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Golden Knights vs. Capitals: Game 2 prediction

By Griffin Youngs

LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 28: Tomas Nosek #92 of the Vegas Golden Knights and goaltender Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals during the third period of Game One of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on May 28, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MAY 28: Tomas Nosek #92 of the Vegas Golden Knights and goaltender Braden Holtby #70 of the Washington Capitals during the third period of Game One of the 2018 NHL Stanley Cup Final at T-Mobile Arena on May 28, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final was a treat to hockey fans everywhere as Vegas beat Washington to take the series lead, but can the Game 2 sequel deliver as much excitement?

If Game 1 showed us anything, it’s that hockey fans around the world are in for a treat with this years Stanley Cup Final. The Vegas Golden Knights took a back and forth slugfest over the Washington Capitals with a 6-4 win to take Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and now lead the series 1-0.

The Vegas atmosphere was everything it was hoped to be for Game 1 and more, and the game followed closely behind. All the way from the ridiculous pre-game show to the final horn, the Golden Knights had mounds of energy that they used to always keep the Capitals at bay.

Vegas takes advantage of every opportunity it’s given, and specialized in using its speed and keeping the Capitals in their own zone until they made a mistake. Their fourth line came up huge in the third period and recorded the tying and then game winning goal shortly after, and that depth scoring makes Vegas just that much more dangerous.

Marc Andre Fleury didn’t have a great game in Game 1 after allowing four goals on 28 shots, but he was always been one to bounce back after a poor showing. The fact that Vegas was able to take that game without Fleury at his finest could be a defining moment as the series progresses.

The Capitals can’t allow this one loss to demoralize them, and they’ve got a lot of tape to review to clamp down on those self inflicted errors for Game 2. The defense was simply not good enough, especially against the speed of Vegas, to get the job done and they payed for it all night long. The Nosek game winning goal had Michal Kempny with his back to the play, and John Carlson looking lost. These mental mistakes cannot be allowed to continue if they want to win this series, and they need to find a way to patch them.

On the positive side, the Capitals did not fold under the pressure of Vegas like teams usually do and was able to match feet with them and at some points take control. The Capitals took the lead on two separate occasions but couldn’t hold them for longer than three minutes because of all their mental errors. They did not play poorly, but the pressure of the moment got to them.

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With the Game 1 feel out process over, both teams will have a feel for how the other plays now, so expect Game 2 to be much more tactical than the first. If the series mirrors the first game, just one lucky bounce will likely decide this one. Personally, this seems to be the Capitals game to lose just because of how often their own mistakes ended up in their own net in Game 1.

If those errors can be patched, there is no reason they can’t tie this series up at one before going home to Washington. If Vegas continues to exploit their weak spots, than Vegas takes this one again.

Game 2 Prediction: Capitals defeat Golden Knights 4-2

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