The Vegas Golden Knights are among the NHL teams with the most salary cap space going into free agency Andrew Ladd Jersey , giving the Western Conference champions some chips to put on the table in a bid to get back to the Stanley Cup Final.Vegas had nearly $30 million to spend going into the weekend, according to spotrac.com, trailing only the New York Islanders by about $2 million. The Golden Knights seem set up for major moves if general manager George McPhee wants to bolster the second-year team with free agents.Vegas didn’t appear to have a shot at landing the top prize on the market John Tavares . But the Golden Knights may make a run at some other available veterans to help increase their chances of competing at a championship level again next season.Players such as James van Riemsdyk and Paul Stastny would fit in up front with a team that stunningly exceeded expectations during the franchise’s inaugural season. Mike Green, perhaps the best defenseman available, is another veteran that would mesh well as a puck-moving defenseman for the speedy team.However, McPhee may not want to pay a heavy price with long-term contracts to land any of the top players on the market. He may choose to re-sign his own free agents, sign goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who has one year left on his deal, to a contract extension. He may roll with the talented players on his roster while trying to draft and develop.The Golden Knights have some free agents of their own they’ll want to bring back. James Neal, David Perron and Ryan Reaves are unrestricted free agents with a chance to cash in on their performances last season by re-signing with Vegas or leaving to take advantage of a thin crop of available players.Vegas’ key restricted free agents are: William Karlsson, Colin Miller, Shea Theodore Anthony Beauvillier Jersey , Tomas Nosek and Will Carrier. Keeping Karlsson, without a doubt, will be a priority.Here’s a look at some other teams positioned to make major moves:NEW YORK ISLANDERSThe Islanders had nearly $32 million in cap space the day before free agency began, giving them more money to spend than any other team in the league. They’ll need a lot of that money to retain Tavares, who is easily the best player potentially available. The 27-year-old star center can command an eight-year deal to stay in New York for perhaps $10 million, or more, per season.NEW YORK RANGERSThe Rangers were $27-plus million under the cap going into the weekend, but had just 13 players under contract. They will have to spend about $10 million next season to retain restricted free agents Vladislav Namestnikov, Kevin Hayes and Ryan Spooner.TORONTO MAPLE LEAFSThe franchise hopes to sign Tavares, who is from the Toronto area, to give it a second star to go along with 20-year-old Auston Matthews. Toronto will have some tough choices to make with some of its own players potentially on the unrestricted free agent market such as van Riemsdyk, Tyler Bozak Authentic Brock Nelson Jersey , Tomas Plekanec and Leo Komarov. William Nylander, a restricted free agent, will be a priority to keep after consecutive 61-point seasons.VANCOUVER CANUCKSWith twin brothers Henrik and Daniel Sedin retiring after counting $7 million each against the cap last season, the Canucks had nearly $25 million in cap space going into the weekend. They’ll probably have to pay free agents more and offer longer-term contracts than other suitors because they’ve been among the worst teams in the league the last three seasons.— WASHINGTON (AP) The good news for Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals is they still lead their Eastern Conference final against the Tampa Bay Lightning. The bad news for the Capitals, counterintuitive as it may be: They host Game 4.So far, Washington is 7-1 in away games this postseason, closing out each of its first two series on the road.Heading into Thursday night, the Capitals are only 3-4 in their arena. The latest setback was a 4-2 loss to the Lightning on Tuesday, after victories at Tampa Bay by a combined score of 10-4 in the final’s opening two games.Ovechkin simply shrugged when asked about that discrepancy.”We don’t think about it,” the three-time NHL MVP said. ”We just play our game.”Others were less dismissive.”We can take a few things that we’ve done on the road and put it into our home game,” goalie Braden Holtby said. ”Just a little simpler. Simpler play. Just a kind of, like Casey Cizikas Jersey , more gritty style.”Asked what his club could do to fare better at home, Capitals coach Barry Trotz said: ”Just play the way we do on the road. We’re invested there. We’re playing with real good focus. I didn’t think we were as focused as we have been normally on the road. So just pretend you’re on the road. All the buildings are pretty well the same these days.”Trotz notices a difference in his players’ attitude on home ice, saying: ”It’s `us against the world’ when were on the road.”There is a league-wide trend here: Road teams are 38-34 in these playoffs.So much for any supposed home-ice advantage, right?”For whatever reason, at this time of the year there are more distractions than in the regular season, for sure. A lot of people have friends and family coming down and ticket requests. Sometimes there’s that little added pressure of playing at home and wanting to obviously do good things in front of your fans,” Lightning forward Steven Stamkos said. ”There’s something to be said, too, (for) winning games on the road, when you can just kind of hear a pin drop in the crowd, sometimes, which is always a good thing.”Holtby agreed.”It’s easier to play on the road. It’s always that way on the road. Any team would say that http://www.islandersfanproshop.com/authentic-cal-clutterbuck-jersey ,” he said. ”Because you’re not focused on the excitement of your fans and all that. They bring you energy in good ways, but at the same time, you need to stay realistic and play your game.”During the regular season, Washington was a strong home team, playing in front of loud, red-wearing sellout crowds in every game.Only five teams in the 31-club NHL had more victories at home than Washington’s 28 – and that total represents seven more wins than the Capitals managed on the road.So what is going on in the playoffs?”I don’t really have an explanation for it, to be honest with you,” defenseman Brooks Orpik said. ”I know when we go on the road, I think maybe we feel a bit more relaxed, and when we do make mistakes, maybe we don’t let the groaning affect us or whatnot. I mean, that being said Matt Hunwick Jersey Womens , I think we should be probably mentally stronger to not let that affect us. Just got to try to find a way to win the next one at home, for sure.”NOTES: Injured Capitals C Nicklas Backstrom, who has missed the last four games with an injured right hand, took part in the team’s optional skate Wednesday. But Trotz wouldn’t give any hint as to when Backstrom might return. ”When Nicky’s ready to go, he’s ready to go,” Trotz said. ”You miss him in every way shape or form.” … Washington re-signed D Aaron Ness to a one-year, two-way contract worth $650,000 if he’s in the NHL, $425,000 in the minors. Ness had one assist in eight games for the Capitals this season.—AP Hockey Writer Stephen Whyno contributed to this report.—