Friday Four: Backstrom coming up huge for Capitals in Cup Final

Each Friday throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Kevin Weekes will bring you his Friday Four. He will be blogging about four players, teams, plays, or trends that have caught his eye.

Nicklas Backstrom

The Washington Capitals center began Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Vegas Golden Knights on a line with Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie, but quickly was bumped to the top line after center Evgeny Kuznetsov left the game with an upper-body injury early in the first period.
We all know the chemistry Backstrom and forward Alex Ovechkin have, so it was no surprise how effective they were, including Backstrom getting an assist on Ovechkin's power-play goal in the second period of an eventual 3-2 Capitals win that tied the best-of-7 series 1-1.
RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Capitals series coverage]
Game 3 is at Capital One Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).
Backstrom has been excellent despite playing with a hand injury, and has 19 points (five goals, 14 assists) in 17 playoff games.
And let's not forget center Lars Eller, who had three points (one goal, two assists), six hits and won 63 percent of his face-offs (10-of-16) in Game 2. It was his third three-point game of the playoffs, and he's one of only two Washington players with three three-point games (center Evgeny Kuznetsov is the other).

Braden Holtby

The Capitals goaltender has shown time and time again throughout the playoffs how much of a clutch performer he is, and he did it again in Game 2, robbing Golden Knights forward Alex Tuch with a sprawling stick save with 1:59 remaining in regulation to preserve Washington's victory.
Following a 6-4 loss in Game 1, when he allowed five goals on 33 shots in a 6-4 loss, Holtby bounced back with 37 saves in Game 2, and improved to 5-2 following a loss in the playoffs.
The Capitals could be trailing the Stanley Cup Final 2-0 if not for Holtby's heroics in the final moments of Game 2; he had no business making that save against Tuch, but he did and it helped Washington tie the series.
Holtby is 13-7 with a 2.19 goals-against average and .921 save percentage since he took over for Philipp Grubauer in Game 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets in the Eastern Conference First Round, and has started every game since.

Golden Knights start fast again

In each of the first two games of the series, Vegas has dominated from the start and has scored first. The Golden Knights style of play helps them jump out to leads and usually when they score first, they win. They were 11-1 when scoring first in the playoffs before losing Game 2.
Game 1 was a back-and-forth affair; Vegas scored first before Washington answered with two goals in a game that featured four lead changes. The Capitals have shown an ability to bounce back after the Golden Knights score, something Vegas has been proficient at throughout the postseason. The Golden Knights will need another quick start in Game 3 on the road, because you can bet Washington will come out strong at Capital One Arena.

Capitals back home

After getting a split in Games 1 and 2 at Vegas, the Capitals are back home, though that may not be a good thing.
Washington is 9-3 on the road during the playoffs, but 4-5 at home. It lost its first two games in the first round against the Blue Jackets before winning two of three at Capital One Arena against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round. The Capitals then lost two of three against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.
No team has ever won the Stanley Cup losing six playoff games at home, and though the Capitals could lose another home game (or two) and still win the series, expect them to come out fired up Saturday for Game 3 in front of their home fans, who have waited 20 years to see a Stanley Cup Final game.