Knights on Ice — Shea It Ain’t So

In a game that Washington had to win, they played like they were well aware of it.

The Capitals set the tempo of the game early. In the first period, Washington won 13 of the 18 faceoffs and blocked 15 shots, four by defenseman John Carlson and two by Alex Ovechkin. When one of the best offensive players in the entire NHL is blocking shots, that speaks volumes about his commitment to do whatever it takes to win the Stanley Cup. Ovechkin also had three shots on goal in the first period in eight attempts and he logged two hits. He was ready, while Vegas lacked that intensity .

With this 3-1 loss, the Golden Knights are in the unfamiliar playoff position of having to win three of the four remaining games in the Stanley Cup Final.

Once again, Marc-Andre Fleury was the only reason the score was 0-0 after the first 20 minutes. He kept Washington off the scoreboard and the crowd out of the game.

Things changed early in the second period. Vegas failed at multiple chances to clear the puck out of the zone and it wound up on Alex Ovechkin’s stick, always a dangerous place for the opposing team. With one skate on the ice and his other leg on the back of Brayden McNabb, Ovi somehow lifted the puck with a backhanded shot over the outstretched Fleury for the first goal of the game.

Vegas has relied on their fore-check all season long and throughout the first three rounds of the playoffs for their success, but hasn’t been able to maintain it so far in the Final. In this game, Braden Holtby was aggressive in going behind the net and moving the puck to his defensemen, which neutralized any attempt of a fore-check by the Golden Knights.

Indeed, Vegas’ only goal happened to be Holtby’s only mistake in the entire game.

All of his clearing passes in the first two periods were up and around the boards, both on his forehand and backhand, and he seemed to gain confidence in handling the puck as the game went on. Suddenly, he tried to show Vegas a different clearing look. Instead of going around the boards, he attempted to clear it up the middle of the ice. After Pierre-Eduourd Bellemare got his stick on the pass, Tomas Nosek quickly picked it up and scored uncontested, with Holtby caught behind the net. That closed Washington’s lead to one goal 3:29 into the third period. Now it seemed like Vegas might have a chance to steal this game with a little puck luck.

Shea Theodore had a game that I’m 100% sure he’d like to forget. On both Washington’s second goal and its backbreaking third goal with just 6:07 left in the game, Theodore’s defensive play was less than stellar. He also created a situation that put Marc-Andre Fleury in no-man’s land outside the crease, forcing the goalie into taking a tripping penalty. Vegas dodged a bullet on that particular penalty. Actually, neither team capitalized on the six power-play opportunities: Washington went 0-4 and Vegas went 0-2.

Of course, Theodore isn’t the only reason that Vegas now trails 2-1 in games. When your best offensive players of the game are in the fourth line, you have offensive issues. Except for Marchessault, the number-one line of Karlsson, Smith, and Marchessault were almost invisible the entire game. The second line of Perron, Haula, and Neal were a -9, as all three were on the ice for Washington’s three goals. Neither Perron nor Neal even registered a shot on goal.

In all their playoff games, including the multiple overtime periods, Vegas has trailed in only 162 minutes and 43 seconds. Totaled up, that’s less than three games out of 16 they’ve played so far. In the last two games, they’ve trailed 73:16 of 120 minutes.

Truth be told, Vegas hasn’t played well in the Stanley Cup Final. They’re lucky they only trail 2-1. Is it nerves? Is it just one or two missed opportunities? Or is Washington that much of a better team? How big is THE SAVE that Holtby made in Game 2 now?

In my opinion, these two teams are evenly matched. Right now, Washington’s forwards are outplaying Vegas’ forwards. Holtby isn’t outplaying Fleury; he’s just not seeing as many shots as Fleury. In this game, Washington blocked 26 shots, while Vegas blocked nine. Vegas only managed 22 shots on Holtby.

By the looks of the post-game crowd’s reaction, it appeared that the Washington fans believe this was a best of three series, rather than a best of seven. By no means is Vegas out of this series. This was the first time Vegas has lost two in a row in the entire playoffs. The last time the Knights trailed in a series, they won the next four games, defeating the Winnipeg Jets in five games after losing the first.

In his post-game interview Coach Gallant was asked if Monday’s Game 4 is a must-win for Vegas his response was, “Every game is a must-win when you’re playing for the Stanley Cup.”

“It doesn’t mean we’re out of it,” Fleury said. “We still have a lot of minutes to be played, a lot of periods, a lot of time to put ourselves back in the series.”

My Three Stars of the Game: Evgeny Kuznetsov, one goal (12) and one assist; Alex Ovechkin, one goal (14); Jay Beagle, two assists

Game 4 will be the 101st game in Vegas Golden Knights franchise history and it will be the biggest game that Vegas has ever played.

Game 4 is tomorrow at 5 p.m. Pacific Time at Capital One Arena.