WASHINGTON -- If fans in Las Vegas seem a bit spoiled by the rapid success of the Golden Knights, rest assured that the Washington, D.C. area has paid its dues.

The Capitals, who host Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night, are carrying the hopes of a city that hasn't seen a Big Four sports team play for a championship since, well, the Capitals way back in 1998 when they were swept by the Detroit Red Wings.

"I think everybody (is) excited in Washington," Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin told NHL.com. "It's going to be fun. It's going to be interesting. It's going to be hard. That's why we worked so hard to be in this spot and be in this moment."

With the series tied 1-1, Washington carries the momentum into Game 3 and got a boost Friday when center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who left Game 2 with an upper-body injury in the first period, took part in an optional practice.

"He wanted to come back out there in the game, I think, but it just wasn't in the best interest, and I think him and the medical staff made the right call," Washington's Jay Beagle told The Washington Post on Friday. "He says he's feeling better today, and that's a great sign."

Kuznetsov, who regularly centers a line with Ovechkin and Tom Wilson, is the NHL's top postseason scorer with 11 goals and 14 assists for 25 points in 21 games.

Washington is 4-5 at home in the playoffs but did win a huge Game 6 at Capital One Arena against Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference Final.

"I love playing at home," Capitals center Lars Eller told NHL.com. "There's no reason we can't play our best game (Saturday) night."

Vegas enters Game 3 looking to overcome the frustration of "The Save" as it's being referred to. Goaltender Braden Holtby's amazing stick save on Alex Tuch's potential game-tying one-timer with two minutes remaining in Game 2 is already being compared locally to Washington's greatest sports moments.

Holtby, who also stoned Vegas during a five-on-three advantage in Game 2, is 13-7 with a 2.19 GAA and .921 save percentage since replacing Philipp Grubauer in the second game of the first round, but the save on Tuch dominated the conversation after Game 2.

"We know it's never going to be easy to win a Stanley Cup," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant told the team's website. "So you've just got to focus on the next game. You don't worry about the last game ... "

Vegas is 3-0 after a loss in the playoffs and 3-0 in Game 3s. They bring an 8-2 road playoff record into Washington.

"I think we try to play the same game no matter what building we're playing in," Gallant said. "It worked very well in the postseason. Try to play the same game, play a quick, fast game, an up-tempo game."

Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has a 3.56 goals-against average and an .870 save percentage in the two games. He posted a 1.68 GAA and .947 save percentage in the first three rounds of the playoffs.

"There were maybe a few unfortunate goals throughout this series," Fleury told NHL.com. "I don't think I've sweat it too much so far."

Knights defenseman Shea Theodore said his team needs to be more aware of Washington's physicality, which helped it swing the Tampa Bay series and has carried over into the final.

"They're a fast group and their physical," Theodore told the team's website. "They finish all their checks and I think that's something we have to be a bit more aware of. We have to use our speed and we have to turn over less pucks definitely."

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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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LAS VEGAS -- After a wild opening game in the Stanley Cup Final that featured 10 goals and four lead changes, Vegas Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury was asked after practice on Tuesday if he expected Game 2 on Wednesday night at T-Mobile Arena to be a more boring game.

"I hope so," Fleury said with a smile. "(Game 1) was exciting to watch but it wasn't a goalie's favorite. We'll see. You never know. It's a long series."

The Golden Knights held on for a 6-4 victory on Monday night. Fleury, who had allowed just three goals in a four-game quarterfinal sweep of the Los Angeles Kings, surpassed that total in just one game against the Eastern Conference champion Washington Capitals, and it could have been a whole lot worse.

Washington defenseman John Carlson clanged two shots off the goal post and center Lars Eller had a chance to tie it with 40 seconds to go but whiffed on a close-in shot at a wide-open right side of the net off a pass from Tom Wilson, in part because Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb got just enough of Eller's stick to distract him. Tomas Nosek then added an empty-net goal to seal it with 2.7 seconds left.

"When you slow it down and watch it, you go, 'Just tap it in,' " Washington coach Barry Trotz said of Eller's late miss. "But when you're going 100 miles per hour and everybody is screaming -- you might be exhausted at that point -- and right at the end there was a two-hand chop on his stick. We tie it up there, who knows?"

