Fourth line leads Golden Knights to thrilling Game 1 win over Capitals

Ten goals, four lead changes and a whole lot of Vegas flavour. On and off the ice, the first ever Stanley Cup Final game in Sin City was just about as wild as you’d expect.

And when the dust finally settled on the back-and-forth affair it was a pair of wild cards who led the Golden Knights to a 6-4 victory in Game 1 to keep the party going in Sin City.

Just as it was in Game 5 against the Jets last round, it was the Golden Knights’ fourth line coming up large on Monday. The trio of Ryan Reaves, Tomas Nosek and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare were on the ice for the game-tying and winning goals, while Nosek notched the empty-net insurance marker with seconds remaining.

Nosek and Reaves combined for three goals and six shots on the night.

Reaves, who was acquired from the Penguins in February, was maybe the best player on either team and was especially a force in the third period when he pulled the Golden Knights even just 90 seconds after Tom Wilson gave Washington the lead. Reaves then made an exceptional play on the winner when he lifted the stick of Capitals defenceman Michal Kempny which allowed a usually-blockable pass to get through to Nosek at the top of the crease.

The feed from Shea Theodore was a thing of beauty, too.

Colin Miller, Reilly Smith and William Karlsson added tallies for Vegas, while Brett Connolly, Nicklas Backstrom, John Carlson and Wilson buried for the Capitals. Alex Ovechkin was held to one assist and two shots on goal in the first Cup final game of his career.

Marc-Andre Fleury, who has been the MVP of the entire playoffs so far, didn’t have his best outing, allowing four goals on 28 shots (.857) while visibly fighting the puck a little bit and getting caught off his post and out of position several times throughout the night. An encouraging sign for the Golden Knights though, as they showed they can win a high-scoring, back and forth affair without their goaltender stealing the show. And, from the other side, it has to be a kick in the teeth for the Caps to put four goals past Fleury and still lose.

Finally, what would a Capitals playoff series be without the polarizing presence of Wilson who, aside from scoring, was in the spotlight again for the wrong reasons after delivering a late, blind-side hit on Jonathan Marchessault. Wilson wasn’t penalized for the play even after a lengthy huddle by the officials, but given his history and the lateness of the hit, the NHL will likely take a good look at Wilson’s run and it wouldn’t be a total shocker to see him disciplined, in some way, for the second time this postseason.

Marchessault was sent to the quiet room to be examined for a concussion after the hit, but returned to the ice moments later and appears to have avoided serious injury.

Overall, the Capitals controlled possession in the offensive zone for 6:48 compared to Vegas’ 4:18 and out-chanced the Golden Knights 27-22 in Game 1, while VGK had the edge in slot shots (15-12), shots on goal (34-28) and, of course, where it really counts — on the scoreboard.

Game 2 goes Wednesday at T-Mobile Arena.

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