WASHINGTON (AP) The Washington Capitals are one win away from the first championship in their 43-year history after routing the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 on Monday night to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final.
T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson and Devante Smith-Pelly all scored in the first period to get the Capitals rolling against a determined Vegas team that had no answers early against Braden Holtby, who stopped 28 shots in another strong showing. The desperate Golden Knights outchanced the Capitals by a wide margin but fell apart after James Neal clanked a shot off the post instead of hitting a wide-open net early, and the expansion team's Cinderella run could be over in a matter of days.
Evgeny Kuznetsov dished out four assists and John Carlson, Michal Kempny and Brett Connolly also scored as thunderous chants of ''We want the Cup! We want the Cup!'' rang out from the crowd.
Alex Ovechkin and the Capitals will get their first chance to hoist the Cup in Game 5 on Thursday night back in Las Vegas. No team since the Detroit Red Wings in 1942 has blown a 3-1 lead in the Cup Final.
The Capitals seem to be getting enough bounces to make up for nine previous first- or second-round playoff exits in the Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom era - and plenty more disappointments in the previous decades, too.
While Vegas rang several shots off the posts, the Capitals seized just about every opportunity as they have throughout this surprising run. Kuznetsov padded his lead as the playoffs' leading scorer with primary assists on Oshie's power-play goal that made it 1-0 and Wilson's that doubled the lead.
Smith-Pelly, who scored the insurance goal to ice Game 3, kicked the puck from his left skate to his stick and roofed a shot on Marc-Andre Fleury with 20.5 seconds left in the first period. Fleury came into the final as the Conn Smythe front-runner for playoff MVP honors but looked human again by allowing six goals on 23 shots at a defense that has often left him vulnerable.
Kuznetsov leads all playoff scorers with 31 points, Ovechkin is tied for the goal lead with 14 and Holtby showed again Monday his ability to alter the course of a game.
Holtby got some good fortune from the post on shots by Alex Tuch, Neal and Brayden McNabb. But he also made a handful of big saves early when the Golden Knights came out with a furious approach.
By the time Vegas got third-period goals from Neal and Reilly Smith it was too late.
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Washington Capitals forward Evgeny Kuznetsov joined an elite group thanks to his third three-plus-point effort of the playoffs Monday night.
The 26-year-old's third assist of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final gave him 30 points this postseason, making him just the fifth player to hit that mark in the last 21 years.
Kuznetsov fifth player this century with 30 points in one playoff...Malkin 36 (08-09), Crosby 31 (08-09), Briere 30 (09-10), Couture 30 (15-16).
Kuznetsov now has a four-point cushion over teammate Alex Ovechkin for the top spot in the playoff scoring race. He's also jumped into 10th place on the Capitals' career playoff scoring list.
In a crucial contest that can either give the Capitals a 3-1 series lead or allow the Golden Knights to even the series heading back to Vegas, Washington made a statement by scoring three times in the first 20 minutes.
T.J. Oshie opened the scoring midway through the first period, before Evgeny Kuznetsov gave Tom Wilson a perfect feed for the second goal roughly six minutes later. And just when the Golden Knights thought they could escape the frame down only two, Devante Smith-Pelly buried a beautiful dish from Alex Ovechkin with just 21 seconds remaining.
Making matters worse for the Golden Knights was that James Neal had missed a wide-open net earlier in the period that would have given them a 1-0 lead.
While a three-goal advantage is far from safe with 40 minutes to play, the Caps are in the driver's seat heading into the second period.
Perron, who didn't take part in pregame warmup, had a career-high 66 points in 70 regular-season contests this year, but has failed to find the back of the net in 14 playoff games, compiling eight assists.
The 30-year-old is scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
While the Stanley Cup Final may be in full swing, NHL referee Garrett Rank has another tournament on his mind.
The 30-year-old qualified for the U.S. Open golf tournament at Shinneock Hills after tying for first place in a qualifying event at Ansley Golf Club in Rosewell, Ga., on Monday.
"Was next to the best players in the world on the ice ... next week I get to play with the best golfers in the world," Rank told theScore contributor Adam Stanley. "It's a pretty cool life I'm living right now."
Rank, who became a full-time ref in 2014, shot 2-under over 36 holes at one of the 12 regional qualifying tournaments on Monday.
