So what side should you back? And where does the value lie? Visit SportsLine to get NHL odds and picks for every Stanley Cup Playoff game, all from the advanced computer model on a red-hot 21-8 NHL run. The comeback Capitals continue to be road warriors in these NHL playoffs, and after holding off the Golden Knights in a frantic third period Wednesday night in Las Vegas for a 3-2 win, we've officially got ourselves a series in this Stanley Cup Final. The series now heads to Washington tied 1-1. Alexander Ovechkin notched his first Stanley Cup goal in his storied NHL career in the second period, giving the Caps a lead they wouldn't surrender. It wasn't the scoring fest that was Monday's Stanley Cup opener, which saw 10 goals and four lead changes in a 6-4 Golden Knights' win, but it didn't lack for drama all the way to the finish. Who wins Game 3 of a Stanley Cup Final that no one saw coming featuring the expansion Knights and the seemingly cursed Caps? One way or the other, one franchise is getting its first Cup. You can relive all the highlights from Wednesday's game in our live blog below, and scroll down for the Stanley Cup Final schedule, how to watch information and our staff predictions. If the live blog isn't working, click here. How to watch TV: NBC, NBCS Stream: fuboTV (Try for free) Follow: CBS Sports App (All times ET) Game 1: Golden Knights 6, Capitals 4 Golden Knights 6, Capitals 4 Game 2: Capitals 3, Golden Knights 2 Capitals 3, Golden Knights 2 Game 3 (in Washington): Saturday, June 2, 8 p.m. ET (NBCS) Saturday, June 2, 8 p.m. ET (NBCS) Game 4 (in Washington): Monday, June 4, 8 p.m. ET (NBC) Monday, June 4, 8 p.m. ET (NBC) Game 5 (in Vegas): Thursday, June 7, 8 p.m. ET (NBC) Thursday, June 7, 8 p.m. ET (NBC) Game 6 (in Washington): Sunday, June 10, 8 p.m. ET (NBC) Sunday, June 10, 8 p.m. ET (NBC) Game 7 (in Vegas): Wednesday, June 13, 8 p.m. ET (NBC) Playoff bracket CBSSports.com illustration by Mike Meredith Predictions Blackburn: I've been picking against the Golden Knights every step of the way and they keep proving me wrong. My head says to take Vegas here -- they've got the hottest goaltender and I love their ability to suffocate teams with speed and pressure on the puck -- but my heart says Capitals. Washington has a wealth of weapons and I just can't bring myself to root against Ovi finally getting his Cup. Capitals in 7. Benjamin: It all comes down to this. Vegas has defied all the odds -- literally, all of them -- thanks to its supreme balance and supreme outings from Marc-Andre Fleury. And if anyone's destined to cap off such a historic run in surreal fashion, it's the Golden Knights. But speaking of destiny, these Capitals won't die, and Alex Ovechkin is grinding his way toward something that's escaped him for far too long. Braden Holtby is on point, which goes a long way, even though this thing should be close. Capitals in 6. Skiver: I've been wrestling with this decision since the Final were set. The expansion Golden Knights or the Capitals, who have seemingly broken the shackles of their playoff curse. This series is about as evenly matched as you could hope for, but I can't pick against Marc-Andre Fleury right now. He's been so good this postseason, and the Golden Knights have been so dominant, it's hard to imagine them losing. The Capitals have been an amazing story this postseason, but when it comes down to a toss-up -- even one involving Alex Ovechkin -- I can't pick against the better net-minder. Golden Knights in 7.<doc-sep>Washington needs to get out of the gate quickly: Washington needs to get off to a faster start than it did in Game 1. The Capitals didn’t get their first shot on net until more than halfway through the first period and it took them more than five minutes of playing time to get their first shot on net in the second period. To illustrate how little the shot volume was for Washington in the series opener look no further than the team’s shot leader at even strength, defenseman Dmitry Orlov, who ended the game with four shots on net. Brett Connolly, T.J. Oshie and another blue liner, John Carlson, tied for second with three shots on net and four others, including Alex Ovechkin, had only two all game.<doc-sep>The puck was there. Braden Holtby was not. He was helpless on both knees instead, left skate sealed against the far post, shoulders and chest squared toward the visiting bench, where captain Alex Ovechkin would soon perform one damn accurate Kevin McCallister impression upon witnessing what miracles the Washington Capitals goalie somehow conjured next. Slow the footage down, frame by frame. Watch it again, over and over. See the lateral pass move from Golden Knights center Cody Eakin to linemate Alex Tuch, his right-handed blade flexed and firing at an empty net. Marvel over Holtby twisting, lunging, reaching, anything to have a chance. Gasp as the puck strikes the shaft of his outstretched stick, smack on the M in CCM, before it is safely corralled like chips at a craps table. Quick question: Does the Smithsonian accept GIFs as gifts? “Let’s talk