Caps play in Stanley Cup final against the expansion Knights tonight

by Matt Bachota · May 28, 2018

5-28 Washington at Vegas Game 1

TV: 8pm NBC

This is the Vegas Golden Knights first ever Stanley Cup Finals appearance in their expansion season. The Capitals on the other hand are making their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance in twenty seasons! This finals is, and has been the most epic story line in quite possibly all of NHL history!

Vegas defeated Winnipeg 4 games to 1

Vegas top stars to watch:

Jon Marchessault- 8 goals, 10 assists

Reilly Smith- 2 goals, 14 assists

William Karlsson- 6 goals, 7 assists

Alex Tuch- 6 goals, 3 assists

Shea Theodore- 2 goals, 5 assists

Nate Schmidt- 2 goals, 4 assists

Marc-Andre Fluery- has played all 15 post season games so far, 12-3 record, .947 save percentage, a 1.83 goals against average. 4 playoff shut outs in 2018.

The Golden Knights compiled the best record of any team this postseason with 12 victories in 15 games. (Game 1 on Monday will be their first game in eight days.) They swept an experienced Los Angeles Kings team in the first round, allowing only three goals in the series. They bounced a formidable San Jose squad from the second round in six games. In the conference finals, they started the series with a loss at Winnipeg, then took four straight from the Jets, who had not lost four consecutive games all season.

Washington defeated Tampa Bay 4 games to 3

Capitals top stars to watch:

Alex Ovechkin- 12 goals, 10 assists

Evegeny Kuznetsov- 11 goals, 13 assists

Nicklas Backstrom- 4 goals, 12 assists

TJ Oshie- 7 goals, 8 assists

John Carlson- 3 goals, 13 assists

Tom Wilson- 3 goals, 9 assists, 23 PIMS

Braden Holtby- “Holtbeast”, assist, 12-6 record, .924 save percentage, 2.04 goals against average, 2 shut outs (games 6-7 of ECF)

The Capitals are Metropolitan Division winners and now the Eastern Conference Champions. Washington (49-26-7, 105 points) escaped disaster in the first round, losing Games 1 and 2 at home before seizing four straight from the Columbus Blue Jackets. In the second round, the Capitals then defeated their rival the Pittsburgh Penguins. The six-game series was capped by an overtime goal by center Evgeny Kuznetsov, who leads the playoffs in points, with 24. Washington won two games on the road to start the conference finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the best team in the East, then lost three consecutive games, including two at home. The Capitals, who have played four more games than Vegas, finished the conference finals with two shutouts, heavy checking and nearly eight periods without giving up a goal.