Wednesday Night Hockey: 5 Storylines

The Washington Capitals and Vegas Golden Knights will play for the first time since the 2018 Stanley Cup Final when they face off at Capital One Arena in this edition of Wednesday Night Hockey (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN).

Four months and three days ago, the Capitals celebrated their first championship since entering the NHL in 1974 when they rallied for a 4-3 victory in Game 5 of the Final. Here are five storylines for the first game of the season between the teams that played for the Cup in June:

Golden Knights looking for revenge

Vegas looked like it might cap the greatest season by an expansion team in pro sports history with a championship after defeating the Capitals in Game 1 of the Final, only to have Washington win the next four games. Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury, whose three Stanley Cup runs with the Pittsburgh Penguins each included a second-round victory against Washington, admitted he's not over it and that watching video of the Capitals celebrating their championship
hasn't been easy
.

Slow start for Vegas

Unlike their first season, when they started 3-0-0 and were 8-1-0 by Oct. 27, the Golden Knights have lost two of their first three games. They were defeated 5-2 at home by the Philadelphia Flyers in their opener, rallied for a 2-1 shootout win at the Minnesota Wild on Saturday and lost 4-2 at the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. The Golden Knights have generated plenty of shots (they've outshot their opponents 104-72) but haven't turned that into goals (opponents have outscored Vegas 10-6, including one shootout goal). Fleury, whose goaltending was a big reason for the fast start last season, has struggled. He has a 3.92 goals-against average and .841 save percentage.

Newcomers not producing for Golden Knights

Another reason for the slow start by the Golden Knights is their two big offseason acquisitions, center Paul Stastny and forward Max Pacioretty, haven't contributed much. Stastny has no points in three games and will miss at least the next three with a lower-body injury. Pacioretty's only point in three games was his goal at 18:29 of the third period that tied the game 1-1 against the Wild. For the Golden Knights to come anywhere close to matching their success of last season, they need Pacioretty to elevate his game in Stastny's absence.

Capitals clicking on offense

Washington is 1-0-1 after two games, but its offense has started the season in high gear. The Capitals defeated the Boston Bruins 7-0 in their season opener Oct. 3, then rallied before losing 7-6 in overtime at the Pittsburgh Penguins one night later. That's 13 goals, which have been spread among eight players, meaning opponents can't focus all their attention on shutting down Alex Ovechkin's line. Ovechkin is one of four players with at least two goals. T.J. Oshie leads Washington with three goals and five points.

Special teams

The Capitals have lit it up on the power play in their first two games, scoring four times in eight opportunities. In contrast, the Golden Knights have yet to score with the extra man in three games, going 0-for-8, and their only special teams goal was a shorthanded goal by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare on opening night. Vegas (75.0 percent on the penalty kill) must shut down Washington's power play and generate some production of its own against a kill that allowed two goals against Pittsburgh.