Stanley Cup Final Game 4 Live Blog: Golden Knights vs. Capitals

Welcome to Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals.
NHL.com Director of Editorial Shawn P. Roarke has all the sights and sounds from Capital One Arena on Monday where the Capitals moved one win away from their first Stanley Cup title in franchise history with a 6-2 win.

11:00 p.m. ET

The Washington Capitals are one win from their first Stanley Cup
after a 6-2 victory
against the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 4.

Game 5 is at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, SN, TVAS).
After James Neal and Reilly Smith scored for Vegas to make it a two-goal game, Washington defenseman Michal Kempny scored a 4-on-4 goal at 13:39 to make it 5-2.

T.J. Oshie, who opened the scoring with a power-play goal at 9:54 of the first period, had an assist on the Kempny goal, as did Nicklas Backstrom.
Brett Connolly scored a power-play goal with 1:09 remaining to make it 6-2. The Capitals scored three power-play goals in five opportunities.

Smith had scored at 12:26 to make it 4-2. It was his fourth goal and 20th point of the postseason, which is tied with linemate Jonathan Marchessault (eight goals, 12 assists) for the team lead.

Washington goaltender Braden Holtby made 28 saves to win for the fourth time in the past five games. Marc-Andre Fleury lost for the third-straight game after a five-game winning streak. He made 17 saves.
Forwards Tom Wilson and Devante Smith-Pelly and defenseman John Carlson, on the power play, also scored for the Capitals. Forward Evgeny Kuznetsov had four assists and reached 31 points (12 goals, 18 assists) in 23 games.

10:35 p.m. ET

With 10 minutes remaining, the Capitals lead 4-1.
Barring a comeback for the ages, the Capitals will be one win from their first Stanley Cup with Game 5 in Vegas on Thursday.
Forward James Neal scored a power-play goal at 5:23 of the third period to ruin the shutout bid of Washington goalie Braden Holtby, who had stopped the first 24 shots he faced.

It was the first power-play goal, in four attempts, for the Golden Knights in the game. Washington scored on its first two power-play opportunities in taking a 4-0 lead.
T.J. Oshie scored with the man-advantage at 9:54 of the first period, followed by even-strength goals from Tom Wilson and Devante Smith-Pelly. In the second period, defenseman John Carlson scored a man-advantage goal to make it 4-0.
The Capitals have 19 power-play goals in 23 postseason games.
Holtby has 24 saves; Fleury has 15.

9:55 p.m. ET

Washington leads 4-0 after two periods.
Defenseman John Carlson scored a power-play goal at 15:23, one-timing home a cross-ice pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov, who has three assists and 30 points this postseason (12 goals, 18 assists).

San Jose Sharks forward Logan Couture (2016) and Philadelphia Flyers forward Danny Briere (2010) are the most recent players to reach 30 points. Each lost in the Stanley Cup Final.
Carlson has 54 career postseason points (18 goals, 36 assists), tying him with Calle Johansson for the franchise lead for points by a defenseman.

At 14:55, forward James Neal took a slashing penalty in front of the Washington net, blunting the momentum the Golden Knights had fashioned in taking a 9-2 advantage in shots in the period.
Washington is 2-for-2 on the power play; the Golden Knights 0-for-3. The Capitals have a League-best 19 power-play goals this postseason.
Forwards T.J. Oshie, on the power play, Tom Wilson and Devante Smith-Pelly scored first-period goals.
Washington goaltender Braden Holtby has 22 saves; Marc-Andre Fleury has 11.

9:35 p.m ET

The score remains 3-0 for the Capitals halfway through the second period.
The Golden Knights came out strong, getting six of the first seven shots of the second period. They also had a power play when Capitals defenseman John Carlson was penalized for tripping forward William Karlsson on a 2-on-1 break.
The Golden Knights applied considerable pressure, but could not solve goaltender Braden Holtby, who put an exclamation point on the kill by snagging a slap shot by defenseman Colin Miller as the penalty expired.
At 8:31, Vegas hit a post for the third time, this time it was Brayden McNabb with a shot through traffic.
Vegas had another power play at 9:18 when Wilson went off for a cross check on defenseman Nate Schmidt in the offensive zone but again, could not score.

8:55 p.m. ET

The Washington Capitals lead 3-0 after the first period, thanks to two goals in a span of 3:13.
At 16:26, forward Tom Wilson scored off a pretty pass from Evgeny Kuznetsov to make it 2-0. The play started with a face-off win by Kuznetsov.

