Skip to content
Capitals at Golden Knights
NHL

Washington Capitals at Vegas Golden Knights

NHL scoreboard
Washington Capitals
2
Vegas Golden Knights
▸3
FinalTV NBCSN, ATTSN-RM·T-Mobile Arena

Recap

written from the game data

The Vegas Golden Knights beat the Washington Capitals 3-2. The Golden Knights scored first and never trailed. The Golden Knights led 3-0 after two periods. The biggest swing in win probability was Reilly Smith's goal at 17:17 of the first period, which took the Golden Knights' chances from 68% to 83%. Expected goals favored the Golden Knights, 2.9 to 2.0; shots on goal were WSH 27, VGK 29. With league-average goaltending at both ends, the Golden Knights win a replay of these chances 53% of the time. Braden Holtby stopped 26 of 29 (.897), 0.9 goals below expected; Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 25 of 27 (.926). Three stars: 1. Max Pacioretty (1 G), 2. Nick Holden (1 G), 3. T.J. Oshie (2 G).

Three stars

  1. ★
    VGK
    M. Pacioretty1 G
  2. ★★
    VGK
    N. Holden1 G
  3. ★★★
    WSH
    T. Oshie2 G

Line score

goals · shots on goal beneath
Goals and shots on goal by period
Team1st2nd3rdT
WSHWSH0120629227
VGKVGK2151806329

Scoring

5 goals

1st period

  1. VGK
    N. Holden(5)
    W. Carrier (11), T. Nosek (5)
    wristxG 0.15win prob +12 pts
    0-1
    3:43
  2. VGK
    R. Smith(23)
    J. Marchessault (22), P. Stastny (16)
    wristxG 0.14win prob +14 pts
    0-2
    17:17

2nd period

  1. VGK
    M. Pacioretty(27)
    W. Karlsson (27)
    wristxG 0.16win prob +8 pts
    0-3
    14:06

3rd period

  1. WSH
    T. Oshie(23)
    D. Orlov (21), J. Vrana (25)
    wristxG 0.04win prob +4 pts
    1-3
    8:47
  2. WSH
    T. Oshie(24)PPG
    J. Vrana (26), J. Carlson (55)
    wristxG 0.10win prob +10 pts
    2-3
    10:40

Penalties

WSH 4 PIM·VGK 6 PIM

2nd

  • 8:59VGKJon Merrill · Trippingdrawn by Nic Dowd2 min

3rd

  • 0:34WSHJohn Carlson · Slashingdrawn by Paul Stastny2 min
  • 3:16VGKCody Eakin · Hookingdrawn by Dmitry Orlov2 min
  • 5:22WSHDmitry Orlov · Trippingdrawn by Mark Stone2 min
  • 9:31VGKJon Merrill · Trippingdrawn by Carl Hagelin2 min

Win probability

ours · the whole game
Tap or hover the chart for the moment-by-moment number
VGK goalWSH goalFinal: VGK 100%

Biggest swing: Reilly Smith, 1st 17:17 — VGK 68% → 83%

Shot map

unblocked attempts · size = our xG
R. Smith · Missed · xG 0.78M. Pacioretty · Goal · xG 0.16W. Karlsson · Missed · xG 0.15W. Carrier · On goal · xG 0.15N. Holden · Goal · xG 0.15R. Smith · Goal · xG 0.14C. Eakin · On goal · xG 0.13P. Stastny · On goal · xG 0.12P. Stastny · On goal · xG 0.11M. Pacioretty · On goal · xG 0.10W. Karlsson · Missed · xG 0.09S. Theodore · On goal · xG 0.09C. Stephenson · On goal · xG 0.08N. Holden · On goal · xG 0.08C. Eakin · Missed · xG 0.07B. McNabb · On goal · xG 0.07M. Stone · Missed · xG 0.07T. Nosek · On goal · xG 0.05C. Eakin · On goal · xG 0.05S. Theodore · On goal · xG 0.04M. Pacioretty · On goal · xG 0.03N. Schmidt · On goal · xG 0.03P. Stastny · On goal · xG 0.03R. Smith · On goal · xG 0.03W. Carrier · On goal · xG 0.02Z. Whitecloud · Missed · xG 0.02N. Holden · On goal · xG 0.02N. Schmidt · On goal · xG 0.02M. Pacioretty · On goal · xG 0.01N. Schmidt · On goal · xG 0.01C. Glass · On goal · xG 0.01T. Nosek · On goal · xG 0.01N. Holden · On goal · xG 0.01M. Pacioretty · Missed · xG 0.01J. Merrill · On goal · xG 0.00B. McNabb · On goal · xG 0.00
VGK3 G · 2.9 xG · 36 att
Tap a shot for who, when and how likely
GoalOn goalMissedBigger = higher xG

Expected goals

WSHvsVGK
2.02 G
All situations
3 G2.9
1.51 G
Even strength
3 G1.9
0.51 G
Power play
0 G0.3

Expected goals: the chance each unblocked attempt scores, from our shot model, summed. 80 unblocked attempts.

Deserve to win

on the chances created
WSH47%53%VGK

Flurry-adjusted xG 1.95 – 2.11

How often each side wins a replay of these chances with league-average goaltending at both ends. Rebounds in a flurry are counted once, so a scramble is not three chances.

Team stats

WSHvsVGK
27
Shots on goal
29
38%
Faceoffs
63%
1/3
Power play
0/2
4
Penalty minutes
6
47
Hits
27
8
Blocked shots
16
1
Giveaways
8
7
Takeaways
11

Box score

every player line
Washington Capitals skaters
SkaterGAP+/-SOGixGHitBlkPIMFO%TOI
9D. OrlovD011-130.14212—24:33
74J. CarlsonD011-110.06302—24:18
8A. OvechkinL000-140.52520—21:39
19N. BackstromC000-130.061003219:57
43T. WilsonR000030.15800—19:36
77T. OshieR202-120.3520010018:09
33R. GudasD000020.03200—17:50
20L. EllerC000020.102004717:21
3N. JensenD000-100.00100—16:47
6M. KempnyD000000.00110—16:41
13J. VranaL022010.02000—16:35
62C. HagelinL000010.0511010015:33
72T. BoydC000010.180002714:26
14R. PanikR000000.01300—13:41
34J. SiegenthalerD000-110.00010—13:16
26N. DowdC000-110.149003310:59
28B. LeipsicL000-100.00110—08:25
21G. HathawayR000-120.16610—07:45
Washington Capitals goalies
GoalieSASVGASV%xGAGSAxTOI
70B. Holtby(L)29263.8972.14-0.8658:29

Season series

Tied 1-1

Data: NHL. Model: Gridpex (expected goals and win probability built on NHL play-by-play).