WASHINGTON (AP) James Neal had the puck on his stick and was staring at an open net. In a can’t-miss situation John Klingberg Jersey , that’s exactly what he did.Poised to give the Vegas Golden Knights the opening goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, the veteran leader of this upstart expansion team hit the right post . Ping! The puck skipped behind Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby and slithered harmlessly toward the back boards.”You want those chances. Nine times out of 10 you probably put that in the back of the net,” Neal said. ”I had the composure to wait. And then you shoot it and you’re like, `Oh!”’The Golden Knights, a team in desperate need of a boost of confidence, collectively shrugged as a golden opportunity slipped away.”It definitely would have changed the outcome of the game and would have given us momentum,” said right wing Alex Tuch, who knows a thing or two about being coming up empty on a close-in shot.Not surprisingly, the Golden Knights sputtered the rest of the way Monday night in a 6-2 defeat that put them on the brink of elimination. Washington is up 3-1 and can win its first Stanley Cup on Thursday night in Las Vegas.”Go home, win one game and the pressure is on them,” Neal said Mattias Janmark Jersey , hopefully.Although the Capitals have blown many a playoff series in the past, only one team, the 1942 Detroit Red Wings, has lost the Stanley Cup Final after holding a 3-1 lead.”Not where we want to be, that’s for sure,” Vegas goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury said. ”But we have a good bunch of guys with a lot of character in the room. Nobody’s quitting.”Barring a comeback of historic proportions – an unlikely occurrence after being outscored 12-5 over the past three games – the Golden Knights will always remember this series for ”The Stick” and ”The Post.””The Stick” was wielded by Holtby , who used it late in Game 2 to snuff a seemingly sure goal by Tuch in a 3-2 Washington victory. ”The Post” is a symbol of the frustration Vegas has experienced in this series after winning 12 of 15 in roaring to the Western Conference title.Who knows if things would have been different on Monday night if Neal put the puck in the net?This much is certain: The reeling Golden Knights were looking for something, anything, to build on when they entered Game 4, and a 1-0 lead would have been splendid. Presented with a power play in a scoreless first period, Vegas worked the puck around smartly in the Washington zone. Then Radek Faksa Jersey , Erik Haula whisked a cross-ice pass to Neal on the left side of the net, and Holtby was slow to react.”We obviously got some breaks at the start of the game,” the goaltender said. ”Honestly, I thought it was in. Somehow, it didn’t go in.”Said Neal: ”It’s not like anyone made a save. I shot it off the post on the far side. It’s done with. It’s not the first time it’s happened. Probably won’t be the last. But at this stage, at that moment, it changes the game.”The Capitals rattled off three straight goals before the period ended to take full control.Game over. On to the next one for the Golden Knights, who face elimination for the first time during the playoffs.”You can’t feel sorry for yourself. You’ve got to win a game at home,” Neal said. ”That’s what we’ll focus on. I like the way we played. You’ve got to take the positives.”Coach Gerard Gallant insisted: ”Tonight’s game was a step forward. Obviously, though, we have no more room for error.”The Golden Knights could use a little luck. Tuch and Brayden McNabb both lined shots off the post after Neal Authentic Stephen Johns Jersey , who scored with just under 16 minutes left to make it 4-1.But the outcome by then was all but decided.The Golden Knights have struggled to generate offense against the tenacious Washington defense, and Fleury has not been as sharp as he was in Vegas’ three previous series. He gave up six goals on 23 shots as Vegas dropped its third straight game.”Obviously, when you’re a goalie, you don’t want to get scored on,” Fleury said. ”There was a lot of that tonight. It’s never a good feeling.”—More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals OTTAWA, Ontario (AP) — The Ottawa Senators were ready for their 4-on-3 power play in overtime against the Pittsburgh Penguins.Ryan Dzingel scored with the man advantage at 1:20 of overtime after the Penguins were called for too many men on the ice in Ottawa’s 2-1 victory Saturday night.Senators coach Guy Boucher said they simulated the situation in practice earlier in the day.“I had a weird feeling this morning,” Boucher said. “We were supposed to practice 5-on-4 and I don’t know, we practiced 5-on-3 and 4-on-3, and the boys executed perfectly, so it was good. It was a good, lucky day.”Thomas Chabot scored in regulation Youth Tyler Pitlick Jersey , Mark Stone assisted on both goals and Craig Anderson made 35 shots.“Stone told me he missed me on the 5-on-4 just before so I knew he was looking for me and, obviously, 5-on-3, 4-on-3 we’re trying to get the puck in his hands because he makes things happen. He was ether going to me or (Chabot) and he faked out and came to me. Chabot already got one, so he was looking for me and it found a way in.”Jean-Sebastien Dea scored for Pittsburgh, and Casey DeSmith stopped 27 shot.“I still think we can give ourselves a better chance in the third, staying out of the box and overtime,” said Sidney Crosby. “We did a lot of good things, but you can’t expect to win games, especially close games, putting yourself in that position time and time again.”Ottawa was without scoring leader Matt Duchene Tyler Seguin Jersey , with the team saying he’ll be out weeks with a groin injury. The Senators also revealed that Bobby Ryan would be sidelined indefinitely because of a concussion.“It’s opportunity for other guys,” Anderson said. “You can’t worry about what you don’t have. You have to worry about what you do have and what we have in here is 20 guys willing to pay the price to try and win hockey games.”Ottawa opened the scoring at 4:24 of the first period. Stone fed Chabot at the point and fired a shot through traffic to beat DeSmith.Dea tied it at 3:27 of the second.“I thought we dominated a lot of the game,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. “We couldn’t find a way to score more goals, but there was a lot to like about our effort. For the most part, it was pretty solid.”NOTES: D Christian Jaros was a healthy scratch for the Senators, while Mark Borowiecki missed his eighth straight game with an upper-body injury. … Pittsburgh defensemen Chad Ruhwedel and Juuso Riikola were healthy scratches.UP NEXTPenguins: At New York Islanders on Monday night.Senators: Host Boston on Sunday night.