about the save,” Holtby was asked later by NBCSN commentator Pierre McGuire, stalactitic sweat dripping from his beard, a nonchalant gaze on his face. “Something that will go down in Washington Capitals lore.” How the next two weeks break will ultimately determine to what extent ol’ Pierre is correct, but make no mistake that the baseline levels are already set somewhere between mind-boggling and legendary. Almost three minutes remained when Holtby stymied Tuch, preserving a 3-2 lead that lasted until the final horn and secured the first Stanley Cup Final victory in the Capitals' 43-year history. “That’s hockey sometimes,” Holtby told McGuire. Stanley Cup Final: Capitals, Holtby Hang on in Game 2 to Even Series Actually, that’s Holtby sometimes. Benched when the playoffs began, the 2015-16 Vezina Trophy winner had allowed an uncharacteristically high five goals during a Game 1 loss, including four at even strength. But no one was better Wednesday night. His 37 saves marked a regulation-high this postseason, including six straight stops across an extended Golden Knights power play that began with 68 seconds of 5-on-3 in the third period. His puck-moving skills helped stymie Vegas’s feared forecheck, like the head fake and backhanded pass that he threw with 40 seconds remaining and opposing goalie Marc-Andre Fleury pulled. Holtby’s performance guaranteed that this whiplash series is now tied heading back to Washington. Elsewhere, the supporting cast showed up. With center Evgeny Kuznetsov shelved by a hard hit that left him hunched over and wincing in pain—and Nicklas Backstrom basically stickhandling with nine adult fingers and one baby eggplant—Lars Eller delivered a goal and two assists. It had been 824 days since defenseman Brooks Orpik last scored, but his short-hopper caromed off Tuch’s elbow and past Fleury for the eventual game-winner. There was the critical puck support of Andre Burakovsky on Eller’s opening salvo in the first period. And a stingy defensive stretch that held Vegas without a shot for more than 10 straight minutes in the third. And Jay Beagle, hobbling to the bench after blocking a shot that formally ended the Golden Knights’ aforementioned man advantage, their last true gasp. “Five-on-three, you’ve got to count on a goal there,” Golden Knights coach Gerard Gallant told reporters postgame. “I was praying like crazy,” Capitals counterpart Barry Trotz said moments later. A verbose talker of clergyman quality, Trotz bows not to conventional deities but higher hockey powers. In his mind these sorts of gods did not answer Monday, perhaps too preoccupied watching that breathless track meet like everyone else (including the referees who missed Ryan Reaves’s obvious cross-check on the game-winning goal). Rangers Believe New Coach Dave Quinn Will Bring Fresh Approach to Rebuilding Team But starting when Kuznetsov exited down the tunnel—taking with him an 11-game point streak, longest in the playoffs league-wide since 2010, and the breath of every Washington fan back home—the Capitals were able to access something deeper. It was the same resiliency that helped them past a 2-0 series deficit against Columbus in the first round, let them banish their black-and-yellow demons over Pittsburgh, and carried them to Games 6 and 7 shutouts of Tampa Bay for their first Eastern Conference title in two decades. The same fire that lifted the Capitals until it was time to form a celebration line in front of Holtby, pull his mask close, and whisper thanks for what their goalie had done.<doc-sep>
Ryan Reaves got his shot at Tom Wilson in Game 2, and he took it. That shot was a cheap one, and he was penalized for it. During the second period of Wednesday's Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, the two tough guys came face-to-face after a whistle. They appeared headed for a confrontation, but Reaves quickly dropped Wilson with a jab straight to the chin. Reaves earned himself a well-deserved two-minute minor for roughing. There was some discussion prior to Game 2 about whether Reaves and Wilson would fight, which seemed like a good possibility considering what unfolded during and after Game 1. Wilson delivered a late and brutal hit on Jonathan Marchessault during that first game. It was a hit that a number of Golden Knights players, Reaves included, took exception to. When it was announced that Wilson wouldn't be suspended for the hit, chatter immediately turned to the possibility of Vegas seeking out their own form of justice for the dirty hit. Reaves is one of their toughest players on the roster, so his postgame quote regarding Wilson suggested he'd probably be the guy to seek it out. But Reaves wasn't without incident during Game 1 himself. The Capitals didn't care for his blatant crosscheck to the back of John Carlson during the third period of that game, especially considering it led to a game-tying goal for Reaves a split-second later. Despite the animosity, Reaves and Wilson avoided dropping the gloves through two periods of Game 2. Instead, the only punch was thrown with a glove on.