Capitals flying high, up 2-1 on Knights in Stanley Cup play

CAPITALS 3, GOLDEN KNIGHTS 1

WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin went airborne, Evgeny Kuznetsov flapped his arms like a bird of prey and the Washington Capitals are flying high, just two victories away from winning the Stanley Cup.

Ovechkin dived to score his 14th goal of the playoffs and raised his arms in joy when Kuznetsov beat Marc-Andre Fleury and

broke out his signature bird celebration in a second period the two Russians will long remember.

Led by their two best players, the Capitals beat the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 on Saturday night to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final.

“I knew Kuzy would elevate his game,” Coach Barry Trotz said. “I thought it was sort of the right thing that in a playoff game, first [home] victory in the finals that Alex would score the first goal. It was sort of poetic justice, if you will, for all the tough times.”

Fired up for the first Cup Final game in Washington since 1998, the Capitals unloaded chance after chance on Fleury, who made 23 saves but couldn’t backstop a frazzled, disjointed team that lost two games in a row for the first time in the playoffs. At the other end, Braden Holtby gifted Tomas Nosek a goal by giving the puck away but stopped the other 21 shots he faced from the Golden Knights, who looked nothing like the winners of 13 of their first 16 playoff games through the first three rounds.

“All year we’ve had a lot of guys going,” Vegas defenseman Deryk Engelland said. “That hasn’t been the case. Our goalie’s been bailing us out with huge saves all night and we have to bear down and be better for him.”

The Golden Knights’ historic run in its inaugural season is now in danger of coming to an end with Game 4 back in Washington on Monday night. The Capitals are seeking their first title in their 43-year history.

“We haven’t been behind in any series,” Fleury said. “It doesn’t mean we’re out of it.”

They’re not out, but they’re down because Holtby was there when the Capitals needed him. Of course, they didn’t need him much because they were on the attack for much of the game.

In his first home Cup Final game, Ovechkin attempted eight shots in the first period and scored a goal that seemed inevitable.

It came 1:10 into the second period when Ovechkin went full-extension over Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb to reach the rebound and backhanded the puck past Fleury.