Leading up to Ovechkin

Prior to when Ovechkin scored in the second period, John Carlson and Evgeny Kuznetsov tried scoring. Consequently, their attempts were stopped by goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, deflecting Carlson and Kuznetsov’s attempts from the high and low slot respectively.

Ovi ties record with opening goal

After the first period, both teams were goal-less. In the second period, Alex Ovechkin gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 1:10 in the second period. The goal was scored on Ovechkin’s backhand while falling over Brayden McNabb of the Vegas Golden Knights, occurring at the bottom of the left circle. With this goal, Ovechkin has 14 goals in the playoffs. Most noteworthy is that John Druce also scored 14 goals for the Capitals in the 1990 playoffs.

Later, Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his 12th goal in the playoffs, giving the Capitals a 2-0 lead at 12:50 in the second period. This goal was also the last of the second period.

Final Period

Tomas Nosek brought the game to 2-1 at 3:29 in the third period, scoring off a giveaway by Washington goalie Braden Holtby. However, Devante Smith-Pelly gave Washington a 3-1 lead at 13:53 of the third period with a goal on a glove-side shot. Smith-Pelly’s goal was insurance to helpbthe Caps take the series lead.