What made the high-scoring contest even more unexpected is that Fleury had four shutouts and a .947 save percentage in his first 15 games in the playoffs while Washington goalie Brayden Holtby came in off back-to-back shutouts against Tampa Bay and had a scoreless streak of 166 minutes and 42 seconds ended by a first period blast from the point by Vegas defenseman Colin Miller on the power play.

"That's just the way the game goes some nights," Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. "(Fleury) has been our best player all playoffs long. There's no issue with Flower.

"Four goals sounds like a lot but again I thought he played okay last night. He's the first guy to say last night that I'm going to be better. He's been outstanding. We're here because of him. We know that. ... He's the backbone of our hockey team."

Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland, who had two assists in the opener, said he expects a lower scoring game on Wednesday.

"I think it's going to tighten up a little bit," Engelland said. "Listening to everything (that was said after the game), they want to clean up some areas as do we. Not having those little breakdowns is huge. It seemed like every little breakdown was ending up in your net or in their net. Both teams are going to look to clean that up and come out ready to go."

Washington is no stranger to falling behind in a series en route to the Final. The Capitals fell behind 0-2 to Columbus in the quarterfinals before winning in double overtime come back to win that series in six games. They also lost their opener at home to two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh before rallying to win the series, 4-2. And they trailed Tampa Bay, 3-2, in the Eastern Conference finals before outscoring the Lightning 7-0 in the final two contests, including a 4-0 victory in Game 7 in Tampa.

Still, many view Wednesday night's game as a must-win for Washington. Teams that take a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final are 46-5 (90.2 percent) when it comes to going on to eventually hoisting the Cup. But the odds are only 55.6 percent (15-12) for a team that loses Game 2 after winning Game 1.

"If we make the adjustments that we need and everybody gets back to our foundation, I think we'll be back in the series real quickly," Trotz said.

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LAS VEGAS (AP) The Vegas Golden Knights' incredible inaugural season isn't slowing down in the Stanley Cup Final.

Tomas Nosek scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period, and the expansion Golden Knights opened an improbable Final with a thrilling 6-4 victory over the Washington Capitals on Monday night.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves in an occasionally shaky performance, but the three-time Stanley Cup winner's new teammates carried the goalie who has so often carried them with a relentless outburst of offense.

The Eastern Conference champion Capitals hadn't given up this many goals in 29 games since March 18, but they hadn't seen anything like this charmed run by the upstart Knights.

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ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) Alex Ovechkin scored early and Andre Burakovsky added two second-period goals to help the Washington Capitals put a decade of playoff frustration behind them with a 4-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference final Wednesday night.

Braden Holtby stopped 29 shots for his second straight shutout and the Lightning, who led the NHL in goals during the regular season, failed to score in the last 159 minutes, 27 seconds - a stretch of nearly eight periods.

Ovechkin, who had never played a team that advanced beyond the second round, scored 1:02 into the winner-take-all showdown he had described as probably the ''biggest game in my life.''

Nicklas Backstrom had an empty-netter to complete the rout.

To earn a spot in the Stanley Cup Final, where they'll play the Vegas Golden Knights, the Capitals beat the top-seeded Lightning three times on the road, improving to 8-2 away from home this postseason.

It's Washington's first Cup Final appearance since 1998, and the first during Ovechkin's 13-year career.

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TAMPA, Fla. (AP) Cedric Paquette scored in the opening minute and Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 28 shots to help the Tampa Bay Lightning hold off the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Saturday night in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference final.

Ondrej Palat and Ryan Callahan also scored as the home team won for the first time in the best-of-seven matchup, with the Lightning taking a 3-2 series lead and moving within one victory of advancing the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in four seasons.

The Capitals, in the conference final for the first time in the Alex Ovechkin era, have lost three straight after winning twice on the road to begin the series.

Ovechkin scored with 1:36 remaining, trimming what once was a three-goal lead to one, however Vasiliveskiy made three more saves down the stretch to finish the victory.

Game 6 is Monday night in Washington, where Tampa Bay has already won to improve to 5-1 on the road this postseason.

The Capitals won the first two games on the road, scoring 10 goals on Vezina Trophy finalist Vasilevskiy and sending the Lightning - won had the best record in the East during the regular season - into desperation mode.

Tampa Bay responded by winning Game 3 in Washington, evening the series despite being outshot and outplayed for sizeable stretches of a 4-2 victory in Game 4 and returning home, where coach Jon Cooper was confident the Lightning would be better than they were in the first two games.

