice before switching to the real thing, but its smaller size helped Matthews learn how to play in tight quarters, hone his skills and nurture his burgeoning talent.

It also helped set a foundation for Matthews to become a dominant, elite goal scorer.

To become the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NHL draft.

To become the face of hockey in a state where ice doesn't stand a chance in the dead of summer.

Hockey in Arizona is currently experiencing the Auston Matthews Effect. It's been difficult to quantify his impact on the sport because there are a handful of programs specifically designed to help bring out and introduce hockey to young kids in Arizona, said Kevin Erlenbach, the assistant executive director for Membership at USA Hockey. But Matthews' impact on hockey across Arizona doesn't need to be confined to statistics.

Since he went first overall four years ago, bursting onto the scene with four goals in his first NHL game, Matthews has been changing the perception of hockey in the desert and inspiring a generation of hockey players who are hopeful to follow in his footsteps.

"Going to tournaments out East, they didn't even know that it was possible to have ice in Arizona," said Johnny Walker, a junior forward at Arizona State, who is originally from Phoenix and who played and trained with Matthews growing up. "It was like they were legitimately confused that we're able to play hockey here. But it put Arizona and even California and other states down here in the Southwest kind of on the map, that there are hockey players from here, and there's some good ones, too."

"It finally told people that we were not a joke," said Matt Shott, the Arizona Coyotes' director of amateur hockey development and an Arizona native.

Matthews did all of it single-handedly, former Coyotes star Shane Doan said. And then some.

Matthews' development path was critical

One of Matthews' most important contributions to the hockey community in Arizona turned out to be a byproduct of his commitment to playing his youth hockey in Arizona. Matthews bucked the trend of talented young players leaving Arizona to play for either more competitive, elite or well-known teams in other parts of the United States or in Canada. He didn't leave Arizona to play until he was 17, when he played for the U.S. National Team Developmental Program in Michigan. He had offers, said Boris Dorozhenko, Matthews' coach and hockey mentor from age 7 to 16. And no one would have blamed Matthews. His Double-A team in Arizona was "probably ... one of the weakest teams in the valley," Dorozhenko said.

"It was not that big of importance to play for Double-A or Triple-A," Dorozhenko added. "For him, it was important to put all of his heart into this game, and be successful on any team. And he showed that. He become a big leader, I think those years in Double-A were very positive for him because he built his confidence. Yeah, extremely big confidence he built.

"When he started playing in Triple-A, [he was a] star player like right away, and people who played in Triple-A hockey for five, six years were like, 'Where is this guy coming from?'"

By staying in Arizona as long as he did and by being committed to his teams locally, Matthews established himself as a role model for younger players across the state, Coyotes president and CEO Ahron Cohen said.

"Every person that says, 'Hey, you're not going to make it, you're from Arizona. You're not from a real hockey place, you're not from Minnesota, you're not from Canada,' he put a face on the contrary to that argument," Cohen said. "Now these kids growing up can say, 'I want to be the next Auston Matthews.'"

Matthew's impact on Arizona hockey was magnified multiple times over because the Coyotes didn't land the No. 1 pick in 2016 to be able to keep their hometown boy. As crazy as it may sound, for the sake of hockey in the state, some believe it was a blessing in disguise that Matthews went to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

"I think everyone in Arizona would have loved to have seen the ping pong balls bounce differently and have an opportunity to see Auston Matthews playing in a Coyotes uniform. But I think an Arizona-born player playing in the largest hockey market on earth, and doing what he's done has shined a very significant positive, bright light on hockey in Arizona, in the Southwest, in the West," said Taylor Burke, the son of former Coyotes owner Richard Burke, who moved the team from Winnipeg to Phoenix. "And it's certainly a question when you're out traveling in cities with youth hockey programs you get asked as much as anyone because, while in many ways it's kind of a true unicorn to have a No. 1 overall draft pick and perennial All-Star coming out of Arizona, it also has shown the world that there's great hockey in nontraditional markets."

The Maple Leafs declined to make Matthews available for this story.

Longtime Coyotes defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson has run into Matthews out and about in Arizona during the offseason over the past few years, and has seen Matthews' local star power first hand: Matthews is one of the few hockey players who gets recognized in public, Ekman-Larsson said.

"He's the flag of the whole state," Doan said. "Like more than anything else, he's the flag of the whole state. You can't overstate how important he is to the state.

