CAPS A WIN AWAY
Show expansion Golden Knights they won’t be denied in their Cup quest
WASHINGTON — Time to break out all the gambling analogies.
The Vegas Golden Knights, who lost again to Washington in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final, are finally folding. Or they’ve stumbled upon a cooler and are about to go bust.
Whatever you want to call it, this does not look like the same team that went on a miracle run as a firstyear expansion team. Now, this looks like a team that is quickly running out of luck and chips.
Part of that is because of the Capitals, who after losing in Game 1 have emerged as the better team in almost every category. They are blocking more shots, getting more timely saves, and — most importantly — converting on more scoring opportunities.
After Monday night’s 6-2 win, the Capitals have a 3-1 lead in this best-of-seven series, with a chance to win a franchise-first championship in Game 5 on Thursday.
More and more, that is looking like a strong possibility.
T.J. Oshie had a goal and two assists, Evgeny Kuznetsov had four helpers to push his point total to 31 for the playoffs, and Braden Holtby stopped 28 of 30 shots. But this win belonged to the hockey gods as much as it did with any of Washington’s star players.
If luck has escaped the Golden Knights, the opposite has happened to the Capitals. They can’t do wrong. And when they do, the posts seem to bail them out again and again. Just ask Vegas’ James Neal, who will probably be haunted by the sound of the puck clanging off iron for the next two days — and possibly the rest of the summer unless things start to turn around.
Trailing in the series, the Golden Knights came out firing the puck from all areas and angles on the ice. It didn’t matter. Every shot Vegas took was the equivalent of rolling snake eyes.
An Erik Haul deflection in the opening minutes hit post. An open look from Reilly Smith sailed wide. And then, on a play that encapsulated just how snake-bitten they were, Neal stared down an empty net and hit nothing but iron. It could have been 3-0 for Vegas.
Instead, Washington survived the early onslaught and took a 3-0 lead on goals from T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson and Devante Smith-Pelly.
Oshie, who had once again travelled by subway with Matt Niskanen to the game, scored on the power play when he followed up on a shot from Kuznetsov for his eighth goal of the playoffs.
Washington’s Tom Wilson then converted a give-and-go pass from Kuznetsov to make it 2-0. And with 20.5 seconds remaining in the period, Smith-Pelly took a hard pass from Matt Niskanen in his skates and in one fluid motion kicked it up to his stick and roofed it over Fleury.
That was all they needed. Holtby, who is playing his way into Conn Smythe Trophy contention, was as locked as he’s been in these playoffs. He’s outplaying Fleury, having allowed 10 goals to Fleury’s 16.
While Washington is getting big-time production out of its big guns, Vegas’ top line appears to have disappeared in the desert. If anyone has seen William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault or Reilly Smith, tell them there’s a series going on.
The trio, which had combined for 16 goals and 47 points heading into the final, have one even-strength goal in the past three games. And it came at the end of a game that was already in the books.
Of course, it’s not from a lack of effort.
The Golden Knights held a 50-to-25 advantage in shot attempts after two periods. But they didn’t have anything to show for it, going 0-for-5 on the power play. Eventually, frustration started to set it.
Neal, who could have had two or three goals, took a slashing penalty on Holtby after failing to score with five minutes remaining in the period. On the ensuing power play, John Carlson blasted a one-timer over Fleury’s left ear to make it 4-0.
Five minutes into the third period, Neal finally got one. Reilly added another — followed by a pair of goals from Washington’s Michal Kempny and Brett Connolly. But by then, the game was all but over.
If this continues, so are Vegas’ chances of winning a Cup.