Caps Come Up Blank in Vegas

A lackluster first 10 minutes was enough to do the Caps in on Saturday night in Las Vegas in Washington's first ever game against the Golden Knights in Sin City. Vegas roared to an early lead and then battened down the hatches the rest of the way, earning a 3-0 win over Washington and running its home ice record to 15-2-1 in the process.

When Washington last saw veteran goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, he was shutting the Caps out on 29 shots in Game 7 of the second round of the Stanley Cup playoff series between Washington and Pittsburgh. Having moved on to Vegas via the expansion draft, and facing the Caps for the first time in his new sweater, Fleury again stymied Washington, this time blanking the Caps on 26 shots.

The Caps were playing for the second time in as many nights while Vegas was playing for the first time since Tuesday, and the Golden Knights set out early to exploit that disparity in energy.

"We lost it really in the first 10 [minutes]," says Caps coach Barry Trotz, of Saturday's game. "We talked about this team, how they like to jump on teams; it's what you want in this league. We played [Friday] night, and they wanted to jump on us early."

The Knights were successful in their quest.

Washington's first visit to Vegas got off to an inauspicious start. Goaltender Braden Holtby bailed the Caps out early, denying Brendan Leipsic's backhand breakaway bid in the third minute of the game, and holding on for the face-off.

Just eight seconds later, the Knights went up 1-0. Jay Beagle won the ensuing draw in Washington's end, but Caps defenseman Christian Djoos turned it over in the middle of the ice, and after Holtby stopped Leipsic once again, Alex Tuch was in prime position to put the rebound home to give Vegas an early lead at 2:37.

Holtby had to make a couple more big stops after Vegas took the early lead, too. He denied Erik Haula on a two-on-none down low, and gloved a Jon Merrill shot from the slot, but he couldn't paper over all of the Caps' miscues in front of him.

Oscar Lindberg made it 2-0 at 7:39 of the first, sending a shot to the top shelf on a four-on-two Vegas rush. Soon after that strike, Holtby halted Haula again in a one-on-one situation.

Vegas scored again at 14:55 on a pretty passing play down low. Jonathan Marchessault bumped the puck to Reilly Smith in the left circle, and Smith quickly went cross-ice to William Karlsson, whose one-timer from the weak side beat Holtby to make it a 3-0 game.

The Golden Knights were getting behind the Washington defense more regularly in the first 20 minutes than any other opponent has done against the Capitals this season.

"We just weren't mentally prepared to work or skate or anything," says Holtby. "Against a team like that - you can talk about them, how they're a first-year team and you don't know a lot about them - but you do know. It's halfway through the season, and you do know what they play like. Everyone sees that they work. We didn't work."

Without Holtby, the Caps might have been in a much deeper ditch after the first frame.

"If not for Holts," says Caps captain Alex Ovechkin, "it would be like 10-0 in the first period. That's why he's one of the best goalies in the league, maybe the best goalie in the league. He gave us a chance."

Washington acquitted itself better over the game's final 40 minutes, drawing four power play opportunities during that span. But the Caps' extra-man unit couldn't generate much in the way of looks and chances, which has been an issue of late. The Washington power play has managed just one goal with the extra man in the last eight games, going 1-for-20 over that stretch.

The Caps spent more time in Vegas ice at five-on-five over the final 40 minutes, too, but Fleury had the answer for everything Washington sent in his direction at even strength, too. The ex-Pens goalie runs his record to 6-1-1 on the season with his fourth career shutout against the Caps.

"The first goal was just a play to the middle of the ice that we've got to make," says Trotz. "We didn't make it, and it ended up in the back of our net. But we really have to get thorugh that first period unscathed, or at least being down a goal [at the worst].

"After the first period, I thought our game was pretty good after that. A lot of our game was that we just couldn't get it past Marc-Andre; we had a couple of looks. But they really compete. They make those desperation plays, and Marc-Andre Fleury was real strong when he needed to be tonight."

With Saturday's victory over the Capitals, the Golden Knights are now 8-0-1 in their last nine games, and the head into the holiday break as the best team in the Western Conference from the points percentage perspective.

"They could have continued on the rest of the game if they wanted to," says Holtby, referring to the way the Golden Knights came out and dominated the game's first 20 minutes. "But they played it pretty smart. They got that third goal, and they just kind of got pucks in and didn't give us anything. That's a good team over there."

Schedule Loss -When the 2017-18 NHL schedule was released in June, the Caps knew they'd be in tough in their first visit to Las Vegas. Washington ended a three-game road trip in Vegas on Saturday night in the final game before the NHL's annual three-day holiday break, falling 3-0 to the Golden Knights.

The Caps found themselves playing their first ever game in Vegas less than 24 hours after a game in Arizona on Friday night, and with the holiday break just ahead on the horizon. Meanwhile, Vegas, finishing off a five-game homestand on Saturday against the Caps, played Saturday's game in the wake of a rather unusual example of scheduling largesse, off a three-day break between games four and five of that homestand.

"This was one where the schedule got us a little bit," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "And we're coming out of the break and we're going right back at it - we're on the road again [on Wednesday in New York].

"[The Golden Knights] did what they needed to do; they needed to jump on us early and they did. And we weren't able to get our feet back under us enough to get close enough.

