The Golden Knights took a 1-0 series lead with a 6-4 victory in Game 1 against the Capitals Monday night. It was a wild contest that featured four lead changes (the most ever in a single game in the Stanley Cup Final), 10 goals and plenty of drama.
No one really knows what Game 2 will bring, though it will start with a performance by Imagine Dragons. From there, anything is possible.
Game 2. #VegasBorn #AllCaps #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/8xqBzvsnTC
— Danny Webster (@DannyWebster21) May 30, 2018
But it’s a key moment in the series for both teams. Vegas has a chance to take a commanding 2-0 series lead, and the Capitals have a chance to not only tie the series but also take control of home-ice advantage. That will be tough considering the Knights’ only playoff loss on home ice came in double overtime against San Jose after a controversial call overturned what would have been the game-winning goal for Vegas in the first overtime.
Neither team is expected to make lineup changes, though it’s possible Gerard Gallant will shuffle his middle-six forwards if they struggle again tonight.
UPDATE: David Perron will skate on the second line, with Alex Tuch moving back to the third unit.
#StanleyCup game 2 lines
81 🤠 19
🍐🇫🇮18
🔨 21 89
👃 🔔 🥊3 88
🐻 🏴
47 6— Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) May 30, 2018
Here are the projected lines for both teams:
Golden Knights lineup
Jonathan Marchessault — William Karlsson — Reilly Smith
Alex Tuch — Erik Haula — James Neal
David Perron — Cody Eakin — Ryan Carpenter
Tomas Nosek — Pierre-Edouard Bellemare — Ryan Reaves
Brayden McNabb — Nate Schmidt
Shea Theodore — Deryk Engelland
Luca Sbisa — Colin Miller
Marc-Andre Fleury
Maxime Lagace
Capitals lineup
Alex Ovechkin (#8) — Evgeny Kuznetsov (#92) — Tom Wilson (#43)
Jakub Vrana (#13) — Nicklas Backstrom (#19) — T.J. Oshie (#77)
Andre Burakovsky (#65) — Lars Eller (#20) — Brett Connolly (#10)
Chandler Stephenson (#18) — Jay Beagle (#83) — Devante Smith-Pelly (#25)
Dmitry Orlov (#9) — Matt Niskanen (#2)
Michal Kempny (#6) — John Carlson (#74)
Brooks Orpik (#44) — Christian Djoos (#29)
Braden Holtby (#70)
Philipp Grubauer (#31)
Let’s discuss!