"I mean, the Coyotes are the reason that Auston is here, and then Auston is going to be one of the reasons why there is going to be more success in the valley, and there's no way around it. I think that's a perfect example of why it's important for there to be homegrown grassroot kids coming from here, because he's their guy and they're like, 'You can make it to the NHL playing in Arizona.'"

A territory on the rise

Of course, hockey in Arizona existed long before Matthews was even born, and it'll continue to exist long after he hangs up his skates.

Yes, Matthews has made it better. But the Coyotes sped up the growth of the game in Arizona, said Greg Powers, the Arizona State University hockey coach. In 1995, the year the Winnipeg Jets announced they'd be moving to Arizona, Phoenix had just three sheets of ice. As of now, it has 13 and will add another two when ASU opens its 5,000-seat arena in the next couple years.

And that's still not enough ice. Rinks are booked solid throughout the day as participation numbers continue to grow.

In 2014-15, Arizona had 7,329 players registered with USA Hockey, including 3,615 age 18 and under. In 2018-19, there were 8,983 players registered with USA Hockey, including 4,697 age 18 and under. In five years, registration increased 22.6% in Arizona, compared to the national average of 6.51%.

But most importantly, Arizona is seeing vast improvement in the age division that USA Hockey sees as the most critical to a state's long-term success. In the past five years, registration in the 8-and-under division has increased 38.6%, and jumped by 61% for girls age 8 and under.

Erlenbach said Arizona ranks in the top 10 of fastest growing markets in the country, as "a lot of our 'traditional' hockey markets are stagnant or shrinking in growth."

The two Ice Den locations in Arizona, one in Scottsdale, where the Coyotes sometime practice, and in Chandler, both of which are owned by Burke, are home to 1,435 players on 82 teams in youth hockey, and another 850 adult players. The ice sheets at both locations are booked from about 5 a.m. to 1 a.m. Monday through Friday, and 7 a.m. until 1 a.m. on the weekends. And it's not cheap. It costs the Ice Den between $300,000-$400,000 each year to maintain the ice, Burke said.

However, there are pitfalls to the growth and a lack of ice. The Kachinas, the girls hockey association run by the Coyotes which has about 1,000 players across nine teams, Shott said, can't find ice time to all practice at the same rink and at favorable times, because the better ice times tend to go to teams and associations from those rinks.

A recipe for success

There are a variety of reasons for Arizona's rapid growth, among which include the Coyotes' recent success, the birth of ASU's Division 1 team, improved coaching, migration and concerted efforts from the Coyotes to increase grassroots efforts.

"I think we're crucial to it because we're a very high level of hockey that is realistic for kids," said Powers, who led the Sun Devils, an independent and the only Division 1 team west of the Mississippi River, to their first NCAA tournament in the fourth year of the program. "I mean, it's still really hard to play Division 1 hockey."

Arizona has become a destination for former NHL players to retire, then they eventually begin coaching around the Phoenix area, including the likes of Ray Whitney, Derek Morris, Jeremy Roenick, Darcy Hordichuk and Doan.

"One of the most important parts of the game is understanding the game," Doan said. "You can have people teach you the skills of the game, like you can be a pretty skilled player, but if you don't understand the game and understand how the game works, it doesn't seem to translate as well.

"And I think having the players that understand the game, just the knowledge of the game, just being around talking about the game, and then there's a belief that if my coach could make it and he's totally a normal guy, that is exactly the same as me, and he made it, well then maybe I can make it. I think that's huge."

The Coyotes have implemented their grassroots street hockey program to 650 schools around Arizona, training about 1,200 teachers in the process. From 2010 to 2018, about 277,000 people moved to Arizona from Minnesota, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan -- all hockey hotbeds -- according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The influx of a transient community leads to more parents who grew up with hockey wanting their kids to play, except for millenial parents, Erlenbach said. They have a tendency to not have grown up playing hockey but want to sign their kids with for the opportunity to try something the parents had never done, according to USA Hockey research. And as the Coyotes fare, so do hockey numbers in Arizona, Erlenbach said.

"When the NHL club does better on the ice, it gives more awareness and we see more growth," he said. "I can point to every time there's a Stanley Cup victory or even something as easy as an All-Star game, you can see a bump in growth that next year. So, the fact that the team is doing well is helping them."

The Coyotes have 68 points as of Feb. 19, and are fighting for a wild-card spot in the Western Conference.

