Washington Capitals even Stanley Cup final series at 1-1
Washington goalie saves the day in 3-2 win over Vegas
LAS VEGAS — A goal from the most unlikely source and a jaw-dropping save has the Washington Capitals back on even terms in the Stanley Cup Final.
Brooks Orpik scored for the first time in 220 games and Braden Holtby made 37 stops, including a miraculous effort with two minutes to go, as the Capitals defeated the Vegas Golden Knights 3-2 on Wednesday night to level the best-of-seven series 1-1.
“A couple of bounces didn’t go our way last game,” said Holtby, whose team fell 6-4 in Monday’s opener. “We knew if we just stuck with it, did the right things, something would go our way.”
What went their way was Orpik, a veteran defenceman whose last goal came on Feb. 16, 2016, scoring what turned out to be the winner before Holtby robbed Alex Tuch with a desperation paddle save after the puck took a weird bounce off the glass.
“To me, it was the Hockey Gods,” said Washington head coach Barry Trotz.
“Save of the year. Maybe the save of a lifetime,” added Caps forward Jay Beagle. “It’s unreal.”
Bumped up to the second line after No. 1 centre Evgeny Kuznetsov left with an upper-body injury in the first period, Lars Eller had a goal and two assists, while Alex Ovechkin also scored.
Andre Burakovsky chipped in with two assists of his own as the Capitals won their first-ever game in a Stanley Cup Final.
James Neal and Shea Theodore replied for the expansion Knights. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 23 shots in taking the loss.
The series now switches to Washington for Game 3 on Saturday and Game 4 on Monday. Game 5 will be back in Vegas next Thursday.
Holtby’s diving paddle stop on Tuch that will be replayed over and over.
“Thank God he’s our goalie,” Ovechkin said. “I’ve got to bury that,” Tuch lamented. As for Orpik scoring, Eller said: “Brooksy doesn’t score a lot of goals, but that was a huge one. To have success in the playoffs, you need every single guy chipping in.”