Washington @ Vegas preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 10, 2018 ) Vegas 2, Washington 5

The Washington Capitals cashed in during their last trip to Las Vegas as they emerged victorious in Game 5 to capture the franchise's first Stanley Cup title. The Capitals, who continued their run of good fortune with a 5-2 win over the Vegas Golden Knights at home on Oct. 10, will look to complete the season sweep on Tuesday when the clubs meet at T-Mobile Arena.

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored a goal and set up three others in the first encounter versus Vegas after erupting for eight points (one goal, seven assists) in last season's Stanley Cup Final. The 26-year-old Russian returned from missing a little over two weeks with an upper-body injury to notch an assist in Friday's 6-3 victory versus New Jersey before seeing his team's seven-game winning streak come to a halt the following night with a 6-5 setback against Anaheim. Like Washington, Vegas saw its season-high winning streak snapped as it dropped its first decision in six outings with Saturday's 2-1 setback at Edmonton. William Karlsson scored against the Oilers to extend his goal-scoring streak to four games heading into the rematch with the Capitals, against whom he had an assist in the first meeting.

TV: 10 p.m. ET, Sportsnet, NBCS Washington, AT&T SportsNet Rocky Mountain (Vegas)

ABOUT THE CAPITALS (15-8-3): Captain Alex Ovechkin completed a fairy-tale postseason in June by recording one point in each of the five games versus Vegas to capture Conn Smythe Trophy honors. The 33-year-old Russian, who tallied twice in the first encounter with the Golden Knights this season, is riding high with an eight-game point streak (seven goals, five assists) to boost his team-leading goal total to 19. Ovechkin's 32 points are one shy of Nicklas Backstrom, who scored and set up a goal in the first meeting with Vegas and has four goals and as many assists in his last three contests.

ABOUT THE GOLDEN KNIGHTS (14-13-1): Reilly Smith (team-leading 13 assists) fueled Vegas' recent run of good fortune by recording 10 points (one goal, nine assists) in his previous seven games before being held off the scoresheet against Edmonton on Saturday. "You're going to run into a little bit of a hot goalie and it seemed like pucks were just hitting (goaltender Mikko Koskinen)," the 27-year-old Smith told reporters. "But I think, overall, we played a good game and if we keep that momentum and that pace into the next one, it will give us a good outcome." Cody Eakin, who joined Smith in scoring in the first meeting with Washington, is tied with Jonathan Marchessault and Max Pacioretty for the team lead in goals (10).

OVERTIME

1. Vegas G Marc-Andre Fleury has yielded 24 goals in his last six games versus Washington (Stanley Cup Finals included).

2. Capitals D John Carlson has 11 of his team-leading 24 assists in his last eight contests.

3. Golden Knights RW Alex Tuch has eight points (three goals, five assists) in his last six games.

PREDICTION: Golden Knights 4, Capitals 2