Tomas Nosek scored two goals, including what proved to be the game-winner with 10:16 remaining in the third period, to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a wild 6-4 victory over the Washington Capitals in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Monday night.
Nosek, who had just 15 points and seven goals in 67 games during the regular season, scored his second and third goals of the playoffs. Reilly Smith had a goal and an assist and William Karlsson, Ryan Reaves and Colin Miller also scored goals for Vegas, who improved to 13-3 in the playoffs, and 7-1 at home. Deryk Engelland added two assists. Marc-Andre Fleury had 24 saves to pick up his 75th career playoff victory, just two behind Mike Vernon for seventh on the all-time list.
After a lengthy pregame ceremony that featured player introductions by longtime boxing ring announcer Michael “Let’s Get Ready to Rumble” Buffer, Vegas opened the scoring at the 7:15 mark when Miller rifled a shot from the right point just inside the right post, ending a 166:42 scoreless string by Holtby. But Washington rebounded to take a 2-1 lead with two goals in the span of 42 seconds. Brett Connolly, parked in the slot with his back to the net, tied it with a between-the-legs deflection of a Michal Kempny shot from the left point that also ricocheted off the skate of Miller inside the left post. Niklas Backstrom followed with his fifth goal of the playoffs into the right side of the net off a wraparound pass from Oshie.
It marked the first time the Golden Knights trailed at home in regulation in the playoffs, but it didn’t last long, as Karlsson made it 2-2 less than three minutes later, putting in a shot from the right side of the net off Holtby’s shoulder during a goal-mouth scrum.
Smith, who garnered his 15th assist of the playoffs on Karlsson’s goal, then gave Vegas a 3-2 lead early in the second period when he put in a pass from behind the net by Engelland into the right side of the cage. Carlson, left alone in the slot, tied the game for the third time at the 8:29 mark off a slick no-look pass from Oshie from the right circle. It was the 17th playoff goal of Carlson’s career, breaking a tie with Kevin Hatcher for most playoff goals by a defenseman in Capitals’ history.
Wilson put the Capitals back in front, 4-3, at 1:10 of the third period when he redirected a shot by Alex Ovechkin past Fleury, who lost sight of the puck after it went between his pads and then knocked it in with the back of his left skate. But Vegas regained the lead with a pair of goals by its fourth line, the first by Reaves when Kempny failed to clear the puck by the right side of the net, and the second by Nosek, who one-timed a crossing pass from defenseman Shea Theodore into the right corner of the net.
Nosek clinched it with an empty-netter with 2.7 seconds remaining.
Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is on Wednesday night in Las Vegas.
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