It's never too late for firsts.

With his power-play marker in the second period of Game 2 on Wednesday night, Alex Ovechkin collected his first career goal in the Stanley Cup Final. It was a big achievement for arguably the purest goal-scorer going, but more importantly, it helped the Washington Capitals walk away with a series-tying win against the Vegas Golden Knights.

The goal was a classic one-timer from the side of the net, but looking at the entire play, it becomes evident that the tally was the product of the Capitals exploiting the Golden Knights' blown coverage on the penalty kill.

Let's break it down.

The full video can be seen here.

The Golden Knights initially appeared to be in decent shape. As Nicklas Backstrom moved the puck to John Carlson at the point, Deryk Engelland (positioned in front of the net) made sure to get his stick in Ovechkin's shooting lane, anticipating a potential pass from Carlson.

Instead, the puck went to Backstrom, and Engelland shifted his focus to T.J. Oshie, who was positioned in the slot. Unfortunately for the Golden Knights, it looks like all four of their skaters were trying to prevent the puck from getting to him.

While all the Vegas players were fixated on the puck, Ovechkin started sneaking toward the side of the goal.

The puck then went down low to Lars Eller. He quickly made a one-time, cross-ice pass to Ovechkin, leaving no time for Engelland to get his stick or body in position to block the pass.

Marc-Andre Fleury attempted to poke-check the puck, but missed, leaving him with a desperation pad save as his lone hope.

Meanwhile, it's worth noting that Tomas Nosek wasn't covering Oshie or Ovechkin.

The pass got through. Ovechkin had moved down lower, and he isn't going to miss from there. Nosek finally noticed Ovechkin, but it was far too late.

The Capitals' power play has been the second-most lethal unit during the playoffs and Wednesday night it clicked once again. Eller stepped up, taking the spot usually occupied by the leading scorer of the playoffs, Evgeny Kuznetsov (who left the game in the first period with an injury).

As for the Golden Knights, next time, they might want to be sure they pay attention to the man with over 600 goals on his resume.

(Photos courtesy: NHL.com)

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Capitals head coach Barry Trotz was not a fan of Brayden McNabb's hit on Evgeny Kuznetsov, which knocked Washington's No. 1 center out of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final in the first period.

Trotz described the play as a "questionable hit" from the Vegas Golden Knights defenseman, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli. Trotz added that he thought the hit was high, and said "the league will look at it."

The Caps' bench boss may have a point:

Trotz provided no medical update on Kuznetsov after the game.

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Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby may live on hockey's highlight reel forever after robbing Vegas Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch to preserve a 3-2 victory in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Holtby bounced back from an uneven Game 1, making 37 saves, but one clearly stood out to his teammates, who were grateful for the former Vezina Trophy winner.

Related: Twitter reacts to Holtby's unbelievable stick save

"The save of the year ... maybe the save of a lifetime," Capitals forward Jay Beagle said to NHL.com's Brian McNally.

"Thank God he’s our goalie," Alexander Ovechkin told Isabelle Khurshudyan of The Washington Post.

"That'll be on Sportscenter," Matt Niskanen added.

The Capitals now head back home with a 1-1 series split and are looking to take control of the series after surviving the Golden Knights in a rowdy atmosphere.

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Braden Holtby might've been the Washington Capitals' best player in their Game 2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights, but Lars Eller was the team's best skater, and it couldn't have come at a more crucial time.

Evgeny Kuznetsov, the Caps' No. 1 center and leading point-getter so far this postseason, left the game in the first period after taking a hit from Brayden McNabb and did not return. This bumped Nicklas Backstrom up to the top line and Eller up to the second line, and he did not disappoint.

First, Eller buried Washington's opening goal into the yawning cage after two nice passes from Andre Burakovsky and Michal Kempny. Then, while taking Kuznetsov's spot on the power play, he fed Alex Ovechkin with a cross-crease pass to give the Caps the lead. For an encore, he started the rush on Brooks Orpik's goal, setting him up with a beautiful no-look dish.

That gave Eller three points in the game, making him directly responsible for each of Washington's goals. And this wasn't the first time this postseason Eller stepped up in the absence of a key center.

When Backstrom was out for the final game against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round and the first three games of the Eastern Conference Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Eller was the team's unsung hero, collecting five points in those four games, three of which were wins.

Eller signed a five-year contract extension in February with an average annual value of $3.5 million. Coming off a career-high 38-point season, he now has 17 points in 21 playoff games. It's safe to say that contract is looking like a bargain now, given the demand for quality two-way centers around the league.

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Washington Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby may have pulled off the save of the year at the most critical time.

With the Capitals holding onto a narrow 3-2 lead, Vegas Golden Knights winger Alex Tuch appeared certain to tie the game up in the final stages, but Holtby had other ideas, getting his stick on the puck to preserve the lead.

The hockey world was expectedly in awe of the save.

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LAS VEGAS (AP) Alex Ovechkin scored and blocked a shot in the second period and Braden Holtby made spectacular saves, lifting the Washington Capitals to a series-tying 3-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night.

Lars Eller had a goal and two assists as the Capitals secured the first win in the Final in franchise history. Washington was swept by Detroit in the 1998 Final.

Brooks Orpik scored Washington's third goal midway through the second period, ending a 220-game drought.

James Neal gave the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead 7:58 into the game and Shea Theodore pulled them within a goal late in the second.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Washington.

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More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals

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Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov headed to the locker room after taking a high hit from Vegas Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb during the first period.

The Capitals' star was not on the bench to begin the second period and was later deemed questionable to return with an upper-body injury.

Here is the play in question:

Kuznetsov leads the NHL in scoring during the playoffs with 25 points and if he is to miss any time, it would be a crushing blow for the Capitals.

It's likely that Lars Eller sees more ice time as a result of Kuznetsov's injury.

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Washington Capitals forward Brett Connolly succinctly summarized the importance of a great start to Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.

"In the playoffs, we've gotten down in games, we've played like s--- some nights," Connolly told Mike Hume of The Washington Post prior to Wednesday's contest.

The Capitals actually took a 4-3 lead early in the third period of Game 1, but the Golden Knights responded with three consecutive goals to win 6-4.

Connolly scored the opener for the Capitals in Game 1, and will be looked upon to continue providing secondary contributions. Time will only tell if his candid assessment serves as a rallying point.

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