Golden Knights vs. Capitals live stream, Game 1: TV schedule, online and more

The Stanley Cup Final will begin on Monday night as the Vegas Golden Knights take on the Washington Capitals at home. Check below for the Game 1 TV schedule, streaming information and more.

After eight months of regular season debate and weeks of incredible playoff hockey, we finally have our Stanley Cup match set to go. Brace yourselves, this one is as improbable as they come.

For the first time in franchise history (har-har), the Vegas Golden Knights are four wins away from a championship. On the other side, the Washington Capitals make it back to the finals for the first time since ’98. They were swept by the Detroit Red Wings and have also never won a title.

Let’s start this one off by taking a quick look at Vegas to this point. For those of you who are gamblers (do it responsibly), a large payday could be on the horizon. The expansion Golden Knights came into the 2017-18 campaign as underdogs and that’s putting it lightly. Odds were 500-1 that they’d win a Stanley Cup. It simply doesn’t happen like this. It doesn’t happen pretty much ever, and likely won’t happen again for a long time.

Yet once the season began, the Golden Misfits kept winning. They kept winning until eventually everyone stopped kicking them around like a redheaded stepchild and took what was going on very seriously. Not only did Vegas pop 51 wins, but it took home the Pacific Division title as well. Led by remarkable goaltending from Marc-Andre Fleury, it went on to sweep the Los Angeles Kings in Round 1, take out the San Jose Sharks in six, then knock off the Winnipeg Jets in five.

There are arguments now that this should have been easily predicted (yeah, right) with guys like Jonathan Marchessault and James Neal on the roster. But no one foresaw William Karlsson notching 40 goals, or David Perron having a breakout year. Teams didn’t want these guys, and now we all look pretty bad. We should all feel shame as well for not believing more in head coach Gerard Gallant. He was a finalist for coach of the year two seasons ago.

Golden Knights vs. Capitals, Game 1

Date: Monday, May 28

Time: 8:00 p.m., E.T.

Location: T-Mobile Arena

TV: NBC

Live stream: Fubo.TV. Sign up now for a free trial. 

Maybe we shouldn’t be as surprised by the Capitals, but we are. Most of that has to do with the fact that Washington is great every year, until the playoffs begin. It had become one of those facts in life as branded into the brain as anything else. Tiresome, really. Especially for Alexander Ovechkin fans. He’s been with this club for the better part of a decade and is only now making a Finals appearance. Mind-boggling when you consider that Ovechkin is one of the greatest to ever play this game.

But let’s forget that now and relish in how they’re here. The Capitals took home the Metropolitan Division crown for the third consecutive year, and have won their division eight of the last 11 seasons. They were due for long-range success.

After beating the Columbus Blue Jackets in six games, Washington had to face its demons in Round 2. The Pittsburgh Penguins have been a rock in the Capitals’ shoe for the past two seasons, eliminating them both years before winning back-to-back Cups. For Washington to take down a stacked Sidney Crosby-led team hoping to three-peat was monumental. In sports we talk about gorillas clamping onto backs for years at a time, well this is an elephant or two in the last. Especially for Ovechkin who is assuredly sick of hearing about Crosby and his accomplishments.

And even bigger surprise may be that they took down the Tampa Bay Lightning, a juggernaut of a club that stormed through the playoffs like knives through butter. The Capitals eliminated them in seven, mostly on performances from goaltender Braden Holtby who posted shutouts in Games 6 and 7.

Players to watch, Game 1

Washington Capitals: Braden Holtby. We have to start Game 1 with the guys in net, as both will be key to what transpires in this Finals matchup. Holtby has been excellent this postseason after sitting the first two games against Columbus. His 2.04 goals against average and .924 save percentage just about equal his typical playoff numbers, and the aforementioned back-to-back blankings of Tampa Bay prove he still holds an elite status in this league.

Vegas Golden Knights: Marc-Andre Fleury. Fleury has been an animal for Vegas in goal. Aside from the ridiculous numbers (1.68 goals against average and .947 save percentage), he’s been eliminating teams left and right almost on his own when asked to stand on his head constantly. He gave up three goals in four games versus the Kings, shut out San Jose twice, and gave away only 10 goals in five games to one of the most high-powered offenses in Winnipeg. This duel is going to be special.

Next: 10 reasons Stanley Cup Playoffs are better than NBA Playoffs

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