Roman Josi wasn't going to let an injury stop him from going for gold.
The talented Nashville Predators defenseman broke his hand in Switzerland's semifinal victory over Canada at the World Championship in May and played through it in the gold-medal game loss to Sweden, Switzerland head coach Patrick Fischer told Swiss radio station SRF on Sunday, as translated by Swiss Hockey News.
The Swiss national team had to ask the Predators for permission to dress Josi for the final, in which it fell to Sweden in a shootout.
Josi assisted on both of Switzerland's goals in regulation and logged more than 29 minutes of ice time in the championship game.
He chose to represent his home country at the tourney in Denmark after the Winnipeg Jets eliminated the Predators in the Western Conference semifinal.
Ottawa Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee pleaded not guilty Monday to a charge that he harassed a 19-year-old hotel shuttle driver in Buffalo last week, according to The Canadian Press.
Lee was granted permission to re-enter Canada on Monday after being arrested and having his passport confiscated following the alleged incident last Wednesday.
He faces a possible fine and up to 15 days in jail if convicted. His next court date is June 22.
Lee was in Buffalo with the Senators for the NHL's scouting combine.
On the strength of back-to-back wins from the Washington Capitals, the complexion of the Stanley Cup Final has shifted drastically.
The back-and-forth drama and theatrics of an epic Game 1 have become an afterthought, as for virtually the first time all season, the Vegas Golden Knights appear to be on the ropes.
The expansion team of destiny will quickly point to the thumping it received from the Winnipeg Jets to open the Western Conference Final as a similar experience of adversity - one the Golden Knights quickly overcame, reeling off four consecutive victories to reach this point.
Now, Vegas needs another bounce-back performance to make the final a best-of-three heading back to Sin City. Here are three areas where the club needs to show improvement Monday night to ensure that happens (all advanced stats courtesy Natural Stat Trick).
The second line
By this point in any playoff series, players are pretty familiar with who they'll draw for the majority of their matchups. For the Golden Knights' second line - composed of Erik Haula, James Neal, and David Perron - things haven't gone well against Alex Ovechkin and Co.
Outperforming the greatest goal-scorer of his generation as he looks to win the first Stanley Cup of his legendary career isn't exactly an easy task, but Vegas' trio needs to find a way to push back.
The Golden Knights' second line has combined for just one goal and three high-danger scoring chances all series. Head coach Gerard Gallant seems cognizant of that, as Alex Tuch will join the second line and Tomas Tatar appears set to replace Perron for Game 4.
For Vegas' sake, it better work.
Not-so-Wild Bill
(Photo Courtesy: Getty Images)
As Vegas' second line struggles, the performance of the top unit of William Karlsson, Reilly Smith, and Jonathan Marchessault becomes paramount to the Golden Knights' chances of winning. However, the trio's most potent goal-scorer hasn't found a way to make a grand impact just yet.
Aside from a goal in Game 1, Karlsson has been held pointless, and only mustered two shots on goal at five-on-five through three contests - including a goose egg Saturday night.
Marchessault and Smith have produced seven and three high-danger chances, respectively, to Karlsson's one. The Golden Knights' 43-goal man needs to be better if one of the most relentless lines in hockey is going to make a difference Monday in Washington.
Drive the net
In Game 1, the Golden Knights produced quality chance after quality chance - 24 in total, 14 of which were classified as high-danger at five-on-five.
Since, Vegas has 14 high-danger chances combined, and only three goals over two games. The Capitals' defensive corps deserves some credit for adjusting and keeping the Golden Knights' chances to the perimeter, but Braden Holtby isn't going to be solved by shots from the outside, and the onus is on Gallant's crew to change that.
Since Day 1 of this dream season, the Golden Knights' mandate has been to force opponents back with their speed, converting on their chances from dangerous areas along the way. After being bottled up for two consecutive contests, Vegas needs to push the pace and return to what's worked for 100 games so far.
The Vegas Golden Knights will shake things up for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, as winger Tomas Tatar confirmed he will draw into the lineup for the first time since Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.
It's not clear who he'll replace, though it appears David Perron will be the odd man out, according to multiple reports.
The Golden Knights acquired Tatar at the trade deadline and he's registered one goal in six playoff appearances so far.
