his fault. The play in front of him at times was lethargic.The team Niemi faced on Saturday still has some issues in its own end, but the Penguins also have the kind of firepower few can match. Pittsburgh scored three goals in a 4:55-span in the first to erase a one-goal deficit. Kessel and Sheahan be

WASHINGTON (AP) The Latest on Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals (all times local):11:03 p.m.The Washington Capitals have beaten the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 and taken a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final.Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored second-period goals and Devante Smith-Pelly added another late in the third period to put the Golden Knights in a hole. The lone Vegas goal came from Tomas Nosek Youth John Tavares Jersey , who cashed in a mistake by Washington goaltender Braden Holtby at 3:29 of the third period.Vegas pulled goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury for the final two and half minutes of the game but couldn’t break through.It was the first Stanley Cup Final held in the nation’s capital since 1998.—10:50 p.m.Devante Smith-Pelly has given the Washington Capitals a 3-1 lead on Vegas late in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore had trouble clearing the puck and Capitals centerman Jay Beagle took the puck away and found Smith-Pelly skating in all alone on Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.Smith-Pelly ripped it past the goalie at 13:53 of the third period.The series is tied 1-1.—10:35 p.m.The Vegas Golden Knights have taken advantage of a huge mistake by Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby to get back into Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.Holtby did a poor job of clearing the puck from behind the Capitals net, and Tomas Nosek easily scored to slice Washington’s lead to 2-1 at 3:29 of the third period.The goal deflated the mood of the sellout crowd, many of them wearing red and cheering for the Capitals in the first Stanley Cup Final held in D.C. since 1998.The series is tied 1-1.—10:10 p.m.The Washington Capitals are 20 minutes away from taking a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.Second-period goals by Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov put Washington up 2-0 in Game 3. Washington holds a 21-13 advantage in shots on goal after two periods.Washington lost the opener 6-4 in Vegas before rebounding to win 3-2 on Wednesday. The series shifted to the nation’s capital for Game 3, marking the first time 20 years the Capitals hosted the Stanley Cup Final.When the Final has been tied 1-1, the winner of Game 3 has gone on to win the Stanley Cup 21 of 27 chances (78 percent) since the series went to the best-of-seven format in 1939—9:45 p.m.Evgeny Kuznetsov has given the Washington Capitals a 2-0 lead in Game 3 of their Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.Kuznetsov came down the right side in a 2-on-1 with Jay Beagle and pushed a shot into the left side of the net past goalie Marc-Andre Fleury at 12:50 of the second period. Kuznetsov missed most of Game 2 with what appeared to be a left arm injury.The goal came after Washington defenseman Brooks Orpik looked dazed following a hit from Golden Knights forward James Neal. He was not pulled from the game to go through concussion protocol.Orpik went to the bench following the check in the corner but did not go down the tunnel for evaluation. The NHL’s concussion protocol states that a player exhibiting any possible concussion symptoms must be evaluated, and the league has spotters in place to pull players if that’s suspected.—9:25 p.m.Alex Ovechkin has given the Washington Capitals a 1-0 lead over the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.Ovechkin scored on a shot from the left side at 1:10 of the second period as he was falling over Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb to end a flurry that saw goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury make three saves before Ovechkin connected.It was Ovechkin’s 14th goal of the playoffs, tying the franchise mark set by John Druce in 1990.The series is tied at one game apiece. This is the first Stanley Cup Final held in the nation’s capital since 1998.—9:05 p.m.The Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights have skated through a scoreless first period, though both teams had chances to get on the board first in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury swatted away a close shot by Alex Ovechkin, and the Capitals had an apparent goal taken away when winger Devante Smith-Pelly was called for goalie interference.Golden Knights’ leading scorer, Jonathan Marchessault, hit the right post with a shot at the 14-minute mark.Washington finished with 7-5 advantage in shots. There were 15 goals total in the first two games, the most in a Final since 1982.Toward the end of the period, Capitals defenseman Michal Kempny left the ice. He took a spill in pregame warmups after crashing into the boards.There’s plenty of star power in the stands, including a few people you never knew were Capitals fans.Keenan Thompson Nazem Kadri Jersey , a longtime cast member of ”Saturday Night Live,” spent this Saturday night watching hockey. He waved to the crowd and tipped his red hat, which said, ”ALL CAPS.”Actress Lynda Carter showed off her red Capitals jersey. Former Redskins coach Joe Gibbs yelled ”Let’s Go Caps!” over the public address system and game show host Pat Sajak introduced the starting lineups.The series is tied 1-1. It is the first Final game in Washington in 20 years.