LAS VEGAS – Through three rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs leading to the Final this year, the Vegas Golden Knights were rarely challenged ; at least not like they were challenged Monday night in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
But in the end, it was the same story as the Knights took punches and delivered in kind in a 6-4 win for a 1-0 series lead over the Washington Capitals.
Vegas’ fourth line did the heavy lifting on the night with Ryan Reaves tying the game early in the third and Tomas Nosek striking for the game-winner late and adding an empty net goal.
“It’s great when you see those guys get rewarded,” Vegas coach Gerard Gallant said. “They’re a big part of our group. It’s nice to see those guys chip in with some goals. They got three huge goals for us tonight in the third period.”
Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves in the win in the first difficult game for him in the post season.
Colin Miller, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith also had strikes in the Vegas win.
The game went back and forth with four lead changes with neither team willing to give an inch.
“A lot of times you feel like the game is going in one direction, and then they score and we score,” Vegas defenseman Nate Schmidt said. “A lot of emotion. You’ve just got to make sure you keep it in check. It was a pretty emotional game for everybody.
“The fans got their money’s worth tonight.”
Brett Connolly, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson and Tom Wilson scored for the Caps.
“I think as a whole we can play a lot better, which is exciting to me,” Washington head coach Barry Trotz said. “I know we have another level in our game. It’s got to be our whole roster.”
The Caps need the same effort Wednesday in Game 2 to avoid an 0-2 hole but need to hold the entire Vegas lineup in check not just the first lines.
“I don’t think we had a game like that all playoffs, both teams answering the bell each time the other scored. I thought we did a great job of answering again. That’s something we did well all playoffs,” Vegas’ Nate Schmidt said.
[WATCH: All Capitals vs. Golden Knights highlights | Complete Golden Knights vs. Capitals series coverage]
Braden Holtby made 28 saves in the loss.
“We didn’t play our best game. I think we didn’t execute the puck in the neutral zone at some points. We’re going to watch the video. We’re going to watch the highlights and we’re going to correct our mistakes. We’re going to do better,” the Caps’ Alex Ovechkin said.
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