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Throughout their first three playoff series http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-sam-hubbard-jersey , the Vegas Golden Knights were defined by smart decisions and dazzling plays.

In the Stanley Cup Final, their mistakes have drawn most of the attention.

Vegas made too many errors in its own end of the ice and scored just one gift-wrapped goal Saturday night in a 3-1 loss to the Washington Capitals, who never trailed in taking a 2-1 lead in the best-of-7 series.

There were missed assignments, botched passes and only 22 shots on goal. The Golden Knights hardly looked like the team that steamrolled its way to the Western Conference championship with a 12-3 record.

After opening the Final with a 6-4 victory, Vegas lost Game 2 when Alex Tuch failed to convert a wonderful scoring chance in the waning minutes. There was more trouble coming as the series arrived in Washington.

On Saturday night, after the Golden Knights closed to 2-1 early in the third period, the Capitals restored the two-goal cushion when Jay Beagle outworked Vegas defenseman Shea Theodore in the corner, gained possession of the puck and sent a centering pass that Devante Smith-Pelly slammed into the net at 13:53.

”It didn’t go his way tonight,” left wing David Perron said of Theodore. ”You just have to move forward and turn the page.”

Ditto for the rest of the Golden Knights, who now trail in a playoff series after three games for the first time.

”It’s all on us right now,” Deryk Engelland said. ”We’ve just got to tighten it up and get going on the ice.”

After becoming only the third NHL team to win multiple playoff series in its inaugural season, Vegas charged into the Final looking to extend its unprecedented run of success.

It started well in Game 1 Brian Allen Color Rush Jersey , and there seemed no reason to panic after the subsequent 3-2 defeat. But the Golden Knights’ downturn continued Saturday night, when they too often let goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury contend for himself and failed to mount much of a threat against Braden Holtby on the other end.

In one telling sequence, Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring early in the second period as he was falling over Vegas defenseman Brayden McNabb. It happened only after Fleury slid from side to side, frantically making three saves in the sequence before Ovechkin connected.

”It’s a team game,” said Fleury, who had 23 saves. ”I just try to do my job the best I can.”

Vegas has lost two straight for the first time since early April, when it dropped the final two meaningless games of the regular season. The Golden Knights are struggling on both ends of the ice, and at this point they can’t explain why.

”We didn’t play good in the neutral zone, turned a lot of pucks over and fed their offense,” said Tomas Nosek, who scored Vegas’ only goal. ”Also, the back-check was not good enough.”

Vegas still has a chance to become the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup. But when the Final is tied at one game apiece http://www.jetsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-clive-walford-jersey , the winner of Game 3 ultimately has gone on to capture the Cup 78 percent of the time (21 of 27) since the series went to the best-of-seven format in 1939.

The only deficit the Golden Knights faced before this was in the Western Conference finals, when they lost the opener to Winnipeg before rattling off four straight wins.

”Tonight it was a close hockey game,” coach Gerard Gallant said. ”It was 2-1 late in the (third) period, and then that unfortunate turnover goal.”

To be fair, the Golden Knights’ goal came in similar fashion. After Holtby did a poor job of clearing the puck from behind the Capitals net, Nosek easily scored to slice Washington’s lead to 2-1 at 3:29 of the third period.

But Vegas had already dug a hole that was too deep.

”They came out in the first period and set the tone,” Gallant said. ”We were chasing them from behind again tonight.”

That is the predicament Vegas now faces in the series, with Game 4 on Monday night.

”We’ve got to find a way to bounce back and put this behind us,” Perron said.

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More Stanley Cup coverage: The first pitch set the tone for Minnesota.

Jake Cave robbed Tim Beckham of a home run, helping Lance Lynn bounce back from two poor starts, and Max Kepler homered to lead the Twins to a 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles on Friday night.

Beckham drilled Lynn’s first offering to the deepest part of Target Field, but Cave raced to the wall Mike McGlinchey Color Rush Jersey , leapt, reached back and caught the ball while fully extended to deny a home run.

”It’s up there with actually hitting a home run, it’s cool to be able to help the pitcher like that and take one back,” Cave said.

Beckham tipped his cap to the Twins’ rookie.


”That’s pretty cool for him to do that. I’m sure he’s made a lot of great plays against guys in his career, so he knows what it feels like to do something like that,” Cave said.

It was the second straight day Cave made a fully extended catch at the wall. He robbed Chris Davis in right-center Thursday.

”I definitely didn’t want to start the game by giving up a solo home run. One heck of a play and I was able to get into a rhythm after that,” Lynn said.

Lynn (6-7) allowed six hits and one earned run in six innings as he continued his up-and-down season. He allowed 11 earned runs in 6 2/3 innings over his previous two starts, including seven in 1 2/3 innings last Sunday at Wrigley Field. His ERA was 1.74 ERA in six starts from May 22 to June 20, but 7.47 in his first eight starts of the season.

”You’re gonna have your good ones and your bad ones,” he said.

Up 6-0, Lynn needed 27 pitches to get through the sixth when Baltimore scored its first run, including 10 against Jonathan Schoop Cheap Baker Mayfield Jersey , an at-bat that ended in a double play.

”I threw a couple pitches that I thought he’d do that earlier,” Lynn said. ”He covers a lot of the plate both sides and he finally hit a ball and we were able to turn it.”

Caleb Joseph had a season-high three hits for the Orioles, losers of four straight and 11 of 12.

In his first start since going on the disabled list June 23 with a left ankle sprain, Baltimore’s Dylan Bundy (6-8) allowed nine hits and five earned runs in 3 1/3 innings. It is his second-shortest start of the season. The right-hander allowed seven runs without recording an out May 8 vs. Kansas City.

Brian Dozier and Jorge Polanco had RBI singles in the first inning as Minnesota jumped out to a 3-0 lead, increasing Bundy’s opening frame ERA to 9.00. It is 3.13 in innings two through nine.

Kepler made it 5-0 in the fourth with a two-run homer to right field.

”If anything, I was trying to miss low and it ended up right down the middle and he was able to hit it out. That was pretty much how the whole game was, throwing stuff right down the middle,” Bundy said.

BALANCED ATTACK

Polanco, Joe Mauer, Eddie Rosario and Mitch Garver each had two hits for the Twins, who have won two straight after a six-game skid.

FRY IS FINE

In his third career game, Baltimore reliever Paul Fry struck out four and did not allow a hit in 2 1-3 innings. The left-hander was called up June 29.

”Pitching looks easy when you locate a fastball and spin a ball for a strike anytime in the count Ed Dickson Color Rush Jersey , but it’s not that easy. He was in a really good place today and you could tell,” said manager Buck Showalter.

TRAINERS ROOM

Orioles: To make room for Bundy, RHP David Hess was optioned to Triple-A Norfolk. . INF Luis Sardi锟絘s (left ankle sprain) was reinstated from the 60-day disabled list. He cleared waivers and was assigned outright to Norfolk.

Twins: Manager Paul Molitor said there is a ”really good chance” INF Ehire Adrianza, out since July 2 with a left hamstring strain, will be ready to play when he can come off the DL next Thursday. . INF/OF Taylor Motter was activated off the 7-day DL (concussion-like symptoms) and optioned to Double-A Chattanooga.

UP NEXT

A pair of right-handers are scheduled to start Saturday with Baltimore’s Kevin Gausman (4-6, 4.05) facing Minnesota’s Kyle Gibson (2-6, 3.58). Gausman has allowed two or fewer runs in four straight starts. Gibson has allowed more than three earned runs just once in his last nine turns.

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