Evgeny Kuznetsov returned to action with authority by posting his sixth multi-point outing of the postseason to help the Washington Capitals to a 3-1 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights Saturday night, and a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

Kuznetsov completed a pass from Jay Beagle on the far side of a three-on-one rush in the second period by sending a wrister under the blocker of Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, cushioning the Caps' lead to 2-0.

After earlier assisting on Alex Ovechkin’s game-opening strike, Kuznetsov notched his 12th goal of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs for his 27th point to lead the league in postseason scoring. The Russian forward’s status heading into Saturday night’s Game 3 was a game-time decision after exiting Game 2 with an upper-body injury. When questioned postgame about his ability to perform so well over 18:52 in his return, Kuznetsov pointed to emotion and instinct taking over while breaking down his decision-making process.

On display once more was Kuznetsov’s trademark divisive bird celebration, which love it or hate it, still comes nowhere near his captain’s reactions to key plays over the series so far.

The series resumes in Washington for Game 4 Monday with puck drop at 8 p.m. ET at Capital One Arena.

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Complete 2018 Stanley Cup Playoff Performers here