Of course, the Coyotes' haven't been always been able to commit to growing the game locally. From 2009 to 2013, the club was dealing with bankruptcy and trying to find a new owner, a time when, even though they went to the playoffs three straight seasons, "it was more survival mode," Doan said.

"It's well documented the Coyotes have had their ups and downs and changes and turnover and all that stuff," Cohen said. "And one of the repercussions of that is you're not focused on long-term planning, you're not focused on investment in the future. You're just focused on what's right in front of your face."

With the Coyotes finding success again after being bought by Alex Meruelo last year, they're doing their own advertising.

"If the Coyotes are more successful than they get more airtime," Doan said. "When they get more airtime, more people see how great the sport is. When more people see how great it is, it just kind of grows from there."

Big growth already, with more ahead

To appreciate where Arizona is now as a hockey market, one must look at where it came from.

When former Olympian Lyndsey Fry, now the manager for marketing strategy and special projects for the Coyotes, was born 27 years ago, 18 women played hockey in the entire state. When ASU's Johnny Walker started playing when he was young, there were three boys at his school playing. When Shott first started fielding girls teams to play for the Kachinas, there were three teams total, and all of them combined into large age groups, including a team that featured 14- to 19-year-olds, and a team with 14-year-olds down to 10-year-olds.

A decade ago, Dorozhenko, a Ukrainian native who spent 15 years in Mexico City building that country's national hockey program, said the start-up Mexican teams were on par with Arizona's talent level.

The Arizona of back then is quite different than the Arizona of today, and it has Auston Matthews and the Coyotes to thank for that.

"I think it will continue to grow," Erlenbach said. "but it'll probably slow until we get more ice, because I think it had some rapid expansion. ... I always find despite ice availability people find a way to make it happen, to get kids out there and do it right.

"So, you know, I think it will continue to grow, especially because the Coyotes have a great base of talent to keep going."

LAS VEGAS -- On May 28, 2018, more than 4,000 Vegas Golden Knights fans flooded Toshiba Plaza, the two-acre space located directly outside T-Mobile Arena, to watch Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final. Rapper Lil Jon attended, in a VGK jersey. Just down Las Vegas Boulevard, the 150-foot Statue of Liberty in front of New York New York hotel was also donned in VGK gear.

Las Vegas is home to more than 600,000 residents and generally speaking, they avoid the Strip like the plague. The community holds a sense of pride and ownership in it, of course, but as far as actually spending time there -- no thanks. Too expensive. Too much traffic. Too many tourists.

During Game 1 of the Final, however, the Las Vegas Strip belonged to the locals. The city's beloved Knights joined the 1967-68 St. Louis Blues as the only true expansion team in the history of sports to reach a championship round in its first year of existence. And the magic continued that night, as the Knights defeated the Washington Capitals 6-4 inside T-Mobile Arena.

That night proved a certain point, one that had been up for debate before the Knights' inaugural season. It proved hockey could work in the desert. The entire scene showed that yes, it unequivocally could.

Now, as the city, the team and the sport of hockey itself moves forward in this newfound kinship in the desert, the question is no longer "Can hockey work here?" It's "Will it always continue to work here?"

"There's no question it has worked. It has worked better than anyone could have ever dreamed," said lifelong Vegas resident and ESPN radio personality Adam Hill. "But now the tests will come. First, with the Raiders coming in 2020. The NFL sucks so much attention and energy away from everything else. Media resources are dedicated to it. The NFL is king. How will it do against that?

"And then, how will this town react when the Knights are finally not good? It happens to everyone. Sports are cyclical, and at some point they are not going to be an elite team. What then?"

Darren Eliot didn't set out to get a "doctorate" in non-traditional hockey markets. His career just worked out that way.

Eliot, the Vegas Golden Knights' vice president of hockey programming and facility operations, played in the NHL from 1984-85 to 1988-89, primarily for the warm-weather market Los Angeles Kings. In his post-playing days, he's worked in two non-traditional hockey markets: Atlanta and Las Vegas.

In all his years in the game, Eliot says he has never witnessed a bond between a city and its team like the one that currently exists in Las Vegas. It's a reciprocal love, and a unique one in sports.

"I've seen an extreme and extremely rare love affair between the fan base and the hockey team," Eliot said. "And what's taken me aback is this group of fans who say, 'OK, this is our team. I don't know anything about hockey, but I'm gearing up with my VGK attire and I'm learning about the sport.'

