Capitals prevail over Golden Knights, 3-2

Alex Ovechkin, Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals stayed cool in the 100-degree Vegas heat and evened the Stanley Cup Final.

Holtby made 37 saves, Ovechkin scored a power-play goal and Lars Eller added a goal and two assists in the Capitals’ 3-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 2 on Wednesday night.

The Caps hung on through a scoreless third period for their first Stanley Cup Final victory in franchise history largely because of a bounce-back performance by Holtby, who was battered in Vegas’ 6-4 series-opening win.

Holtby capped his energetic performance with a jaw-dropping stick save with 1:59 to play, stretching back to rob Alex Tuch of a possible tying goal.

Brooks Orpik ended a personal 220-game drought with the eventual winning goal for the Caps, who rebounded from a ramshackle loss in the opener and handed the expansion Golden Knights only their second home defeat the first in regulation in Vegas’ nine postseason games.

James Neal and Shea Theodore scored and Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 23 shots for the upstart Knights, who couldn’t summon their usual clutch magic in the third period, even with lengthy man advantages.

Washington lost leading scorer Evgeny Kuznetsov to an upperbody injury in the first period after a big hit from Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb. The Caps avoided any hotheaded retaliation and concentrated on a gritty effort that was enough to even the series.

Game 3 is Saturday night in Washington.

NBA

MOTHER OF DECEASED G-LEAGUER SUES NBA» The mother of a G League player who died in March after collapsing on the court during a game has filed a federal lawsuit accusing the NBA and the Detroit Pistons of negligence.

Zeke Upshaw played for the Grand Rapids Drive, a G League affiliate of the Pistons. He collapsed during a game at Grand Rapids on March 24 and died two days later .

The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The NBA and Pistons are named as defendants, along with SSJ Group and The DeltaPlex Arena. Jewel Upshaw, the player’s mother, is the plaintiff, both individually and on behalf of Zeke Upshaw’s estate.

The lawsuit alleges medical personnel at the game failed to attempt lifesaving measures in a timely fashion.

“Remarkably, for much longer than four full minutes, no cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) was initiated, no chest compressions were started, no oxygen mask was placed on his nose and mouth, no airway was cleared and secured, and no defibrillator sensors and electric delivery patches were attached and secured to Zeke’s chest,” the suit says.

The suit also says the defendants failed to provide the G League team “the resources, policies, and procedures reasonably necessary” to prevent or handle Upshaw’s collapse.

“The NBA family continues to mourn the tragic passing of Zeke Upshaw,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “We received a copy of the complaint and are reviewing it.”