The Capitals are two wins away from a Stanley Cup, thanks in part to a gutsy outing by Evgeny Kuznetsov. Here are the key takeaways looking ahead to Game 4.
WASHINGTON — Alex Ovechkin is like a living emoji for the Stanley Cup Final. One look at him and you can immediately tell the emotional comportment of the Capitals or the state of the game.
Like, for example, his delirious leaping celebration when the Capitals made it 2-0 en route to their 3-1 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at home Saturday night in Game 3, to take a 2-1 series lead.
“He’s on another level,” said teammate John Carlson . “Everyone kind of reacts to stuff differently and he’s always been that brash celebrator. It’s great to see and he’s as engaged as anyone could ever be, I think. It shows in his game and it shows in the effect that it has on the rest of us.”
Coach Barry Trotz said that Ovechkin set the tone over the last few games for Washington, including Game 3, where he scored the first goal for the Capitals. “He’s very passionate, as everyone knows. It was the right thing that in our first playoff game at home in the Final, that Alex would score the first goal,” he said.
Here are five other things we learned from Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The injury suffered by Evgeny Kuznetsov that knocked him out of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final may have been greatly overstated, or at least over-speculated. Coach Barry Trotz downplayed the severity of whatever ailed the center after taking a Brayden McNabb check in the first period and leaving the game. Kuznetsov said he felt fine by Saturday morning.
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“I felt like I could help the team. It seemed to work out pretty well for us,” he said.
Boy, did it. He assisted on Alex Ovechkin’s second-period goal and then scored the eventual game-winner on an odd-man break with Jay Beagle at 12:50 of the second.
“That shot is not my strong side,” he said with a laugh after the 3-1 Capitals win. “But in that situation, we got a 2-on-1. I look for the Beegs… when you have a chance to feed those guys, the ones that play the PK a lot and block a lot of shots, you want to make that pass for him, but he wasn’t open that time. And you have to shoot.”
It was Beagle who passed to Kuznetsov to start the play. When you give the playoffs’ leading scorer the puck, is it as good as a goal?
“It’s not as good as a goal, but I want it out of my hands when it’s me and him, that’s for sure,” said Beagle with a laugh.
Beagle later assisted on Devante Smith-Pelly ‘s clinching goal after a misplay by Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore .
But it was Kuznetsov that was the Capitals’ offensive star in Game 3. “He’s been great all season, for the last couple seasons, really. One of the most dynamic players and can take over the league if he wants to, and I think he’s that talented and sees the game better than anyone else,” said defenseman John Carlson.
John Carlson details the greatness of Evgeny Kuznetsov after a stellar performance in Game 3.
The play of defenseman Shea Theodore was certainly problematic. This of course comes with the caveat that the 22-year-old had a terrific season for the Golden Knights, and has been mostly strong these playoffs. But he wasn’t too sharp in Game 2 and in Game 3, the former Anaheim Duck was involved in a series of blunders. From a broken stick that led to the Evgeny Kuznetsov goal — “that’s one I’d like to have back,” Theodore said — to a whiffed clearing attempt that led to a turnover and directly set up Smith-Pelly’s tally, Theodore said: “I just have to be much better than I was,” and we agree.
It appeared Gerard Gallant skipped Theodore’s next shift after the Smith-Pelly goal. When asked if he received an explanation, Theodore said: “Yeah, I’m not sure. I’m not sure.” Kudos to Theodore for facing the media after a troubling night.
Here’s what his defensive partner, Deryk Engelland said he’ll tell the youngster: “Turn the page. It’s not a big deal. It’s one game and we need him at his best tomorrow. Next game.”
Braden Holtby misplayed the puck. Tomas Nosek scored into a gaping net. The lead was cut to 2-1 early in the third period.
This was the kind of deflating “uh-oh” moment that, in previous postseasons, would have drilled under the skin of the Washington Capitals and spread through them like a toxin of doubt. The kind of play that would have rendered the arena silent, followed by palpable tension.
But the Capitals have been saying for weeks that this group is different. Their response to that potential momentum swing was another indication.
“We’ve been in a lot of moments in the last 10 years. Not as many good ones as we’d like. I think everybody recognizes that if you do the right things and keep pounding the rock, there’s a lot of pride in this dressing room and there’s a lot of pride in this D. C. area,” said Trotz. “In the past failures, you would feel a lot of anxiety, even before we started the playoffs. But I think we’ve gotten past that as a group. We gotten past that, hopefully, as a community.”
Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny suffered one of the worst injuries of the game … before the game.