"Something struck me as soon as I got here one year ago. The bars, they play the games with the sound on. That doesn't happen across the country. Yes, the game is on, but other stuff is going on. Here, it's the focal point. We'll routinely get 100 fans to attend our practices. On game night, there are more people in their seats for the puck drop than any team I've ever seen."

The Knights are averaging a home attendance of 18,281 in their third regular season. T-Mobile Arena's capacity for hockey, according to the venue, is 17,500, meaning Vegas is averaging 105.3% of capacity, which is fourth highest in the league. The team's star goalie, Marc-Andre Fleury, has the fourth-highest selling jersey in the league this season.

The city's "love affair" with a professional hockey team is surprising in many ways -- but not completely. Long before the Knights' arrival in 2017, Las Vegas considered itself a pro sports town without a team. Former mayor Oscar Goodman was a loud advocate for getting a professional team, and for years, the city held hope the Sacramento Kings might relocate to the desert, where its former owners, the Maloofs, lived.

When the moment finally arrived, and a Las Vegas pro team was announced, it was met with a mixture of excitement and befuddlement.

Hockey? Yeah, that might cool. But ... huh? Hockey.

"It was kind of amazing to watch how that attitude changed as the first season got closer," Hill said. "People got excited. There was a real civic pride about something coming to Las Vegas that belonged to Las Vegas. It wasn't a team moving here, it was a team being born here. I'll quote one of the players, [left winger] Max Pacioretty. He said he never understood the obsession people have with this team, and it took him a while to understand it when he came here after the team's first season.

"There are not hockey fans in Las Vegas. There are Golden Knights fans. He came from playing in Montreal where hockey is life, and the team is just part of that. Then he came into this market and found a town that just loves its team. They are learning what offsides is and what icing is, but they've immediately embraced the sport through this team."

Las Vegas also built a very strong, emotional connection to the team before it even played a single game at home. On Oct. 1, 2017 -- just nine days before the Knights were scheduled to host their very first home game -- Las Vegas fell victim to the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history, when a gunman opened fire on an outdoor concert on Las Vegas Boulevard, killing 58 people.

When the Knights did host their first home game on Oct. 10, team captain and Las Vegas resident Deryk Engelland delivered a unifying address to the sellout crowd prior to puck drop. The team proceeded to an immediate 4-0 lead in the first period -- including a goal from Engelland.

Since that very first moment, the Knights have been Las Vegas' team. The city adores VGK. It's a VGK city. And quietly, there has been a lot of effort to make it a hockey city as well.

Technically, there has never been a single hockey player from Las Vegas in the 102-season history of the NHL -- but the truth is, there really has been one.

The Pittsburgh Penguins' Jason Zucker, a second-round draft pick in 2010, was born in Newport Beach, California, but moved to Las Vegas before he celebrated his first birthday. It might say Zucker is from California in the game night programs, but he considers himself a Las Vegas native.

Zucker's interest in hockey began in roller hockey. His father, Scott, had no knowledge in the sport, but he did his best, along with other parents, to coach his son's team. There were league games on Saturday, and that was about it. Zucker frequently played in the streets with his older brothers, but there wasn't much in the way of organized practice.

"Eventually there was enough interest, we formed a travel team," Scott said. "We drove to California ... and got completely demolished. We thought we were good, until we started traveling."

By the age of 11, Zucker had transitioned to playing ice hockey in the winter, on one of the three sheets of ice that existed in Las Vegas. One of the sheets was located in, surprise surprise, a casino.

Zucker's talent and dedication was obvious to his parents and others. He tried out for and made a team in Los Angeles, and began traveling to California for four days every week. He came to know every Southwest flight attendant on the route to Los Angeles by name, and he was the only player on the team not from California.

In 2007, when Zucker was 15, he moved in with a host family in Michigan, where he could seek a high level of hockey and play in front of scouts with the USA Hockey development program. To this day, he remains the only player from Nevada to ever earn a spot on the U.S. national team.

And accomplishing all of this, Zucker admits, did require him leaving Las Vegas.

"I think at 15, if I would have decided to stay home, maybe there's a chance I could have played college," Zucker said. "But leaving and getting that exposure in the Michigan market, it was very easy for the U.S. team to see me, where they wouldn't have in Las Vegas. That was a big reason I was fortunate enough to play in the U.S. developmental program."

In 2020, USA Hockey's interest in Las Vegas is much different than it was in 2007. From 2014 to 2019, the number of registered youth players in Las Vegas increased 227%, compared to a national increase of 7.6%. Obviously, Las Vegas started from the ground floor, but a 100% increase from 2017-18 to 2018-19 is a great sign of the sport's health.

