Capitals Beat Knights 3-2, Tie Series 1-1; Capitals Win First Stanley Cup Finals Game In Franchise History

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