Photo: NHL via Getty Images
The Washington Capitals beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals. The win ties the series 1-1 and gives the Capitals their first Stanley Cup Finals win in franchise history. Game 3 is set for Saturday night at Capital One Arena in Washington.
The Knights would strike first but Lars Eller would tie the game at the end of the period for a 1-1 tie at the first intermission. Alex Ovechkin and Brooks Orpik would register tallies in the middle frame to give the Caps a 3-1 lead before the Knights added a late goal for a 3-2 Caps lead at the second intermission.
STARTERS
Braden Holtby (12-7, 2.20 GAA, .919 sv%) started between the pipes for the Capitals. Marc-Andre Fleury (13-3, 1.81 GAA, .942 sv%) started in goal for the Knights. The Capitals starting forward lines and defensive pairs for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals:
Forward lines:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Vrana-Backstrom-Oshie
Burakovsky-Eller-Connolly
Stephenson-Beagle-Smith-Pelly
Defensive Pairs:
Kempny-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Djoos
Scratches: Alex Chiasson, Madison Bowey, Jakub Jerabek, Shane Gersich, Travis Boyd Nathan Walker and Pheonix Copley.
FIRST PERIOD
The Knights would strike first with a goal from James Neal at 7:58 of the opening frame. The shot was setup my a misplayed puck by Dmitry Orlov, allowing Neal to gather the puck and go top shelf on Holtby.
Evgeny Kuznetsov would leave the game after sustaining a hit to his left hand area.
The Capitals would tie the game with a goal from Lars Eller at 17:27 of the first period. Michal Kempny and Andre Burakovsky were credited with the helpers. The goal was setup by two beautiful passes. First, Andre Burakovsky would make a saving pass to Michal Kempny while falling down in the corner. Kempny would make a great pass to Lars Eller who was staring at a wide open net.
The period would end with the games tied 1-1. The Capitals led in shots on goal 11-10 for the first 20 minutes. The Capitals outhit Vegas 22-16 for the opening frame. There were no power plays.
SECOND PERIOD
The Capitals would gain a 2-1 lead with a power play goal from Alex Ovechkin at 5:38 of the middle frame. The goal was setup by a nice feed from Lars Eller across the goal mouth to Ovechkin. Nicklas Backstrom was credited with the other assist.
The Capitals would stretch their lead to 3-1 with a goal from Brooks Orpik at 9:41 of the second period.
The Knights would close the gap to 3-2 with a power play goal from Shea Theodore at 17:37 of the middle period.
The period would end with the Capitals holding onto a 3-2 lead. The Knights outshot the Caps 14-9 for the middle frame, and led 24-20 after two periods of play. The Capitals were 1 for 2 and the Knights 1 for 3 on the power play. The Capitals led in hits 35-29 after two periods of play.
THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals withstood a furious barrage by the Knights during the first half of the final frame, including killing a 5-on-3 Knights man-advantage midway through the period.
The Capitals would lock it down for the 3-2 win.
Want to hear @WaltonCaps call the three goals the Capitals scored in Game 2?
Now you can. #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/pfROLG24So
— Cristiano Simonetta (@CMS_74_) May 31, 2018
SHAVINGS
- Brooks Orpik scores to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead. That’s Orpik’s first goal of any kind, regular season or playoffs, since Feb. 26, 2016. (220 games).
- Alex Ovechkin gives the Caps a 2-1 lead with a power play goal. That’s his 13th goal of the postseason, one goal shy of the franchise mark for most goals in a single postseason (John Druce: 14, 1990).
- 14,485 watched the game at Capital One Arena.
- The NHL box score is here.
SCENES FROM VEGAS AND THE DISTRICT
https://www.instagram.com/p/BjbH2Q9gJ42/
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Love love the caps holtby kwoykd give anything g to find 4 tickets
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This isn’t the same Caps team. I keep hearing that we have less talent than we did last year. I’m not so sure about that. We lost some veteran talent but it looks like we’ve matured in a lot of areas and gained FIGHT….Time was that when a team would punch us in the face our shoulders would slump, we’d turtle and kind of go away. No more.
We can DO this…
We can take the Cup THIS YEAR…and I think we will…
Clifford
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