"Las Vegas has helped the sport in that they are driving the marketplace by opening their own sheets of ice," said USA Hockey assistant executive director or membership Kevin Erlenbach. "The team opened a facility with two sheets and are already opening a second facility with two more. That's the way you see nontraditional markets grow.

"I remember in 2016, when they first announced the team name, I was here and there were 200 people lined up outside a facility, waiting to try hockey. Some of the other nontraditional markets in the past weren't as invested in rink development. The Knights have been."

According to USA Hockey, there were 99 registered hockey officials in Las Vegas, compared to 38 in 2016. According to Eliot, various leagues around the valley have consolidated into the Vegas junior Golden Knights. Eliot says he's using strategies in Las Vegas similar to those he used to grow hockey participation in Atlanta years ago, but it's more streamlined now. In general, the league has gotten better at building a hockey infrastructure -- and Las Vegas is accepting it with open arms.

"The NHL has gotten smarter and knows it can't just plop a team down in a city where it's not part of the culture," Erlenbach said. "In the past, nobody saw the true need to extend the brand through youth hockey. They said, 'We'll put the team there and it will grow.' But you have to build that infrastructure, not just so kids can play, but to truly develop your fan base."

On any given weekday night, the junior Golden Knights will host multiple practices at the NHL club's City National Arena in the city's northwest quadrant. Hundreds of players across a wide range of age and skill level pour into the facility every day, oftentimes leaving with more VGK gear from the team shop in the front of the building.

Anyone on the premises will tell you: Hockey works in the desert. Better than anyone would have ever guessed, actually. And although all good runs tend to come to an end in Las Vegas, this feels like the long haul.

"It's been proven hockey can work here," Eliot said. "Now, it's my and many others' job to keep striving and prove it's sustainable. Long term, you have to keep moving forward on so many levels, not just the NHL product on the ice. But people have certainly shown they are ready for it here."

Borussia Dortmund fans are set to be hit with a three-year away ban at Hoffenheim, sources have told ESPN.

The relationship between Dortmund supporter groups and Hoffenheim has been strained since the club won promotion to the Bundesliga in 2008 with the help of local billionaire Dietmar Hopp.

Dortmund supporters initially protested against Hoffenheim and Hopp as they believed the club's arrival in the top flight potentially undermined the Bundesliga's football culture by working around the 50+1 rule, which stipulates that more than 50% of a club must be owned by its members.

In November 2018, Dortmund were given a €50,000 fine plus a suspended three-game away fans ban for matches at Hoffenheim after supporters abused the home club's owner Hopp by displaying offensive banners, including one showing a portrait of the 79-year-old in cross hairs with "Hasta La Vista Hopp!" written underneath.

Hoffenheim described the banner as "an incitement to murder" and urged the German FA to deduct points from Dortmund -- a demand BVB CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke called "unbelievable."

- ESPN+ obtains Bundesliga rights from 2020

In May 2019, Dortmund were fined by a Sinsheim district court after supporters verbally abused Hoffenheim owner Hopp a year earlier. Dortmund have appealed against the judgement, but have yet to receive a date for their appeal hearing at the regional court.

When both sides met again at Hoffenheim in late December 2019, Dortmund supporters once again displayed several offensive banners and abused Hopp.

Some of the fans, aware of the suspended ban, then chanted: "Never again, Hoffenheim."

Sources have told ESPN that Dortmund will not appeal the German FA's decision.

Barcelona have completed the surprise signing of Leganes' Martin Braithwaite after being given permission to bring in a forward outside the transfer window.

Braithwaite, 28, has signed until 2024 and could make his debut on Saturday against Eibar after Barcelona paid his €18 million release clause. His new release clause at Barcelona is €300m, while Leganes, battling to avoid relegation in La Liga, will not be able to sign a replacement.

Speaking about the transfer, Leganes sporting director Martin Ortega said: "We understood the 'emergency' rule was only used in cases where both clubs agreed. This goes against the idea of all clubs being equal. We'll try everything in a situation where we've been damaged irreparably.

"Barca have acted in correct manner. They contacted us Monday, and the only option was to pay the clause. We cannot hold it against them as they used the rules which currently exist. But we don't think the rules are fair.

"We hope that the federation will allow us to sign a player. We will try everything to be able to do this."

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- When does the transfer window re-open?

