Event of the Day: Vegas Golden Knights versus Washington Capitals

Our event of the day is Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup Final’s matchup between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Washington Capitals at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. This is a Stanley Cup series matchup that even the boldest of analysts wouldn’t have predicted coming into the season. The Las Vegas Golden Knights were an expansion franchise entering their first season in the league and while they were predicted to do better than most expansion teams, they were still predicted by many to finish last in their division. The Capitals on the other hand have been in the league for 43 seasons, but have failed to have consistent success, reaching the Stanley Cup only once before now. This current version of the Capitals has always been very talented, boasting one of the best players in the world in Alex Ovechkin, but has fallen short season after season. Last year they ended the season with the best record in the league, their second year in a row doing so, but ended the year in an utterly disappointing second round loss to the eventual champion Pittsburgh Penguins. 

The Las Vegas Golden Knights have been the best story in professional sports this year and have definitely been the greatest expansion team in the history of U.S. Sport - most expansion teams tend to struggle in their first few seasons as they acclimatise and build a team. Through intelligent player personnel decisions and resurgent seasons from key veterans, goalie Marc-André Fleury and 36-year-old defenseman Deryk Engelland (who had 2 assists in the 6-4 game one victory for the Golden Knights), the team has beat all the odds in becoming the first expansion team to reach the Stanley Cup in their first season. If the Golden Knights play like they did in game one, we could have the most unlikely champions since 2015/2016 Premier League Champions, Leicester City, on our hands, but Alex Ovechkin and his talented team won’t just lie down in the face of history. This should be a Stanley Cup to remember and game 2 will be a defining game.

Honourable mentions around the globe go to Day four of the French Open on the clay courts of Roland Garros. Today is the round of 64 for both men’s and women’s, singles and doubles. Many big names have matches today including number 2 seed Alexander Zverev, number 20 seed Novak Djokovic, number 2 seed Caroline Wozniacki, as well as the number 1 seeded women’s doubles team of Tímea Babos and Kristina Mladenovic. Elsewhere, the baseball and cricket seasons continue with an MLB matchup between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Philadelphia Phillies at Dodger stadium and a Royal London One Day Cup match between Middlesex and Hampshire at Merchant Taylors’ School Ground.  International Football continues to ramp up in the build-up to the FIFA World Cup, with friendlies between Japan and Ghana, at the Yokohama International Stadium, and between Austria and Russia at the Tivoli Stadion Tirol.

Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!

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