The Vegas Golden Knights took another step in their unlikely quest to win the Stanley Cup, beating the Washington Capitals 6-4 in a Game 1 thriller.
Fourth-line forward Tomas Nosek scored a go-ahead goal midway through the third period and had an empty-net goal with 2.7 seconds left.
Marc-Andre Fleury made 24 saves for the Golden Knights. Braden Holtby made 28 saves for the Capitals, who are 0-5 in franchise history in the Stanley Cup Final.
Since the final went to a best-of-seven format in 1939, the winner of Game 1 has gone on to hoist the Cup the last six years and 61 of the last 78 times.
Boston is the last team to bounce back from losing Game 1 to win an NHL title. The Bruins, in fact, opened the 2011 Final with two losses against the Vancouver Canucks before rallying and winning in seven games.
Vegas will host Game 2 on Wednesday night.
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