Barca were given permission to turn to the transfer market by La Liga after losing Ousmane Dembele to injury for the rest of the season, but the same rule does not exist for clubs who see a player leave through their release clause.

Barca had previously explored the possibility of signing Real Sociedad's Willian Jose, Real Betis' Loren Moron, Alaves' Lucas Perez and Getafe's Angel Rodriguez, but, for different reasons, did not push forward with their interest in any of the quartet.

Braithwaite first joined Leganes in January 2019 on loan from English side Middlesbrough before making the move permanent during the summer for €5m. He has scored 13 goals in 41 appearances for the club.

He has also had two spells in France, first with Toulouse, who he joined from Esbjerg FB, and later with Bordeaux on loan. Braithwaite has been capped 39 times by Denmark, scoring seven goals.

Barca are also without striker Luis Suarez for the next two to three months due to a knee problem.

In the lead-up to the Wellington Test, a lot has been made of how much the city's famous wind could affect the cricket. Ajinkya Rahane scored his maiden Test hundred here, six years ago, and he remembers having to tussle quite a bit with the wind whipping his bat this way and that in his backlift.

"That was a really special moment for me, getting that hundred," Rahane said in his pre-match press conference on Thursday. "I remember that my backlift was changing because of the wind and that was a challenge to control my backlift. Sometimes you've got to play with low backlift and you have got to change your guard maybe, and play accordingly.

"I keep watching my maiden hundred. This is a new challenge, playing after four-five years. That [India] team was a comparatively young team. My record in New Zealand is good but I need to stay in the present to do well for my team."

Rahane went on to elaborate on the effect of the wind on batsmen. "If the wind is coming from behind you, it pushes your bat on the outward plane, while if it comes from in front it pushes it inside," he said. "So you have to think about how to adjust for that, or even reduce the backlift. If the wind is stronger from in front, it pushes the backlift really [further] back than you want it to go. So I have to think about the stance and also the backlift, especially in Wellington.

"In Wellington, when you are batting at the non-striker's end, you look around this scenic ground and it makes you relax" Ajinkya Rahane

"Technically, you need to play close to the body, play the ball later, and play the ball in the middle of the body, especially in the initial period."

Chats with Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, Rahane revealed, had helped him prepare for the wind.

"(The) breeze factor in so important in Wellington," he said. "I remember talking to Tendulkar and Dravid and they said the same thing - batting in Wellington is different, even if you try to ignore it, if you don't give it importance, it might be just 1% but it is very important.

"You cannot simulate the wind in the nets. As a batsman, it is instinctive in the middle, and you need to trust yourself and not be scared of altering it (backlift). You need back yourself and also need to communicate with your partner and trust what he says to you as well."

Basin Reserve is one of the prettier grounds in Test cricket, with Mount Victoria in the background. Rahane says the picturesque surrounds help him switch off when he's at the non-striker's end.

"When you are batting, there are so many thoughts in your mind," he said. "In Wellington, when you are batting at the non-striker's end, you look around this scenic ground and it makes you relax. The pressure is reduced and I like that because it distracts me from constantly thinking about cricket. If my focus is diverted to the surroundings when I'm at the non-striker's end, then when I get on strike I can use all my focus, energy and remain fresh while facing the ball."

There are a lot of big-picture themes about this T20 World Cup: participation, inclusion, expansion to name a few. They are all crucially important and will be revisited frequently over the next couple of weeks as the record-breaking attempt at the MCG nears. Now, however, after much build-up the first match is here and shaping as a humdinger between Australia and India.

The best team in the world against the potential future giants of the sport. Whoever wins will give themselves significant breathing space in their push for the semi-finals. The loser will have some sleepless nights. There is little room for mistakes in a short, sharp event.

ALSO READ: India return to Australia to take the next big step

"There's been a lot of talk and interest, which is great, but now we get to play cricket which is what we do best," Australia captain Meg Lanning said.

However, it has been a far-from-perfect build-up for the hosts. They spluttered their way to victory in the tri-series (although, crucially, found a way to win when it mattered which would yet be a deciding factor), have seen their record-breaking opener Alyssa Healy hit a career-low period of form and on the eve of the tournament had their fastest bowler, Tayla Vlaeminck, ruled out of the competition with a stress fracture.

The fact that Vlaeminck has been replaced by offspinner Molly Strano, who played the last of her five T20Is more than two years ago, highlights how, in many ways, her loss is one of the worst Australia could have suffered. In the tri-series earlier this month, she rattled both the England and India batters - Australia have lost a major point of difference.

