Stanley Cup Final 2018: Alex Ovechkin helps Capitals take Game 3, series lead over Golden Knights

John Arlia

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Stanley Cup Final 2018: Alex Ovechkin helps Capitals take Game 3, series lead over Golden Knights image

Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals are two wins away from winning their first Stanley Cup.

In his first home game on hockey's biggest stage, Ovechkin opened the scoring in the second period and the Capitals never looked back on their way to a 3-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 Saturday at Capital One Arena. Washington now holds 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

After the Capitals had a Chandler Stephenson goal disallowed in the first period for goaltender interference, Ovechkin left no doubts with a diving backhand effort 70 seconds into the middle frame. His second tally of the series was also his 14th of the playoffs, matching John Druce's (1990) franchise record for goals in a single postseason.

Evgeny Kuznetsov, who was a game-time decision because of an upper-body injury, showed no signs of pain as he doubled the Capitals' lead nearly 12 minutes later. Kuznetsov took advantage of a Golden Knights' turnover and carried the puck down the ice before firing a wrister under the arm of Marc-Andre Fleury.

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Fleury, who made 23 saves on the night, kept his team in the game with some high-quality saves and got some help from the goalpost. TJ Oshie rang the pipe behind Fleury on two separate occasions, the latter of which came moments before Vegas cut the deficit in half in the third period.

Braden Holtby made a terrible pass from behind his own net, gifting the Golden Knights a goal and a lifeline less than four minutes into the final frame. 

Holtby, who registered 21 saves in the win, recovered from the mistake and soaked up Vegas' late pressure until Devante Smith-Pelly's goal gave the Caps some breathing room with just over six minutes remaining.

The best-of-seven series will remain in Washington for Game 4 on Monday (8:00 p.m. ET). 

MORE:  Watch the Stanley Cup Final on fuboTV (7-day free trial)

Here's how it went down as Sporting News provided live updates of Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final. (All times Eastern)

Game 3 result: Capitals 3, Golden Knights 1

Shots: Capitals 26, Golden Knights 22

Third period

11:02 p.m. —  That's it! The Washington Capitals take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final with a 3-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights.

10:59 p.m. —  Wilson fires a shot at the empty net from the far blueline, but misses wide for an icing.

10:57 p.m. —  Fleury heads to the bench for an extra attacker with 2:40 remaining in regulation.

10:47 p.m. — Goal Washington!  Devante Smith-Pelly restores the Capitals' two-goal lead. Jay Beagle takes the puck off Theodore in the corner and finds Smith-Pelly, who waits a half-second before beating Fleury over the glove.  Capitals 3-1, 6:07 remaining in the period.

10:42 p.m. —  Great work by Cody Eakin as he holds the puck in the Capitals' zone for nearly 30 seconds of the man-advantage. Vegas kills off the penalty without allowing significant chances.

10:36 p.m. —  The Capitals will try to get that goal back on the power play as Engelland trips Backstrom behind the Vegas net. On further review, it looks like Stephenson's stick got caught in his teammate's skates, but nonetheless Washington's power play will go to work for the fourth time tonight.

10:30 p.m. —  Goal Vegas! From behind his own net, Braden Holtby tries to backhand the puck down the middle of the ice and Bellmare gets a piece of the pass. The puck deflects to Tomas Nosek, who fires it into an essentially empty net. Game on!  Capitals 2-1, 16:31 remaining in the period.

10:27 p.m. —  Off the pipe! The Capitals have a short power play and nearly take advantage of it as Oshie rings a shot off the post. We are now back to even strength action.

10:25 p.m. —  The puck is dropped for the start of the third period. Both teams will begin with four skaters apiece as they each have carryover penalties from the second. 

Second period: Capitals 2, Golden Knights 0

Shots: Capitals 21, Golden Knights 13

10:06 p.m. —  That's the end of two periods of play at Capital One Arena. Evgeny Kuznetsov has given Washington a 2-0 lead with 20 minutes to play.

10:04 p.m. —  Great defensive play by Niskanen on the penalty kill. The Capitals defenseman chips the puck out of the zone, then outhustles Theodore to it and is in on Fleury, until the netminder trips him up to save a goal. We'll skate 4-on-4 to end the frame. 

10:02 p.m. —  Theodore makes a nifty move around Smith-Pelly, who takes him out of the play with a slide. The Golden Knights will head back to the power play with 1:26 to play in the period. They're 0-1 on the man-advantage tonight.

9:58 p.m. —  Carlson fires a cross-ice pass to Vrana, who plays the puck to Kuznetsov in between a pair of Golden Knights defensemen. The goalscorer fires a shot that Fleury gets a glove on and then gathers. Later in the shift, Fleury robs Tom Wilson with a sliding glove save. He's single-handedly keeping Vegas in this game as we reach the final three minutes of the second.

9:49 p.m. — Goal Washington!  The Golden Knights turn the puck over in the offensive zone, giving the Capitals a 3-on-1 rush. Kuznetsov decides to go alone and fires a shot under Fleury's arm into the back of the net.  2-0 Capitals, 7:10 remaining in the period.

9:47 p.m. —  The Capitals manage two shots and hit the post on the power play, but the Golden Knights manage to kill the penalty.

