Australia's Nathan Walker and his Washington Capitals are just one win away from making history and claiming the NHL's Stanley Cup.
The Capitals continued their domination of the Las Vegas Golden Knights on Monday with a 6-2 game-four victory in Washington DC.
It gives the Capitals a commanding 3-1 series lead, with a potential championship clincher in Las Vegas in game five on Thursday.
Walker, who was announced as a scratch for game four, made history in the regular season when he became the first Australian to play in the NHL.
The 24-year-old rookie from Sydney played a starring role for the Capitals in the second round of the playoffs, but with veterans returning from injury he is yet to appear on the ice in the first four Stanley Cup games.
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The Golden Knights lost three games in a row only three times during the regular season. Now, the expansion darlings are in danger of falling short of their ultimate goal unless they can put together three consecutive victories.
Washington used a strong first period to set the tone for victory.
TJ Oshie, Tom Wilson, and Devante Smith-Pelly scored in a 10-minute span of the first period. John Carlson scored in the second with Michael Kempny and Brett Connolly scoring in the third.
Evgeny Kuznetsov, Washington's leader in postseason points this spring, registered four assists. Nicklas Backstrom added three assists.
Capitals goaltender Braden Holtby had a shutout into the third period for the third consecutive home game. He finished with 28 saves.
Holtby has limited Vegas to a total of five goals in the last three games. James Neal scored with 14:17 to play for Vegas' first goal. That came just one second after a power play expired.
Reilly Smith posted the second Vegas goal with 7:34 to play before Kempny gave the Capitals an insurance goal just 73 seconds later.
The game's final minutes were chippy with several post-whistle scrums. Amid that, Connolly scored on a 5-on-3 power play with 1:09 left.
Vegas goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 17 shots.