"There's no real like-for-like replacement for Tay, no one does what she does.," Lanning admitted. "We will have to slightly tweak how we go about it, but generally our plans are pretty flexible. We don't feel like it is too much of a disadvantage to us. We need to be able to go in with a plan but also be able to adapt as the game goes on."

Another factor that could level the playing field for the opening match is the venue. North Sydney Oval, where the Australians play most of their cricket in the city, has become a very successful home for them but the ambitions for this tournament mean it has outgrown that ground.

However, the Sydney Showground has never hosted international cricket before so there is arguably less of a home advantage although Australia attempted to cover all bases by playing a warm-up match on the ground last month. A lot of work has gone into the pitch to ensure it is not one of the slow, stodgy surfaces that have sometimes been seen here for BBL and WBBL matches.

"We've done as much as we can," Lanning said. "There's not much data for women's games on this ground but throughout the Big Bash this year it seemed to play reasonably well and we played a practice game on the same wicket three or four weeks ago. It looks like it will be a really good wicket, the groundsman was really happy with it so hopefully it creates a really good contest and is even for both sides.

"I guess there is a little bit of unknown about this ground so we start on a level pegging with India in that regard but I think for the good of the tournament, create a great atmosphere and get the crowds along it's a really good move. We've known about it for a while and have been looking forward to playing out here."

Harmanpreet Kaur has experience of the ground from her time with Sydney Thunder in the WBBL and hoped the pitch would bring the India spinners into the game.

"I've played many games on this track," she said. "I hope that what I'm thinking around that will come into play. Compared to other tracks, this one is a little on the slower side. We have seen spinners do well on this track, our strength is spin bowling and we hope to see that do well again."

There is also the expectation of strong India support with every chance the blue will outnumber the green and gold. "It's just something we'll have to get used to," Lanning said. "Hopefully we can get off to a good start and make sure the Indian fans are a little bit quiet."

This has been an unprecedented build-up. As Ellyse Perry put it on Wednesday: "It feels like the real deal."

A lot is pinned on Australia going all the way and, despite the recent blips, it would take a brave person to bet against them but as the opening match has got closer it has felt like they won't have it all their way own. And that bodes very well for the tournament.

February 21: New Zealand v India, first Test, Wellington

Our XI: Virat Kohli, Kane Williamson, Ajinkya Rahane, BJ Watling, Trent Boult, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Henry Nicholls, Ross Taylor, R Ashwin/Ravindra Jadeja.

NOTE: We might not always be able to tip you off about late injury (or other relevant) updates

Captain: Kane Williamson

It might have been the other way round if this was a home Test for India, but in New Zealand, you have to have Williamson as your captain. Williamson's class is undoubted, but his hunger will have a sharper edge too. He wasn't among the runs in New Zealand's last Test series, away against Australia, and missed out on a chunk of the limited-overs matches against India just when the form seemed to have returned. Then, also, there's the fact that his average zooms to 59.84 when playing at home.

Vice-captain: Virat Kohli

Kohli has played only two Tests in New Zealand, but they were enough to give him an average of 71.33 in the country. The best all-format batsman in the world will have a point to prove after India were blanked in the ODIs. An intense, driven Kohli is the kind oppositions fear most, and the kind fantasy league players love most.

Hot picks

Mohammed Shami: Perhaps no bowler has so thrilled the senses as Shami in the past year, on a consistent basis. The upright seam, the subtle control, the devastating movement - Shami has it all. Even if New Zealand's pitches have tended towards being more batting-friendly in recent times, Shami has the class to net a bagful of wickets.

Ross Taylor: It's not just because it's his 100th Test, it's not just because he's been in terrific form and it's not just because he got 200 the last time he batted in a Test match at Basin Reserve - it's a combination of all of that. Taylor hasn't let age slow him down, and on the day he becomes the first man to play 100 Tests, ODIs and T20Is, you can expect the occasion to also give him an extra lift.

Jasprit Bumrah: He wasn't at his most incisive in the ODIs, but a Bumrah on fire is a bowler like no other. There were two factors at play in the ODIs, neither of which are particularly applicable for Test cricket. First, Bumrah was still rusty and didn't have overs in his legs. Second, New Zealand could afford to play him out to some extent. He's been building up to his pre-injury rhythm, though, and should be a handful with the red ball.

