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In pockets of Game 2 in the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday night, the Golden Knights were surprisingly outworked, outbattled and outhustled in losing 3-2 to the Washington Capitals. Game 3 is Saturday night in Washington and Vegas is going to need to up the energy level even further in a frantic series with scoring chances galore.
Vegas outshot the Capitals 39-26, but the hustle stats in Game 2 went to Washington, which handed the expansion club just its second home loss of the postseason. Washington had 18 blocked shots to eight for Vegas, helping goaltender Braden Holtby turn things around. He allowed five goals in the opener but was sublime in Game 2 as he made 37 saves – none bigger than stopping Alex Tuch with the paddle of his stick in a sprawling move with just 1:59 left.
Washington also showed its mettle on the penalty kill, limiting the Golden Knights to a single goal in four attempts – including a 5-on-3 on the third period.
”You’ve got to try and capitalize on those,” Vegas defenseman Luca Sbisa said. ”It’s just one of those games, even at the end, with Tuchy having that chance. Most of times it goes in. It’s just one of those games.”
And while Washington outhit the Golden Knights, 46-39, it was some of Vegas’ bigger hits that ignited the Capitals in the second period.
Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb hammered Washington’s first-line forward Evgeny Kuznetsov, sending him to the dressing room with a little more than five minutes left in the first period. He didn’t return.
Washington coach Barry Trotz didn’t provide an update on his star afterward, but said it was the key moment in the game for his team.
”It galvanized us as a group, I think it might be a turning point for us,” Trotz said.
With Kuznetsov out Tyler Ennis Jersey , Trotz added Nicklas Backstrom to his top line with Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson. And 5:38 into the second period, with the game tied at 1-all and the Capitals on a power play, Ovechkin scored his first career Stanley Cup Final goal to give the Capitals the lead.
”I think they got energy from that, I think they were pissed off, that’s how sports go,” Vegas forward Erik Haula said. ”You see one of your best players go down and you’re pissed off, that’s part of it. It’s no excuse for us. Bottom line is we were right in that game I think, it was right there for us to grab, we just came short.”
Vegas unraveled and gave up more uncharacteristic chances in front of Marc-Andre Fleury, who has yet to lose consecutive games this postseason. The Golden Knights also had 12 turnovers compared to Washington’s four.
”We shot ourselves in the foot a few times with some turnovers,” Golden Knights defenseman Nate Schmidt said. ”At the end of the day you really have got to see where your game is at. If you look at it as a whole, we played really well for parts of the first period and we got caught up in the transition game in the second period – and that’s not the game we want to play.”
Instead, Washington fed off the momentum and dictated the tempo, and a little less than four minutes after Ovechkin scored, Brooks Orpik broke a 220-game goal drought with the eventual game winner. It was his first goal since Feb. 26, 2016.
”I haven’t yelled that loud for someone to score a goal since Ovi scored one of his milestones Kyle Connor Jersey ,” Washington forward T.J. Oshie said.
Though the Golden Knights outshot Washington 15-6 in the third period, the Capitals skated faster, competed better, worked harder and played smarter to steal home-ice advantage with their first-ever Final win. The Capitals return to Capital One Arena, where they have just a 4-5 record in the postseason. Vegas is 6-2 on the road in the playoffs.
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More Stanley Cup coverage: The Tennessee Titans seem confident that their young wide receivers will quickly make an impact this year.
Injuries limited Corey Davis in his rookie year last season and Tajae Sharpe missed his second consecutive season after re-injuring his right foot . Taywan Taylor, the third-round pick a year ago, had his production fall off after a promising start. Rishard Matthews is the lone true veteran going into his seventh NFL season.
So far, the Titans have added only a pair of veteran receivers that have a combined 59 NFL catches: Michael Campanaro and Nick Williams.
”After your rookie year, you’ve just got to go,” first-year Titans coach Mike Vrabel said. ”We’re counting on Corey, we’re counting on Taywan, we’re counting on Tajae and all of the guys.”
A vote of confidence or simply expectations, Davis said it doesn’t matter to the receivers.
”We’re going to come out here, and we’re going to do our job to the best of our ability,” Davis said. ”Rishard’s a competitor, Tajae Brent Burns Jersey , Taywan, we’re all going to come out here and compete day in and day out.”
Titans controlling owner Amy Adams Strunk fired coach Mike Mularkey despite the franchise winning its first playoff game in 14 years. Tennessee replaced him with Vrabel , who hired Matt LaFleur from the Los Angeles Rams as his offensive coordinator. The primary reason for the moves were to get more out of quarterback Marcus Mariota and the Titans’ offense, which ranked 23rd in the NFL averaging only 224.4 yards passing per game.
Eric Decker, who led the receivers with 54 catches last season, wasn’t brought back. Of the returnees, Matthews has been the team’s top receiver since signing as a free agent in 2016. Sharpe has the most production of the other receivers after starting 10 of 16 games as a rookie with 41 catches for 522 yards.
”We’re all starting with clean slates,” Sharpe said. ”The new coaching staff, they weren’t with us last year, so we all just have to prove ourselves. We just want to come back out here and compete and get one percent better every day and just keep working.”
The Titans’ biggest hope for offensive improvement rests on Davis developing into the No. 1 receiver he was drafted to be. The 6-foot-3, 209-pound Davis struggled with injuries as a rookie with offseason ankle surgery limiting him until the final week of the team’s offseason program, then he hurt a hamstring a week into training camp. That sidelined him for five games , and Davis finished with 34 catches for 375 yards starting nine of 11 games.
He showed flashes of potential but didn’t catch his first touchdown pass until the postseason. That was a one-handed grab for his first TD in the Titans’ divisional loss at New England, and he added his second in the fourth quarter of the rout.
”It’s a lot of injuries, up and down, but this year’s going to be different http://www.officialblues.com/authentic-adidas-dmitrij-jaskin-jersey ,” Davis said. ”Just got to stay healthy and go out and ball.”
Fully healthy, Davis, Matthews, Sharpe and Taylor spent time working out with Mariota in March. Even while learning a new offense, Davis said he believes he’s ready to take advantage of a full offseason and be Tennessee’s No. 1 receiver. The game has slowed down for Davis, and now he’s busy building his timing with the quarterback he calls Ocho.
Mariota said the second year for any player in the NFL is almost like a sigh of relief.
”You understand the situation, you understand what’s expected of you,” Mariota said. ”Everything’s not brand new, so I mean I can’t speak for him. But I think as you get older and as you continue to build up your years, the surroundings, the organization, everything just feels a little more comfortable.”
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