Turns out Cooper was right.

Washington's Dmitry Orlov turned the puck over in the neutral zone on the opening shift of the night and Callahan made the Caps pay for the mistake, feeding Paquette for a 1-0 lead just 19 seconds into the game.

Palat's second goal of the series made it 2-0. Tampa Bay extended the advantage to three goals when Callahan scored 33 seconds into the second period.

Outshot 13-4 and limited to one scoring opportunity in the opening period, the Caps began to put some pressure on Vasilevskiy in the second.

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a goal in his fourth straight game, giving him a franchise single-year, playoff-best 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) and trimming Washington's deficit to 3-1 at 4:21 of the period.

The Capitals kept pressing in the third period, but didn't breakthrough against until Ovechkin scored his 11th goal this postseason.

Notes: The road team won each of the first four games of a series for the sixth time in the last 10 years and 26th time in Stanley Cup playoffs history. Under that scenario, the road team has won Game 5 only three times. ... Paquette's goal was his first in the playoffs since Game 3 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, ending a 34-game drought for the 24-year-old center. ... At 19 seconds of the opening period, Palat's goal was not the fastest to start a game in Lightning history. Adam Hall scored for Tampa Bay 13 seconds into Game 2 of the Eastern Conference final against Boston in 2011. ... Capitals winger Andre Burakovsky was a game-time scratch.

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LAS VEGAS (AP) Jonathan Marchessault scored two goals - including an empty-netter in the closing seconds - to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 3 of the Western Conference final Wednesday night.

Vegas took a 2-1 series lead and is now two wins from advancing to the Stanley Cup final. The Golden Knights improved to 5-1 at home in the playoffs, and host Game 4 on Friday night.

James Neal and Alex Tuch also scored for Vegas, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33 shots.

Mark Scheifele scored both of Winnipeg's goals and has a playoff-leading 14 goals in 15 postseason games. Connor Hellebuyck had 26 saves for the Jets, who arrived in Las Vegas having outscored their opposition 23-15 in road games during the playoffs.

Marchessault scored his seventh goal of the playoffs just 35 seconds into the game as he took a pass from Brayden McNabb and went forehand-backhand to slip the puck past Hellebuyck, giving the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.

Scheifele tied it with a double-deflection off his stick and calf that went past Fleury. But 12 seconds later, Neal answered when Hellebuyck misplayed the puck behind his net and Erik Haula dished a perfect pass, giving the Knights a 2-1 lead.

Tuch notched his fifth goal of the playoffs to push the lead to 3-1 after Neal fed him with a nifty pass from behind the net.

Scheifele netted his second goal of the game just 18 seconds into the third period to cut Vegas' lead to one, but Winnipeg couldn't overcome the Golden Knights' speed and execution, despite outplaying them over the final 20 minutes.

Fleury, who bounced back after a loss in Game 1 to stop 30 of 31 shots in Game 2, made several huge saves late in the game to perserve Vegas' lead. After stonewalling Tyler Myers' breakaway attempt with 11:50 left in the game, he stymied Scheifele's back-to-back shot with 9:30 remaining. Less than two minutes later, he smothered the puck with a slew of players piled near the crease.

Winnipeg pulled Hellebuyck with 1:03 left, but Marchessault's empty-netter with 3 seconds left sealed the win.

The Jets had scored a power play goal in 11 of the 13 playoff games in which they had a man advantage, but was 0 for 2 with a man advantage.

Winnipeg hadn't lost back-to-back games during the playoffs. The last time it dropped consecutive games was a three-game losing streak (0-2-1) from Mar. 10-13.

NOTES: Teams that take a 2-1 lead in the conference final (or NHL semifinals) have won the series 35 of 43 times (81.4 percent) since 1975. ... While ticket prices for Friday's Game 4 spiked as high as $5,000 on Monday, they ranged between $259 and $2,500 as the puck dropped for Game 3. ... The Golden Knights welcomed the family of Humboldt Broncos head coach and GM Darcy Haugan, wife Christina and children Carson and Jackson. ... With his two goals, Scheifele now owns the NHL record for most goals scored on the road in a single playoffs with 11, surpassing Sidney Crosby and Joe Mullen, each with 10. ... With 53 victories, Hellebuyck remains one shy of tying the most single-season wins by a goaltender, in both the regular season and playoffs, held by Washington's Braden Holtby (54 in 2015-16).