Value picks

BJ Watling: Watling tends to slip under the radar when there's talk about the best wicketkeeper in the world, but he has more than earned the right to be in that conversation. Watling almost guarantees you valuable runs, as well as points with the gloves. A must-have in your team.

Ajinkya Rahane: Quietly but surely, Rahane has left behind all the talk about his form that was dogging him less than a year ago. There have been runs against West Indies away and South Africa at home, and Rahane warmed up for this Test with a century against New Zealand A. He's historically had a productive time in New Zealand and against them.

Points to note

• Ishant Sharma and Trent Boult are both coming back from injuries. Both have been bowling fine at the nets, and Boult has already been included in New Zealand's XII. But best go in without them to start with.

• The addition of whichever spinner India wish to go with - Ashwin or Jadeja - is as insurance. If the pitch turns out to be a green one, then it's worth going for another pace option instead of the spinner.

• Neil Wagner is out because he has opted to stay back at home for the birth of his child. Kyle Jamieson has been named to make his debut come game time, so if you choose to avoid the spinner, he might be a good pick.

There's a possibility of departmental teams returning to the Pakistan domestic circuit, after the Iqbal Qasim-led PCB cricket committee discussed the recent changes to the domestic structure and tasked Haroon Rasheed, the director of domestic cricket, to try and find a window to potentially squeeze in a new tournament.

"The cricket committee recommended the PCB should explore a window in the 2020-21 domestic cricket to slot in a tournament for the departments," the PCB said in a statement. "In this relation, Director - Domestic cricket operations, Haroon Rashid, has been requested to look into the potential window in the next season and update the cricket committee at the next meeting, which is expected in April."

Imran Khan, the former Pakistan captain who is now the prime minister of the country as well as the patron of the PCB, has been a long-time advocate of having only regional teams in the domestic circuit, and even shot down a PCB proposal in March last year, which had suggested a system that included the departmental teams, like Habib Bank Limited (HBL), Pakistan International Airlines, and Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA). Based on Imran's instructions, the 2019-20 season was contested by provincial teams - Balochistan, Central Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Northern, Sindh and Southern Punjab. There could, potentially, be a rethink on that, though whether the prime minister signs off on it remains to be seen.

Domestic cricket in Pakistan has been played among departments and regions since the early 1970s, when Abdul Hafeez Kardar, Pakistan's first Test captain and then PCB chairman, encouraged organisations like HBL, Sui Southern Gas Corporation, WAPDA and others to provide employment opportunities for players. Since then, the top players have been contracted by the departments in question and given full-time jobs. The role of these departments in helping Pakistan cricket and cricketers has been significant, but it ended up depriving the regional sides from making use of their top players.

Till the 2018-19 season, 16 teams took part in the domestic circuit, playing the country's premier first-class tournament, the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy. Eight of these were from the provinces and the other eight from departments. After the revamp prior to the last season, most companies - WAPDA the exception - shut down their cricket teams, leaving many players without jobs. With the six regional teams in action, the number of players playing at the highest level domestically also went down significantly - from over 500 players to 192.

However, at the end of the first-class season, with the PSL around the corner, the PCB decided to look into the possibility of allowing departments back into the system. The matter dominated the discussions in the year's first cricket committee meeting in Karachi, at the end of which the plan to look for a new window was suggested. ESPNcricinfo understands that the issue was discussed even last year, but implementing it wasn't possible at the time. The Pakistan domestic season starts in October every year and runs until April.

Roger Federer has announced he will miss the French Open following surgery on his right knee.

Federer, 38, underwent surgery in Switzerland on Wednesday and announced via Twitter that he will be out until the grass season.

pic.twitter.com/VVGI1o8XYZ

— Roger Federer (@rogerfederer) February 20, 2020

"My right knee has been bothering me for a little while," Federer said in his tweet. "I hoped it would go away, but after an examination, and discussion with my team, I decided to have arthroscopic surgery in Switzerland yesterday [Wednesday].

"After the procedure, the doctors confirmed that it was the right thing to have done and are very confident of a full recovery.

"As a result, I will unfortunately have to miss Dubai, Indian Wells, Bogota, Miami and the French Open.

"I am grateful for everyone's support. I can't wait to be back playing soon, see you on the grass!"

The timeline means Federer will target Wimbledon as he aims for his 21st Grand Slam title, but will miss Roland Garros, which takes place May 24-June 7. His sole French Open triumph came in 2009. Novak Djokovic, the eventual champion, knocked Federer out of last month's Australian Open in the semifinals.