LAS VEGAS (AP) — The Latest from Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Washington Capitals and the Vegas Golden Knights (all times local):
7:45 p.m.
Devante Smith-Pelly has pulled Washington into a 3-3 tie with Vegas midway through the third period in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Brooks Orpik sent the puck toward the net, it went off Smith-Pelly’s left skate to help him corral it and he sent a shot past Marc-Andre Fleury as he fell to the ice.
Smith-Pelly has seven goals this postseason, matching his total during the regular seasons. He was relegated to signing a two-way contract with the Capitals entering the season and earned a spot in the lineup 75 times during the regular season. He scored in Game 4, too, also collecting the puck off a skate before his shot.
Washington has a 3-1 series lead and is looking for its first Stanley Cup championship. If Vegas holds on, Game 6 in Washington will be Sunday night.
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7:25 p.m.
The Vegas Golden Knights are 10-0 this postseason when leading after two periods, as they do 3-2 against Washington in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Capitals have lost four of the six games they’ve played this postseason when trailing after the second period.
Washington has a 3-1 series lead and is looking for its first Stanley Cup championship. If Vegas holds on, Game 6 in Washington will be Sunday night.
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7:05 p.m.
The Vegas Golden Knights are 20 minutes away from forcing Game 6 in the Stanley Cup Final.
Vegas leads Washington 3-2 going into the third period after the two teams combined for five goals in a wild second period. There were lead changes, a coach’s challenge, fights and power plays as the teams picked up the pace following a goal-less opening period.
Reilly Smith gave Vegas the lead, shooting into an open net off a fantastic pass from Alex Tuch with 28.2 seconds left in the second period.
The Golden Knights didn’t get to celebrate very long because there was a lot of pushing, shoving and face-washing behind the net right after the go-ahead goal.
Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 18 shots through two periods and Braden Holtby made 17 saves for the Capitals.
A win would give the Capitals the first Stanley Cup in franchise history. The expansion Golden Knights are hoping to extend their stunning, record-breaking season.
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6:50 p.m.
Washington and Vegas are tied 2-2 late in a wild second period of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
After no goals in the opening period, the offenses got rolling and then some with four goals in a heart-pounding 6:32 stretch.
Washington’s Jakub Vrana opened the flurry with a goal 6:24 into the second, rifling a shot over the glove of Marc-Andre Fleury.
Alex Ovechkin put the Capitals ahead 2-1 on a power play just 34 seconds after Vegas’ Nate Schmidt was credited with a goal that went off Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen’s skate.
David Perron pulled Vegas into the second tie of the period. The goal stood after a coach’s challenge, a move Washington had to try because Braden Holtby was trying to make a save while two players were wrestling in the crease.
Washington has a 3-1 series lead, one win away from the franchise’s first Stanley Cup.
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6:25 p.m.
Washington has taken a 1-0 lead in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against Vegas.
Jakub Vrana got behind the Golden Knights’ defense and took advantage of the time and space, scoring from the inside of the left circle 6:24 into the second period. He beat Marc-Andre Fleury on his glove side, sending the puck over his left elbow and into the net.
The Caps have a 3-1 series lead and are trying to clinch their first championship in 43 seasons.
The Golden Knights have scored only five goals in losing the last three games and are having trouble finding much space again against the Washington defense and goaltender Braden Holtby.
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6:05 p.m.
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is defending the expansion draft that loaded first-year franchise Vegas with talent.
The Golden Knights were the surprise of the NHL this season, winning the Pacific Division and rolling all the way to the Stanley Cup Final against Washington. Critics have suggested the expansion draft was too generous for the new franchise, which saw strong play from veterans including goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, James Neal and others.
Bettman was asked about it during an NBC interview during the first intermission of Game 5 and said the league’s “competitive balance shows anything is possible.” He noted the turnaround seasons this year by Colorado and New Jersey.
Said Bettman: “If you’re passionate about your team, you have hope for every season.”
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6 p.m.
The Washington Capitals are outshooting the Vegas Golden Knights so far but the teams are tied 0-0 after the first period of Game 5 in the Stanley Cup Final.
It marked the third scoreless period of the series.
Braden Holtby had to make just seven saves for the Capitals. Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 10 shots for the Golden Knights, who face elimination.
Washington leads the series 3-1, one win away from the first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
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5:45 p.m.
Hits are outnumbering shots so far through a scoreless first period in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Washington and Vegas combined for just seven shots while landing a total of 19 hits in the early going. The Capitals had blocked four shots while the Golden Knights blocked a pair of pucks before a shot even got to Marc-Andre Fleury.
Washington came up empty on a power play, though Alex Ovechkin rang a shot off the post.
Washington is up 3-1, a win away from its first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
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5:25 p.m.
Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final is under way in Las Vegas.
With the Golden Knights scoring only five goals in the previous three games of the Stanley Cup Final, Vegas coach Gerard Gallant shook up his lineup.
Veteran forwards Ryan Reaves and Ryan Carpenter were scratched, while William Carrier and David Perron were in uniform. Carrier hadn’t played since Game 5 of the second round against San Jose, missing 10 straight games. Perron played in the Final’s first three games before sitting out Game 4.
The Caps have a 3-1 series lead and are trying to clinch their first championship in 43 seasons.
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5:15 p.m.
Boys will be boys.
Washington star Alex Ovechkin skated onto the Vegas side of the rink during pregame warmups, narrowly avoiding Marc-Andre Fleury as the goaltender was stretching along the boards before Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The goaltender skated across the red line and toward the Washington superstar before retreating back to his side. Later, though, Fleury got even by slashing Ovechkin’s legs as they skated past each other.
Earlier in the series, the veterans acted like kids squirting water on each other’s side of the red line.
The Caps have a 3-1 series lead and are trying to clinch their first championship in 43 NHL seasons.
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4:50 p.m.
Hundreds of fans braved 97-degree heat and assembled again in the plaza directly outside T-Mobile Arena several hours before Vegas hosted Washington in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
As game time approached, the crowd got larger as it swelled with fans without tickets. A majority of the crowd was wearing Golden Knights garb, but the sea of people included a large portion of red-clad Washington Capitals fans occasionally chanting “We want the Cup!”
The Caps have a 3-1 series lead and are trying to clinch their first championship in 43 NHL seasons.
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4:30 p.m.
The Washington Capitals are on the brink of raising the Stanley Cup for the first time in franchise history.
Alex Ovechkin and his Caps are taking the ice for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final with a 3-1 series lead after three consecutive victories over the Vegas Golden Knights.
While past Washington teams have a long history of struggles in closeout games, these Caps have won all three of their potential closeout games. If they can do it again, the Caps will clinch the first championship in 43 NHL seasons for a franchise that began play in 1974.
The Knights have never lost four consecutive games in their inaugural season. They won the Final opener, but have been outscored 12-5 since.
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4:20 p.m.
Willie O’Ree, the first black NHL player, says the player who wins the award named in his honor will have displayed hockey and life skills.
The NHL will give the first Willie O’Ree Community Hero Award later this month in Las Vegas. O’Ree broke the league’s color barrier 60 years ago with the Boston Bruins and overcame blindness in his right eye.
O’Ree spoke ahead of Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, where Washington took a 3-1 lead on the road to Las Vegas.
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