Stanley Cup Final blog: Ryan Carpenter

Vegas Golden Knights forward Ryan Carpenter will be keeping his own blog throughout the 2018 Stanley Cup Final against the Washington Capitals. He will check in regularly with behind-the-scenes access.
Carpenter, 27, joined the Golden Knights on Dec. 13 after he was claimed off waivers from the San Jose Sharks. He had 15 points (nine goals, six assists) in 52 regular-season games. In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, he has five assists in 15 games.
Here is Carpenter's third entry, after Washington won 3-2 in Game 2 at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday to even the best-of-7 series 1-1. He discusses the game and what lies ahead for the Golden Knights as the series moves to Washington for Game 3 on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS):

It was a great start, the start we wanted, especially when James Neal scored to give us the lead there in the first period.
When Lars Eller scored at the end of the first period for them, it kind of took the momentum away. But when Shea Theodore scored at the end of the second period to make it 3-2, that was huge. It brought us back into the game and we were working hard to tie it up.
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We almost did at the end there. Alex Tuch had such a good opportunity and Braden Holtby makes what is just a terrific save there, a heck of a save. But what a play by Cody Eakin for us there too, showing the patience to get the pass over to Tuch.
Sometimes it is a game of bounces and we were on the positive end of it in Game 1; they had some chances they maybe didn't finish, and Marc-Andre Fleury made some big saves.
It was a close one tonight and a tough loss for sure. It would have been nice to go up 2-0, but they are a really good team and we know this is going to be a battle. I mean, we wanted to be 2-0 and keep that home-ice advantage, but 1-1 and we are in the middle of a series now and done, I think, feeling each other out. Now we have to find a way to get a road win or two road wins.

Now we have to start focusing on Game 3. They played hard like we expected and they capitalized on a power-play chance. They do as good job of creating turnovers and working hard. They are a tough playoff team.
Personally, I felt better out there. When you have a long break between games, it takes a while to get your legs under you. I thought I had a couple of good lucks and a few chances. I was just trying to create some momentum for the team. As a team, we just have to find a way to get better in Game 3.
Now it's time to pack our bags up and we will have an early flight tomorrow morning out east. With the three-hour time change, we will probably get in later in the afternoon. We'll get to the hotel, get a bite to eat and just relax with the guys. It'll be nice to have that extra travel day; it'll allow us to have a good practice the following day and get ready for Game 3 on Saturday.
We try not to make the travel too big a deal. At least both teams have done it. They've already had to fly out here, and now they have to go back too. Sometimes it's good to be out on the road and you get to hang out with the boys a little bit more, ignore the distractions and get ready for the next game. We have a resilient group and my expectation is we'll just make a couple changes and be ready to go.
Usually on the flights, I play a lot of cards with the boys or do Netflix. This is a bit of a longer flight and we are leaving early, so who knows? Maybe I will even get a nap.