It was Wilson's fifth goal of the postseason. Kuznetsov has a League-leading 29 points (12 goals, 17 assists) in 23 postseason games.
At 19:39, Devante Smith-Pelly scored, firing a wrist shot over the shoulder of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury.

Smith-Pelly also scored in Game 3. He has six goals this postseason after scoring seven during the regular season.
Alex Ovechkin had the assist and he has 26 points (14 goals, 12 assists) in 23 games.
Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby made 11 saves; Fleury made eight.

8:40 p.m. ET

Washington has a 1-0 lead after 10 minutes of Game 4.
T.J. Oshie shoveled a rebound over the pad of Marc-Andre Fleury for a power-play goal at 9:54.
Evgeny Kuznetsov took the original shot to earn an assist. He has a League-leading 28 points (12 goals, 16 assists) in the playoffs.

Vegas defenseman Colin Miller was in the penalty box for a neutral-zone trip on Lars Eller.

The Golden Knights said Game 4 was a must-win and started the game as if that were the case, dictating the pace for much of the first 10 minutes. But, they could not score.
Vegas had five of the first seven shots and hit two posts. Forward Erik Haula hit the far post on a redirect at 1:09 and forward James Neal hit the far post while trying to shoot into an empty net during a power play with defenseman John Carlson in the box for tripping. Capitals goalie Braden Holtby was caught out of position by a cross-ice pass and defenseman Matt Niskanen had fallen, but Neal's shot hit the post flush and skittered back across the goal line before being cleared.

8:20 p.m. ET

It was another spectacular pregame ceremony for the Capitals.
Max Scherzer and Ryan Zimmerman of the Washington Nationals
were the "Fans of the Game," selected to do the "Let's Go Caps!" chant. They did it in style, wearing Capitals jerseys, hockey helmets, gloves and holding onto hockey sticks as they revved up the crowd on the big screen.

Their teammate, Bryce Harper, who is from Las Vegas, is at the game as well, wearing a white Golden Knights jersey.

Now, it is time for some hockey. Game 4 is under way.
Tweet from @NHL: First a @falloutboy party in the street, then Game 4.Game on. #StanleyCup pic.twitter.com/6g03jBu7kM

8 p.m. ET

There is just one change for the Golden Knights and it what was expected; Tomas Tatar is in for David Perron at forward.
Perron had one assist in the first three games of the Cup Final but was a minus-3 in Game 3 on Saturday. He has eight assists in 14 postseason games.
Tatar was inserted into the lineup after a Game 1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference Final and scored in that game. He replaced Perron, who was sick.
When Perron returned in Game 3, Tatar went back to being scratched. The goal is Tatar's only point in six postseason games.
The Capitals went with the same lineup as Game 3.

7:00 p.m. ET

It's a picture-perfect day in Washington D.C. for Game 4. The sun is shining, the temperature is in the high 70s and the humidity is low. As a result, thousands of fans, mostly clad in the red-and-white jerseys of the home team, flooded the area around the arena well before the game, turning several city blocks into a party zone.
At the Smithsonian American Art Museum and National Portrait Gallery, a short walk from the arena, multi-platinum rock band Fall Out Boy performed in the Stanley Cup Final Concert presented by Hulu. Two nights earlier, Shaggy and Sting performed a similar set in much wetter conditions.
Inside, the teams are preparing for a vital Game 4 in this best-of-7 series. Washington leads 2-1 and can take a stranglehold with a victory. If Vegas wins, it becomes a best-of-3 with the Golden Knights playing twice at home.
Vegas will look different for Game 4. Forward Tomas Tatar is in the lineup for the first time since Game 2 of the Western Conference Final against the Winnipeg Jets on May 16. Coach Gerard Gallant would not say who Tatar would replace, but all signs point to David Perron, who had been playing on the second line. Tatar will play on the third line and Alex Tuch will move up to play with Erik Haula and James Neal.
Gallant suggested there may an additional change to the lineup but would not provide any detail. We will have to wait until warmups to see what may be planned.
The Capitals, who have won the past two games, expected to dress the same lineup from Game 3. Fourth-line forward Devante Smith-Pelly was injured in the morning skate, taking a puck to the face. He is expected to play.
We'll be back after warmups with the lineups.