Knights planning to push back against Caps
WASHINGTON — After a physical Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday in Las Vegas, the Golden Knights are preparing for an even greater battle with the Washington Capitals in tonight’s Game 3 at Capital One Arena.
With 85 hits between the squads in Washington’s 3-2 win in Game 2 following a combined 63 in Vegas’s Game 1 win, the Golden Knights are stressing the importance of sticking to their identity in Game 3.
“I think the first two games were pretty physical,” Vegas right winger Ryan Reaves said. “They are a physical team. That is part of their identity. Especially in their home city, I think they are going to come out that way, if not even more. We can’t get overwhelmed by it. We can’t think that they are trying to run us out of the building.”
The Golden Knights have faced a handful David Perron, left, of the Golden Knights absorbs a check into the boards by Matt Niskanen of the Capitals during Game 2. of big-bodied teams during their run to the Stanley Cup Final.
“Every player knows that, when you’re getting in the playoffs, you’re going to have battles with different teams,” coach Gerard Gallant said Thursday. “We came through a physical L.A. team and an aggressive San Jose team and another physical team in Winnipeg. So guys are used to getting bumped and banged. It’s part of playoff
hockey, and you fight through that stuff.”
Vegas right winger Alex Tuch said the Knights will try to push back and be “just as physical, if not more physical” than the Capitals. But most importantly, they will try to come out with a lot of energy and attempt to take away the pace from Washington at home.
“You got to catch their body when you can,” Reaves said. “But our identity is, we play a speed game, we swarm the zone, we got five guys in the picture in the zone, and it frustrates teams, just as their physical play frustrates teams.”
Leaving the theatrics and comfort of their home ice at T-Mobile Arena, the Golden Knights are set to play in Washington for the first Stanley Cup Final game the city has hosted in 20 years. Not expected for Games 3 and 4 at Capital One Arena is the pregame spectacle that only Vegas can produce. But the Golden Knights’ play on the ice should be similar yet simpler than their play in Sin City.
The Capitals are 4-5 in the postseason at home, while the Golden Knights are 6-2 on the road. Gallant said his team tries to maintain a similar demeanor on the ice, home or away, and so far the results have shown in the postseason.
“We are just not at home anymore, so we have to dumb down the game a bit, keep it simple,” said Reaves, who stressed his team’s strength of being able to play its game on the road. “That is pretty much it. It is just like any other road game. ... You make big mistakes on away ice, you feed their momentum, and you can’t do that.”
And for the expected atmosphere in the District? “Fun,” said goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, whose most recent playoff start in Washington was Game 7 of the Eastern Conference semifinals for the Pittsburgh Penguins last spring. “I get yelled at a lot. It is a fun atmosphere. It is always loud, and [I] look forward to playing the game.” Kuznetsov practices: Each Capitals player who stepped onto the ice at the team’s practice facility Friday afternoon was greeted with cheers from another large crowd, fans cautiously hopeful after the Capitals returned from Las Vegas with split through two games.
But then center Evgeny Kuznetsov strode out of the locker room in a red jersey, seemingly no worse for wear after he was crunched against the glass and missed most of Game 2 just two days ago. The cheers were delayed, perhaps out of disbelief.
Kuznetsov wasn’t made available to media after the practice session because a team spokesman said he hasn’t been cleared to play from the undisclosed upper-body injury he suffered when Golden Knights defenseman Brayden McNabb checked him in the first period Wednesday night. The Capitals’ Tom Wilson is checked into the boards by the Golden Knights’ Jonathan Marchessault during the third period in Wednesday’s Game 2. The Knights said their team identity is a speed game, but they are prepared to play rough with the Capitals, if needed. Kuznetsov skated off the ice grimacing and clutching his left wrist. He didn’t return to the game, and though the Capitals classified him as day-to-day, the prognosis didn’t look good for Washington’s leading scorer in the postseason.
But Kuznetsov joined his teammates for the Capitals’ optional practice Friday, shooting and stickhandling with few limitations. Coach Barry Trotz said Kuznetsov is “probably a game-time decision” for Saturday’s Game 3, but all signs point to him playing. It would be a significant boost for Washington’s championship hopes.
“He’s one of our top guys,” captain Alex Ovechkin said. “Of course it’s very important to see him skating, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to be OK tomorrow.” Orpik ready: Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik absorbed a wicked slash at the end of Game 2, a potentially dangerous play that soured a special night for the 37-year-old veteran. He had scored his first goal in more than two years to help the Capitals tie the series, but the slash — courtesy of Golden Knights center Erik Haula, who received a five-minute major penalty and a game misconduct — appeared to injure Orpik’s left pinkie.
He received stitches after the game and had his pinkie wrapped as he held court with reporters after the team’s optional skate Friday morning, in which he didn’t participate. He nonetheless shrugged off the injury and confirmed he will be ready for Game 3 on Saturday night. He also kept the mood somewhat light. At one point, a reporter asked Orpik about the hit and mistakenly identified it as coming from Tuch — who, like Orpik, played at Boston College.
“It wasn’t Alex Tuch. It wasn’t a BC guy. It was a Minnesota guy,” Orpik said with a smirk, not mentioning the name of Haula, who played at Minnesota. “I don’t know. It’ll be fine for the game. Address it later on.”
Orpik’s goal gave his team a 3-1 lead and held up as the game-winning tally. It was a stunning score, given that Orpik had put just 54 shots on goal during the regular season and scored just two goals in 145 career playoff games entering the night.
“I can’t remember if I celebrated, so I don’t know. It was obviously a big moment, so it was pretty exciting,” Orpik said of his second-period goal. “It’s probably not expected from the team. But you try to do other things that help the team win, and obviously, you’re expected to do other things. But anytime you can do something that you’re not really counted on, it’s an added bonus.”