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WASHINGTON (AP) Victor Hedman scored his first goal of the playoffs and added two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 36 saves to help the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Washington Capitals 4-2 in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final Tuesday night and cut their series deficit to 2-1.

Hedman had the primary assist on power-play goals by Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov and was a key part of three big penalty kills that gave Tampa Bay some much-needed momentum. Determined to create the kind of shift he thought could turn the East final around after back-to-back home losses, the Norris Trophy finalist as the NHL's top defenseman was one of the most dominant players on the ice and extended his point streak to eight games

Criticized for his play in the first two games against Washington, Vasilevskiy was on top of his game as the Capitals put 38 shots on net. Vasilevskiy made seven saves on the penalty kill alone to save a beleaguered unit that came in ranked 13th out of 16 playoff teams.

The Lightning would still like to cut down on the quality chances Vasilevskiy has to stop in Game 4 on Thursday and beyond, like the one Brett Connolly scored on after a turnover by Ondrej Palat. They also surrendered a 6-on-5 goal to Evgeny Kuznetsov with 3:02 left that made things interesting in the final minutes.

But the offensive depth that helped them get through the first two rounds in five games apiece returned with Hedman and Brayden Point scoring just Tampa Bay's second and third even-strength goals in the series. Hedman now has a goal and 10 assists during his point streak.

Tampa Bay got two injury scares in the third period when Stamkos hobbled off after taking a slap shot from teammate Braydon Coburn in the right knee and Tyler Johnson was cross-checked by Michal Kempny. Stamkos and Johnson each returned minutes later to a game that included nastiness after whistles throughout.

Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby allowed four goals on 23 shots, though power-play one-timers by Stamkos and Kucherov were almost impossible to stop. The Lightning extended their streak of consecutive games with a power-play goal to seven and have 11 total in that time.

NOTES: C Lars Eller took three of Washington's six penalties. ... With his 10th career power-play goal, Stamkos tied Martin St. Louis for Tampa Bay's playoff record. ... Injured C Nicklas Backstrom (right hand) took part in the Capitals' morning skate but missed his fourth consecutive game. Coach Barry Trotz continues to call Backstrom day-to-day. ... Alex Ovechkin and Kuznetsov combined for 21 shots on goal. ... Trotz set a franchise record by coaching his 54th playoff game with Washington.

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WINNIPEG, Manitoba - Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 30 shots, lifting the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-1 series-evening win over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday night in Game 2 of the Western Conference Final.

Kyle Connor scored midway through the third period to pull Winnipeg within a goal. Marchessault restored the two-goal lead 1:28 later.

Tomas Tatar scored 6:37 into the game for the Golden Knights.

Connor Hellebuyck had 25 saves for the Jets.

Game 3 is Wednesday night in Las Vegas.

The expansion Golden Knights appeared to be rusty in the series opener and the Jets scored three goals early in a 4-2 win .

It looked like they were going to pick up where they left off, but Fleury made key saves early and got help from a teammate and a post in the opening minutes to keep the puck out of his net.

Vegas generated offense by making plays without the puck, forcing turnovers to set up goals.

After the Jets failed to clear the puck out of a corner in their end, Tatar ended up stuffing the puck in the net after hitting the side of the net with a shot.

Connor was pressured into turning over the puck near center ice late in the opening period and Reilly Smith set up Marchessault, his former Florida Panthers teammate, at the blue line and he scored on a breakaway backhander.

The Jets closed the scoreless second period and started the third on the power play and still couldn't get the puck past Fleury.

Yet.

Winnipeg kept up the pressure on by relentlessly forechecking and drew another penalty early in the third. Connor took advantage, squeezing a shot between Fleury and the post from the bottom of the left circle 7:17 into the third.

That whipped the white-clad fans into a frenzy, triggering jeers of ''Fleu-ry! Fleu-ry!'' only to be quieted by another Marchessault backhander that beat Hellebuyck.

The Jets pulled their goaltender to add another skater over the last couple minutes of the game, but Fleury didn't let the puck get past him again.

NOTES: Vegas put Tatar and Tomas Nosek in place of David Perron and Oscar Lindberg. ... The Jets have not lost consecutive games this postseason.

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