Throughout their first three playoff series
Sherrick McManis Jersey , the Vegas Golden Knights were defined by smart decisions and dazzling plays.
In the Stanley Cup Final, their mistakes have drawn most of the attention.
Vegas made too many errors in its own end of the ice and scored just one gift-wrapped goal Saturday night in a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, who
never trailed in taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.
There were missed assignments, botched passes and only 22 shots on goal. The Golden Knights hardly looked like the team that steamrolled its way to the
Western Conference championship with a 12-3 record.
After opening the Final with a 6-4 victory, Vegas lost Game 2 when Alex Tuch failed to convert a wonderful scoring chance in the waning minutes. There was
more trouble coming as the series arrived in Washington.
On Saturday night, after the Golden Knights closed to 2-1 early in the third period, the Capitals restored the two-goal cushion when Jay Beagle outworked
Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore in the corner, gained possession of the puck and
sent a centering pass that Devante Smith-Pelly slammed into the net at
13:53.
”It didn’t go his way tonight,” left wing David Perron said of Theodore. ”You just have to move forward and turn the page.”
Ditto for the rest of the Golden Knights, who now trail in a playoff series after three games for the first time.
”It’s all on us right now
Mason Foster Jersey ,” Deryk Engelland said. ”We’ve just got to tighten it up and get going on the ice.”
After becoming only the third NHL team to win multiple playoff series in its inaugural season, Vegas charged into the Final looking to extend its
unprecedented run of success.
It started well in Game 1, and there seemed no reason to panic after the subsequent 3-2 defeat. But the Golden Knights’ downturn continued Saturday
night, when they too often let goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury contend for himself
and failed to mount much of a threat against Braden Holtby on the other end.
In one telling sequence, Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring early in the second period as he was falling over Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb. It happened only
after Fleury slid from side to side, frantically making three saves in the
sequence before Ovechkin connected.
”It’s a team game,” said Fleury, who had 23 saves. ”I just try to do my job the best I can.”
Vegas has lost two straight for the first time since early April, when it dropped the final two meaningless games of the regular season. The Golden
Knights are struggling on both ends of the ice, and at this point they can’t
explain why.
”We didn’t play good in the neutral zone
Geoff Swaim Jersey , turned a lot of pucks over and fed their offense,” said Tomas Nosek, who scored Vegas’ only goal. ”Also, the back-check was not good
enough.”
Vegas still has a chance to become the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. But when the Final is tied at one game apiece, the winner of Game 3
ultimately has gone on to capture the Cup 78 percent of the time (21 of 27)
since the series went to the best-of-seven format in 1939.
The only deficit the Golden Knights faced before this was in the Western Conference finals, when they lost the opener to Winnipeg before rattling off
four straight wins.
”Tonight it was a close hockey game,” coach Gerard Gallant said. ”It was 2-1 late in the (third) period, and then that unfortunate turnover goal.”
To be fair, the Golden Knights’ goal came in similar fashion. After Holtby did a poor job of clearing the puck from behind the Capitals net, Nosek easily
scored to slice Washington’s lead to 2-1 at 3:29 of the third period.
But Vegas had already dug a hole that was too deep.
”They came out in the first period and set the tone
Phillip Gaines Jersey ,” Gallant said. ”We were chasing them from behind again tonight.”
That is the predicament Vegas now faces in the series, with Game 4 on Monday night.
”We’ve got to find a way to bounce back and put this behind us,” Perron said.
—
More Stanley Cup coverage:
Philadelphia Phillies right-hander Nick Pivetta is struggling so far in June. He will try to turn his month around against the slumping St. Louis
Cardinals.
The Phillies and Cardinals open a three-game set on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park.
The teams are meeting for the second time in a month after splitting a four-game set in May at Busch Stadium.
Pivetta (4-6, 4.25 ERA) has an 8.36 ERA and opponents are hitting .352 with a .940 OPS against him through three June starts. The 25-year-old had a 3.26 ERA
and .230 batting average against during his first 11 starts of the season.
Pivetta’s hardships were evident in his last start.
Facing the Colorado Rockies, he allowed six runs, eight hits and three walks in five innings of a 7-2 loss on Wednesday. It was the fourth straight start in
which Pivetta took a loss.
“I think that his composure hasn’t been perfect, but he’s a young, developing pitcher,” Phillies manager Gabe Kapler told MLB.com after Pivetta’s start. “He’s
going to have his bumps. He’s going to have hiccups along the way. I think this
is just an indication of that.”
Pivetta did not pitch against the Cardinals when the Phillies faced them last month, but he saw St. Louis twice last year. Pivetta allowed seven earned runs
and struck out 12 in 11 innings during those starts.
Pivetta will be facing a Cardinals team that posted a 5-0 victory over the Chicago Cubs on Sunday night but still has lost five times in its last seven
games. The Cardinals (37-32) enter the series four games behind the first-place
Milwaukee Brewers in the National League Central.
Right-hander Miles Mikolas (7-2
Sean Taylor Jersey , 2.43) will be on the mound in the series opener. Mikolas, who spent the last three seasons pitching in Japan, leads the Cardinals
with an 0.96 WHIP and his 2.43 ERA is the best in their rotation.
The Cardinals are 9-4 in Mikolas’ starts, but they lost in his last outing. He gave up three runs and six hits in six innings against the San Diego Padres
in a 4-2 loss on Tuesday.
“He was throwing the ball well, and he came back and threw the ball well (after a three-run inning),” Cardinals manager Mike Matheny told reporters after
Mikolas’ last start. “He’s on a nice roll.”
The Phillies are looking for their third series victory in a row. They are returning home for three games against the Cardinals after taking two of three
against the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend
Philadelphia was a 10-9 winner over Milwaukee on Sunday as Maikel Franco went 2-for-3 with a home run and four RBIs. The third baseman was making just his
second start since June 6 and homered for the first time since May 26.
“Mikey has shown an incredible attitude recently,” Kapler said when he met with reporters after the victory. “He’s come to the ballpark and prepared, even
when he has not been in the lineup.”
Rhys Hoskins also homered and is batting .333 (10-for-30) with four homers and 11 RBIs since returning from a broken jaw.
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