WASHINGTON (AP) James Neal had the puck on his stick and was staring at an open net. In a can¡¯t-miss situation Columbus Blue Jackets Hoodies Authentic , 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, hopefully.Although the Capitals have blown many a playoff series in the past Columbus Blue Jackets Hats Authentic , 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 ¨C an unlikely occurrence after being outscored 12-5 over the past three games ¨C 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, 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 Custom Columbus Blue Jackets Jerseys ,¡± 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, 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 www.officialstarsproonline.com , you don¡¯t want to get scored on,¡± Fleury said. ¡±There was a lot of that tonight. It¡¯s never a good feeling.¡±¡ªMore Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals HOCKEYCHICAGO (AP) Emergency goaltender Scott Foster played the final 14 minutes after Chicago lost Anton Forsberg and Collin Delia to injuries, closing out the Blackhawks¡¯ 6-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets.It was Foster¡¯s first competitive action since 20 minutes in relief with Western Michigan University in the 2005-06 season.Forsberg was expected to start, but he was scratched after the team said he got hurt during warmups. Delia, who was just recalled from the minors Wednesday, then stopped 25 of 27 shots in his NHL debut before he was helped off the ice in the third period due to a lower-body injury.Enter Foster, a 36-year-old accountant. After a short warmup, the game resumed and Foster got a big cheer from the crowd of 21,839 when he denied Tyler Myers for his first save about a minute after he came in.Backed by chants of ¡±Foster! Foster!¡± and more loud ovations down the stretch, he finished with seven stops against the playoff-bound Jets, winners of six in a row.BASEBALLNEW YORK (AP) ¨C The average major league salary on opening day dropped slightly following an offseason of slashed contracts for many free agents and the decisions to start three highly paid players in the minor leagues, according to study by The Associated Press.The $4.41 million average Thursday fell 0.9 percent from last year¡¯s starting figure of $4.45 million Dallas Stars T-Shirts Authentic , according to the AP¡¯s calculations. It was only the second drop since the end of the 1994-95 strike, after a 2.7 decrease in 2004.Two late-signing free agent pitchers were optioned to farm teams just ahead of Thursday¡¯s openers to get more preparation time: Philadelphia¡¯s Jake Arrieta and Baltimore¡¯s Alex Cobb. If they had remained in the majors, the average would have been down just $1,380. And if Arizona outfielder Yasmany Tomas had also remained in the big leagues, the average would have been up 0.2 percent to $4.46 million.Boston had a $224 million payroll and topped the major leagues for the first time since at least the 1980s. San Francisco was next at $207 million, followed by the Chicago Cubs ($182 million), Washington ($181 million), the NL champion Los Angeles Dodgers ($179 million), the Los Angeles Angels ($170 million) and the New York Yankees in seventh at $167 million. The Yankees have their lowest payroll since 2003 and their lowest ranking since 1992.PRO BASKETBALLPHILADELPHIA (AP) ¨C Philadelphia 76ers All-Star center Joel Embiid will need surgery on an orbital fracture of his left eye and he has a concussion.There was no timetable Thursday on how long Embiid would be sidelined. The 76ers are set to play Friday in Atlanta and Sunday in Charlotte.Embiid posted a photo on Instagram of him on the court and grabbing his face with the caption, ¡±I guess I gotta trust `The Process¡¯ that I¡¯ve been preaching¡­ Unfortunate freak accident but I¡¯ll be more than fine.¡±Markelle Fultz was driving toward the basket Wednesday against the Knicks when he appeared to accidentally head-butt Embiid. The 7-footer immediately went to the floor. He remained on the floor for several minutes before he was assisted by Philadelphia¡¯s trainer. Embiid sat up once before lying back down on the court. Eventually, he was helped off the court.Fultz was not injured on the play. He posted a hands-clasped prayer emoji on Embiid¡¯s photo.EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (AP) ¨C Los Angeles Lakers guard Isaiah Thomas will need four months to recover from arthroscopic surgery on his right hip.The Lakers announced Thomas¡¯ prognosis after the surgery Thursday.Thomas will be a free agent by the time he recovers from the procedure Dallas Stars Hoodies Authentic , but he has expressed interest in staying with the Lakers.The two-time All-Star guard averaged 15.6 points and 5.0 assists in 17 games with Los Angeles, which acquired him from Cleveland in February.OLYMPICSTOKYO (AP) ¨C The man who organized the most popular Winter Olympics 24 years ago in the Norwegian ski resort of Lillehammer says it¡¯s too soon to return in 2026.But watch for Lillehammer in 2030.Gerhard Heiberg tells The Associated Press he¡¯s ¡±a little sad¡± that Norway can¡¯t join the chase for 2026.He adds ¡±I think 2026 would have been best for us¡± but acknowledges organizers and politicians had too little time to work out details.Bidders have until Saturday to let the International Olympic Committee know of their interest. In October, the IOC will trim the field to serious contenders and pick the host next year.At least four serious bids are likely to be on the table: Calgary, Canada; Stockholm, Sweden; Sapporo, Japan; Sion, Switzerland. Interest might also come for Austria, Italy and Turkey.