—8:40 p.m.Plenty of action between Vegas and Washington in the opening minutes of Game 3, even if the game remained scoreless as the first period approached its midpoint. The fast pace of the first two games has continued.The Capitals missed an early chance to score when Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury dived to stop a close-in shot by Alex Ovechkin.With around five minutes elapsed, Washington had an apparent goal wiped out when Capitals winger Devante Smith-Pelly was called for goaltender interference when he collided with Fleury as a shot found the net.Washington subsequently killed the penalty.There were 15 goals total in the first two games, the most in a Final since 1982.The series is tied 1-1. It is the first Final game in Washington in 20 years.—8:25 p.m.Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final is under way with Evgeny Kuznetsov and Michal Kempny in the Capitals’ lineup.Kuznetsov was a game-time decision with an apparent left arm injury resulting from a hit from Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb that caused him to leave Game 2. Kempny stepped on a puck and crashed into the boards during pregame warmups but returned.The pregame festivities moved from a Sting and Shaggy concert outside to a red-rocking party inside Capital One Arena, where fans shook red glow sticks as three-time Redskins Super Bowl-winning coach did the ”Let’s Go Caps!” chant as fan of the game.After Vegas put on a show in the first two games of the series with Michael Buffer introducing players and a Knight vanquishing Capitals invaders, Washington had ”Wheel of Fortune” host and longtime season-ticket holder Pat Sajak reading off the starting lineups. Fans drowned out the Golden Knights introductions with boos – except for former Capitals defenseman Nate Schmidt.—7 p.m.Almost 100-degree heat wreaked havoc on ice conditions in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final in Las Vegas, and humidity threatens to affect it in Game 3 in Washington.Humid weather outside – typical for the nation’s capital in June – has Capitals coach Barry Trotz wondering just how the ice will be at Capital One Arena.”We don’t know how the ice conditions are going to be in our rink,” Trotz said after the morning skate at the Capitals’ suburban practice facility. ”Humidity is not kind to ice. One thing I’ve learned over my years is it’s not necessarily the heat but the humidity. If you get the combination of both, you could have a tough night. We’ll just see how it is.”Vegas players reported decent conditions after their morning skate at Capital One Arena, or at least better than Game 1 in the desert. Pre-game warmups will be important for the Capitals, who haven’t skated on their home ice surface since Game 6 of the Eastern Conference final on May 21.”You gauge it right away Danton Heinen Jersey Kids ,” Trotz said. ”Guys have to manage that. We’ll see right away. I think in warmup, even as a coach standing on the bench, you have a feel right away on how the ice is. I think we’ll have to keep it simple. We’ll have to keep our emotions in check, have good energy, and we will.”—6:20 p.m.Vegas had Imagine Dragons inside the arena before Game 2. Washington has Sting and Shaggy playing outside before Game 3.Sting and Shaggy collaborated on a new reggae lite album, ”44/876,” and are performing at the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery steps away from Capital One Arena. After the concert, fans not attending the first Stanley Cup Final game in Washington since 1998 can watch on video boards stationed outside.Fall Out Boy is scheduled to play before Game 4 on Monday.—6:05 p.m.It’s wet outside, and it’s sure to be red inside the Washington Capitals’ home arena for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights.After splitting a pair of games in Las Vegas, the Capitals are preparing to host the final round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in 20 years.The expansion Golden Knights have gone 6-2 on the road during their surprising run to the Finals, numbers that take the sting out of losing home-ice advantage with a 3-2 loss on Wednesday.Washington is 4-5 at home, but captured a must-win 3-0 decision over Tampa Bay before capturing the Eastern Conference title with a victory in Game 7 on the road.The Capitals were hoping to have Evgeny Kuznetsov, who skated Saturday morning after missing most of Game 2 with an upper-body injury.