9:42 p.m. —  Off the pipe! Oshie tips a point shot that rings the post and then hits Fleury's mask before being cleared to safety. Seconds later, the Golden Knights goaltender robs Ovechkin from his favorite spot with the glove.

9:41 p.m. —  Washington will get its second power play of the night after Haula is whistled for hooking Kempny.

9:36 p.m. —  Brooks Orpik is a little bit shaken up after taking a big hit from James Neal. He remains on the bench for now and it looks like he will continue.

9:34 p.m. —  Nearly for Vegas! Jonathan Marchessault puts it through the legs of Orlov and fires a shot that Holtby manages to get a glove on.

9:30 p.m. —  End to end stuff! Orpik turns the puck over in his own zone and Vegas nearly takes advantage. The Golden Knights work the puck around to Ryan Reaves, who whiffs on a shot from in front. The Capitals come back the other way, but Lars Eller fires a shot high and wide on a 3-on-1 break.

9:24 p.m. —  That's Ovechkin's 14th goal of the postseason, matching a Capitals' postseason record for a single playoff.

9:22 p.m. — Goal Washington!  Alex Ovechkin gives the Capitals the lead. Fleury does his best to deny John Carlson with a diving stop, but then he's out of position as the Capitals keep the pressure on. The puck finds its way to Ovechkin, who finds the back of the net with a diving backhand effort.

9:21 p.m. —  The puck is dropped for the start of the second period.

First period: Capitals 0, Golden Knights 0

Shots: Capitals 7, Golden Knights 6

9:02 p.m. —  For the first time in the series, the Capitals and Golden Knights have played a scoreless first period. Washington has a slight edge in shots and has won 13 of 18 faceoffs thus far, but that hasn't translated onto the scoreboard.

8:56 p.m. —  Former Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt fires a shot from the point that is blocked in the slot by Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin has now blocked a shot in every game this series.

8:50 p.m. —  Off the pipe! The Golden Knights come back with some offensive zone time and Marchessault fires a low effort off Holtby's left post. We're still scoreless as we approach the five-minute mark of the period.

8:48 p.m. —  Oshie forces a save out of Fleury and then Ovechkin fires a hard shot off the glass, but the Golden Knights clear the zone a couple of times and complete the kill.

8:44 p.m. —  In a rare foray into the offensive zone, Vegas ends up with a 2-on-1 break, but Machessault's pass just evades the stick of Smith. Later in the shift, Smith takes a holding penalty, sending Washington to the power play for the first time tonight. 

8:40 p.m. —  Kuznetsov drops a pass off for Ovechkin, who fires a shot off Fleury's blocker. The Capitals reset and Ovechkin nearly finds Tom Wilson on a backdoor play, but he can't control the pass. No end product yet, but Washington's top line is off to a strong start.

8:36 p.m. —  Reilly Smith gets a good look late in the power play, but Holtby makes a chest save and the Capitals kill off the penalty.

8:31 p.m. — Goal waved off!  Stephenson fires a shot from the circle that finds its way past Fleury, who was bumped in the head by Devante Smith-Pelly. The Capitals forward will head to the box for goaltender interference. It's a break for Vegas, but there was definitely contact on the play. The Golden Knights will have the first power play of the night.

8:26 p.m. —  Big save by Marc-Andre Fleury! Evgeny Kuznetsov feathers a pass across to Alex Ovechkin, who is denied from in close by the Golden Knights goaltender. Fleury needed to be alert there to shut down the 2-on-1 break for the Capitals. 

8:25 p.m. —  The puck is dropped and we are underway in Game 3!

Pregame

8:20 p.m. —  Capitals' season ticketholder and Wheel of Fortune co-host Pat Sajak is on the ice to announce the starting lineups. He slips up on Brayden McNabb's introduction, calling him "Brandon."  

8:10 p.m. —  Some perspective ahead of tonight's contest... Washington has waited 20 years for the Capitals to host another Stanley Cup Final, while the Golden Knights are only 100 games old.

8:00 p.m. —  Michal Kempny is going to play after taking a spill in pregame warmups. The Capitals' defenseman managed to get back out onto the ice for a brief skate before the teams headed back into the locker room.

7:55 p.m. —  Now that we know the Capitals' lineup (barring a Kempny update), here is tonight's lineup for the visiting Golden Knights:

7:50 p.m. —  This should end any question marks about Evgeny Kuznetsov. The Capitals say that their top-line center is going to play tonight in Game 3.

7:45 p.m. —  The teams have taken the ice for pregame warmups. Evgeny Kuznetsov is out there for the Capitals and is expected to play barring a setback.

In another development, Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny just left the ice early after taking a fall in warmups. We'll monitor his status as we get closer to puck drop.

Noon —  A little bit of gamesmanship from Jonathan Marchessault at Vegas' morning skate. The Golden Knights forward goes for a hot lap a la Alex Ovechkin. Marchessault definitely seems loose heading into tonight's pivotal Game 3.

Good news for the Capitals as Evgeny Kuznetsov is a full participant in Washington's morning skate. Kuznetsov centers the top line in-between Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson.

 

John Arlia