After having to wait eight days, The Las Vegas Golden Knights did not disappoint the home crowd in Game 1, taking the game and the series lead to open the 2018 Stanley Cup Final.
The Golden Knights struck first in the opening period at the 12:45 mark when Colin Miller rifled a shot past Braden Holtby for a 1-0 lead, taking advantage of a Washington penalty.
The building is loud and the shot is heavy. The @GoldenKnights are on the board first. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/W3TIiBnyUv
— NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2018
It wasn’t long before the Caps evened up the score when Brett Connolly found the back of the net to tie the game, and Washington followed by taking the lead just 42 seconds later when Nicklas Backstrom snuck one past Marc Andre-Fleury for the 2-1 advantage.
Caps take the 2-1 lead. Fantastic work by Oshie and Backstrom down low. pic.twitter.com/jRwzjYUYYd
— Ryan Quigley (@RP_Quigs) May 29, 2018
Before the end of the first Vegas evened up the scoreboard when William Karlsson bounced one off the Capitals goalie at the 18:19 mark, tying the game 2-2.
?: Karlsson
?: Smith
?: Engelland pic.twitter.com/VDfZTgWU0B— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 29, 2018
Only a few minutes into period two, Reilly Smith regained the lead for the Golden Knights when a Deryk Engelland shot rebounded into his path that he fired into the net for the 3-2 Vegas lead.
Doc on the call, Vegas on the celebration. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/CFAR5XcvBK
— NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2018
Washington wasn’t about to give up though, and tied the game when T.J. Oshie delivered a terrific pass to John Carlson who fired into an open net after Fleury had been baited into going the opposite direction.
John Carlson with the give, then the go. @JohnCarlson74 with the beauty. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/husWF9EZyk
— NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2018
Just over a minute into the third period the Caps regained the lead when Tom Wilson found the back of the net for a 4-3 lead, quieting the crowd momentarily.
I regret to inform you that Tom Wilson has scored a goal, which means the Golden Knights have lost the Stanley Cup Final by default. pic.twitter.com/TbAWWZDR6x
— Ryan Quigley (@RP_Quigs) May 29, 2018
Vegas tied the game again at the 17:19 mark of the final period when Ryan Reaves snuck one past Braden Holtby.
GOAL. Ryan Reaves scores his second in as many games to tie the game! pic.twitter.com/t0nZoxHk1q
— Ryan Quigley (@RP_Quigs) May 29, 2018
Then just about halfway through the period, the Golden Knights regained the lead again, via Tomas Nosek receiving a perfect pass from Shea Theodore for a score and a 5-4 lead for Vegas.
Nosek knows best. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/8gdWoAWGfK
— NHL (@NHL) May 29, 2018
After Washington failed to tie the game they pulled goalie Braden Holtby with two minutes to go in favor of a sixth attacking player. After no success, Nosek was able to score on an empty net with 2.7 seconds left, sealing a 6-4 win for Vegas in Game 1.
Nosek led the way for the Golden Knights with the two goals while Reilly Smith added a goal and assist. After a high scoring affair in Game 1, both teams will look to their defense to make more of an impact on the series moving forward.
Game 2 is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m. MT and can be seen on NBC Sports Network.
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