In a single nine-minute stretch of the third period on Monday, the Washington Capitals dramatically took the lead before the Vegas Golden Knights replied with two goals of their own.
Washington’s Tom Wilson also flattened Vegas forward Jonathan Marchessault with a blindside hit that could reverberate throughout the series.
After 10 goals and a Stanley Cup Final-record four lead changes overall in a fantastically entertaining opener, it is tough to imagine what these unlikely opponents will do for an encore.
Photo: AP
However, the upstart Golden Knights have spent their entire inaugural season speeding past all expectations, and their first Stanley Cup Final game did not slow them down in the slightest.
Tomas Nosek scored the tiebreaking goal midway through the third period as the expansion Golden Knights surged past the Capitals for a 6-4 victory.
“We put fun ahead of everything, and you can tell,” said Ryan Reaves, who scored the Knights’ tying goal in the third period. “Guys are having fun and they’re smiling.”
The Capitals had not given up this many goals in 29 games since March 18, but they had not seen anything like this charmed run by the upstart Knights.
With a sellout crowd of hometown fans at deafening volume all night, Vegas put their usual speed and relentlessness on full display while overcoming that third-period deficit to win the opener of a matchup between two franchises seeking their first Stanley Cup title.
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 Game 1 winners have won the past six Stanley Cups and 61 of 78 overall.
Braden Holtby stopped 28 shots for the Capitals, whose first Stanley Cup Final game in 20 years was a defensive nightmare. Washington still played a strong offensive game and had chances to win, but never slowed the Knights.
Wilson got credit for the goal that put the Caps up 4-3 early in the third period when Fleury back-heeled a loose puck into his own net, but Reaves evened it 91 seconds later for Vegas.
Nosek then put the Knights ahead after Shea Theodore kept the puck in Washington’s zone, sidestepped a defender and fired a beautiful cross-ice pass to the Czech forward, who buried a one-timer for his second goal of the playoffs.
Colin Miller, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith scored early goals before Nosek added an empty-netter for the Knights.
Just 342 days after the Knights selected the backbone of their first roster in the expansion draft, Vegas had another party on the Strip with their remarkable collection of castoffs.
Brett Connolly, Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson also scored for Washington, but their biggest stars did not match the Knights’ outburst.
After Miller scored the Knights’ first goal on a power play and ended Holtby’s scoreless streak at nearly 167 minutes, Washington calmly surged ahead later in the first period with goals 42 seconds apart.
The wild scoring continued in the third with an own-goal by Fleury, who lost track of a rebound and kicked it backward into his net.
T-Mobile Arena was only quiet for a few seconds before the tying goal from Reaves, who cross-checked Carlson to the ice an instant before the puck unexpectedly bounced to him for an uncontested shot.
Wilson delivered his crushing open-ice hit moments later to Marchessault, who was shaken up on the play.
The Golden Knights uniformly criticized it as a late hit, while the rambunctious Wilson defended himself.
“I haven’t obviously slowed it down and looked at it, but I think he’d probably say he shouldn’t have admired his pass and I’m just finishing my check,” Wilson said.
“I think the league is going to take care of it,” Marchessault said. “I never see him coming. Puck is away for a couple seconds for sure, but whatever. He’s a guy who plays hard, throws big hits out there.”
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