—More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals PITTSBURGH (AP) Mike Sullivan knew the Stanley Cup hangover was coming. Even if the Pittsburgh Penguins coach danced around the phrase whenever the subject came up during the opening three months of the season as the two-time defending champions alternated between sizzling and sleepy.”The first part of the year was a bit of a struggle,” Sullivan said. ”It wasn’t anything we didn’t anticipate as a coaching staff going into it.”Sullivan didn’t panic – to be fair Authentic Mitchell Marner Jersey , he never really does – and instead offered a reminder to his team that nothing was inevitable.Maybe not. It just sort of feels that way in Pittsburgh when Sidney Crosby and the Penguins are involved.The proof came on Saturday night, when a pair of third-period goals by the NHL’s best power play pushed Pittsburgh to a 5-2 victory over Montreal to clinch a franchise-record 12th straight postseason berth.”If you don’t make it to the playoffs you can’t win the Stanley Cup,” said forward Patric Hornqvist, who picked up the 200th goal of his career in the first period. ”That’s the first step in this room, to make the playoffs. Now we have to make sure we try to get better every single time we come to the rink. We know what it’s all about in the playoffs. Hopefully we’ll have a really fun run.”Something that’s become a rite of spring since Sullivan took over in December 2015. The Penguins became the first club in nearly 20 years to win back-to-back Cups last June and considering their play since New Year’s Day, they look like a very legitimate threat to give the NHL its first three-peat since the New York Islanders won four straight from 1980-83.Pittsburgh is now 26-10-3 in 2018, a surge that’s pulled the Penguins within three points of first-place Washington in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals visit PPG Paints Arena on Sunday night.”By no means are we satisfied,” Sullivan said. ”We know there’s another level to our team and that’s what we’re striving for.”Phil Kessel, Riley Sheahan, Conor Sheary and Carl Hagelin scored for Pittsburgh, which dominated the largely listless Canadiens to improve to 17-1-1 in their last 19 games at homes. Matt Murray finished with 24 saves for the Penguins, who swept their season series with Montreal for only the second time in franchise history.”We will use these last couple games to try to find some little things so we are ready to go for when the playoffs start,” Murray said.Jeff Petry and Jonathan Drouin scored for the Canadiens, who lost for the fifth time in seven games. Antti Niemi made 28 stops but Montreal couldn’t handle the NHL’s top-ranked power play. The Penguins went 3 for 5 with the man advantage http://www.officialmapleleafsproshop.com/authentic-adidas-morgan-rielly-jersey , including Kessel and Sheahan scoring less than two minutes apart in the third period to blow open a one-goal game.”At the end of the day, our penalty kill gives up three goals and if we’re not going to do the job right, we’re not going to pay the price,” Canadiens coach Claude Julien said.Niemi actually began the season as the Penguins’ top backup after Marc-Andre Fleury was traded to Las Vegas and Murray became fully entrenched at the top spot. The plan lasted all of a month. Niemi found himself on waivers in late October after going 0-3 with a 7.50 goals against average, all of the losses coming on the road.While Niemi has rediscovered his game in Montreal, perhaps it’s fitting the Penguins reached the postseason with their former teammate – however briefly it lasted – in the opposing net. Niemi’s awful numbers in Pittsburgh weren’t entirely his fault. The play in front of him at times was lethargic.The team Niemi faced on Saturday still has some issues in its own end, but the Penguins also have the kind of firepower few can match. Pittsburgh scored three goals in a 4:55-span in the first to erase a one-goal deficit. Kessel and Sheahan beat Niemi 1:49 apart in the third and the countdown to a potential three-peat was officially on.”Obviously you want to go into the playoffs with a lot of swagger and a lot of confidence,” Hagelin said. ”Hopefully we can string a few more together.”NOTES: Penguins F Derick Brassard missed his second straight game with a lower-body injury. … Kessel left in the third period with an undisclosed injury and did not return. … The Penguins are now 9-7-2 on the first night of back-to-backs this season. … Pittsburgh C Sidney Crosby’s five-game goal streak ended, though he did have one assist. … The Penguins’ 12-year playoff run is a franchise record. The team reached the postseason 11 straight times from 1990-2001.UP NEXTCanadiens: Host New Jersey on Sunday. The teams have split their first two games, each winning on home ice.Penguins: will try to take the season series from Washington on Sunday night. Pittsburgh won two of the first three meetings.—