Neal’s misfire a prelude to Knight fall
WASHINGTON — James Neal had the puck on his stick and was staring at a wideopen net, four feet away.
In a can’t-miss situation, that’s exactly what he did.
Poised to give the Vegas Golden Knights the opening goal in Monday’s Game 4 of the Stanley Cup final, the veteran leader of the upstart expansion team fired his shot off the right goal post.
The puck skipped behind Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby and slithered harmlessly toward the back boards.
“You want those chances. Nine times out of 10 you put that in the back of the net,” Neal said. “I had the composure to wait. And then you shoot it and you’re like, ‘Oh!’”
The Golden Knights, a team in desperate need of a confidence boost, collectively shrugged as a golden opportunity slipped away.
“It definitely would have changed the outcome of the game and would have given us momentum,” said forward Alex Tuch, who knows a thing or two about coming up empty on a point-blank shot.
Not surprisingly, the Golden Knights sputtered the rest of the way in a 6-2 loss that put them on the brink of elimination.
Washington is up 3-1 and can win its first Stanley Cup on Thursday night in Las Vegas.
“Go home, win one game and the pressure is back on them,” Neal said.
Although the Capitals have blown many a playoff series in the past, only one team, the 1942 Detroit Red Wings, lost the Stanley Cup final after holding a 3-1 lead.
“Not where we want to be, that’s for sure,” Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. “But we have a good bunch of guys with a lot of character in the room. Nobody’s quitting.”
Barring a comeback of historic proportions — an unlikely occurrence after being outscored 12-5 over the past three games — the Golden Knights will always remember this series for “The Stick” and “The Post”.
“The Stick” was wielded by Holtby, who used it late in Game 2 to snuff a seemingly sure goal by Tuch in a 3-2 Washington victory.
“The Post” is a symbol of the frustration Vegas has experienced in this series after winning 12 of 15 in roaring to the Western Conference title.
Who knows if things would have been different if Neal had put the puck in the net?
This much is certain: The reeling Golden Knights were looking for something to build on when they entered Game 4, and a 1-0 lead would have been a huge lift.
Presented with a powerplay in a scoreless first period, Vegas worked the puck around smartly in the Washington zone. Erik Haula whisked a pass to Neal at the left side of the net, and Holtby was slow to react.
“We obviously got some breaks at the start of the game,” Holtby said. “Honestly, I thought it was in.”
Said Neal: “It’s not like anyone made a save. I shot it off the post on the far side. It’s not the first time it’s happened. Probably won’t be the last. But at that moment, it changed the game.”