Alex Ovechkin, Capitals Crush Golden Knights, Take 3-1 Lead in Stanley Cup Final

The Washington Capitals are one win away from lifting the Stanley Cup for the first time ever.

Washington steamrolled the Vegas Golden Knights 6-2 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at Capital One Arena on Monday, taking advantage of a solid performance from goaltender Braden Holtby, goals from T.J. Oshie, Tom Wilson, Devante Smith-Pelly, John Carlson, Michal Kempny and Brett Connolly, and four assists from Evgeny Kuznetsov to move to the doorstep of franchise history.

While Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury is a three-time Stanley Cup winner from his time on the Pittsburgh Penguins, it was Holtby who played with a veteran's poise. He saved 28 of 30 shots (93.3 save percentage) and helped kill all four of the Golden Knights' power plays, continuing the stellar play he has demonstrated throughout the postseason.

He has settled in after a 6-4 loss in Game 1 and extended his winning streak to three after allowing three combined goals in Games 2 and 3.

With one more win, Holtby will etch his name in Washington sports lore. He rescued the Capitals from a 2-0 deficit to the Columbus Blue Jackets in the first round after not starting the first two games, vanquished the archrival Pittsburgh Penguins in the second round and tallied shutouts in Games 6 and 7 against the high-powered Tampa Bay Lightning in the Eastern Conference Final.

Sometimes even clutch performances require luck, though, and Holtby had it on his side Monday with multiple Vegas shots ringing off the post.

None stood out more than James Neal's look in the opening minutes. He had a wide-open net but drew nothing but iron, missing a golden opportunity to put momentum on Vegas' side after two straight disheartening losses.

The visitors felt the pain of the miss even more when the Capitals blitzed them for three goals during the rest of the period, essentially ending the contest before the initial intermission.

Oshie scored first, finding the back of the net from point-blank range on a rebound from Kuznetsov's shot. Kuznetsov wasn't done making things happen, as his perfect centering pass set up Wilson's goal to make it 2-0 before his cross-ice pass to Carlson for a one-timer over Fleury's glove made it 4-0 in the second period.

It was a dramatic shift from Game 2 when there were questions about whether Kuznetsov would even take the ice again after exiting with an injury he suffered from a Brayden McNabb check into the boards.

While Alex Ovechkin's pursuit of a Stanley Cup to cement his legacy is a primary talking point with the Capitals, Kuznetsov has been the leading scorer throughout the NHL in these playoffs and is building a legacy of his own.

It wasn't all Kuznetsov, as Smith-Pelly's goal in the first period made it 3-0 and continued his postseason resurgence as a scorer:

Washington wasn't about to move a single win away from its first championship without making its long-waiting fans sweat a little, and Vegas received third-period goals from Neal and Reilly Smith to trim the deficit to 4-2 heading into the closing stretch.

It was to no avail, though, as Fleury was far from his typically cold-blooded self this time of year and allowed two more goals after his team climbed back into the game. Kempny and Connolly created breathing room by beating the veteran and fostered frustration on Vegas' side as the two teams fought multiple times in the final few minutes.

Fleury stopped just 17 of 23 shots (73.9 save percentage) and failed to live up to the standard set by his counterpart.

As a result, the Golden Knights will need to win on their home ice in Thursday's Game 5 to preserve their season and force another contest back in Washington.