Saturday night's first visit to Vegas went south quickly for the Capitals. Alex Tuch scored the only goal the Golden Knights would need at 2:37 of the first, and Vegas scored all three of its goals in the first frame.

"They won the game in the first 10 minutes, for sure in the first period," says Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen. "Part of that was them; they played well. And we were slow moving."

Viva Las Vegas -There's not much noteworthy news to report in this particular pre-holiday edition of the Postgame Notebook. So we'll spend a little time discussing Vegas, the Golden Knights, and the NHL experience in Sin City.

"Great barn. Great barn, the fans are into it," exudes Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen. "Nice facility. They've got an exciting team that they should be proud of, and it seems like the people here are excited to have a hockey team in town. That wasn't a fun night for us, but I could see how it was a fun night for Vegas fans.

The game ops folks put on an entertaining show, as you'd expect from the entertainment capital of the world. But it wasn't cloying, either. There were no artificial prompts for cheering or noise or clapping, and there was plenty of buzz and organic energy in the building without it.

"It was great," says Caps goaltender Braden Holtby. "Probably one of the best in the league, for sure. "Great energy and great game ops and everything like that. It's good for the game. Hockey can be the most entertaining sport if teams do it right, and they do it right. And on this pedestal in Vegas, with how many people in the world come here, it's great for our sport."

Trotz was the bench boss of the Nashville Predators for the first decade and a half of that expansion team's NHL existence, and the Vegas entry has his seal of approval as well.

"I'll tell you what," begins Trotz. "I was in Nashville for a very long time, and I think that's been the gold standard. When they were asking me about what you wanted with an expansion franchise in a unique city like Vegas - just as Nashville is very unique - I said, 'Make it your own, and do it your way.' And I'll tell you what, it is a great atmosphere.

"If you're a player that is playing for the Knights, if you're not engaged or excited about playing in front of this crowd - they do a great job. It's no different from Nashville when I was there. There is an energy that comes off the street the way the city is set up, and people come in and they've got a good hockey team and they're into it. And you better be into it, or you're going to lose the game. And we weren't into it early, and we lost the game."

Saturday's win moved the Golden Knights into the top perch in the NHL's Pacific Division, and the Vegas team that did not exist at this time last season goes into the league's holiday break with the second best record in the circuit. Are they for real?

"Based on tonight, yeah," says Niskanen. "I think it's kind of a surprise to everybody. But if there is one thing I've learned, names on a piece of paper don't win. Teams do. So they've got it going right now to start the year, good for them. We play them again, and we'll have to be better if we want to beat them next time."

Whitewashington -Fleury's Saturday night shutout over the Capitals was the fourth whitewash of his 37 career regular season appearances against Washington, tied for third most ever against the Caps. He now becomes one of seven goaltenders - and one of three active NHL netminders - to blank the Caps on four occasions in the regular season.

Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers and Cam Ward of the Carolina Hurricanes are the other two active goaltenders to have shutout the Caps twice. Dominink Hasek, Chico Resch, Dwayne Roloson and John Vanbiesbrouck also recorded four shutouts versus Washington over the course of their respective NHL careers.

Hockey Hall of Famer Ken Dryden blanked the Capitals nine times in his career, and Martin Brodeur did so six times. Those are the only two netminders with more regular season shutouts of the Caps than Fleury.

Down On The Farm - The AHL Hershey Bears were at home on Saturday night, hosting the Binghamton Devils at Giant Center. It was a good night for the home team, and the Bears skated off with a 5-2 victory.

Hershey rolled out to a 2-0 first-period lead over the Devils, getting a pair of goals exactly five minutes apart. First, Travis Boyd netted his fifth goal of the season with help from Chris Bourque and Aaron Ness at 6:54. A quarter of a frame later, Dustin Gazley scored his third of the season with Tyler Graovac and Riley Barber assisting.

After a scoreless second, Barber scored what would prove to be the game-winning goal - his eighth of the season - at 3:19 of the third. Gazley and Tyler Lewington combined to set up Barber.

Five and a half minutes later, Zach Sill's second goal of the season made it a 4-0 Hershey lead. Ness and Mathias Bau earned helper's on Sill's strike.

Binghamton scored a pair of goals in the second half of the third to spoil the shutout hopes of Bears goalie Vitek Vanecek, and Boyd accounted for the Bears' last goal with his second of the night at 12:12 of the third, Liam O'Brien and Bourque assisting.

Vanecek made 31 saves to improve to 5-3-0 on the season. The Bears are back in action on Wednesday when they head to Bridgeport to take on the Sound Tigers.

Down a level, the ECHL South Carolina Stingrays spent Saturday night on the road in Greenville against the Swamp Rabbits. South Carolina prevailed by a 3-2 count in the shootout.

Tim McGauley scored both Stingrays goals during regulation, his third and fourth tallies of the season. He added another in the shootout, helping to make a winner of Jeff Jakaitis (30 saves) in the South Carolina nets.

The Stingrays return to action again on Friday when they visit the Gladiators in Atlanta.

By The Numbers -Dmitry Orlov led the Caps with 24:15 in ice time and also with four shots on net on Saturday … Alex Ovechkin led the Capitals with seven hits … Brooks Orpik paced Washington with three blocked shots … Nicklas Backstrom won 10 of 13 face-offs (77 percent) … Washington is now 8-2-1 this month; Vegas is 8-1-1.