Vegas Golden Knights Steal Game Three And Take 2-1 Series Lead

Superman performance from Marc-Andre Fleury leads to victory for the Vegas Golden Knights in game three.

The Vegas Golden Knights picked up a massive split in Winnipeg after they defeated the Jets in game two. Now the expansion franchise comes home for game three in front of one the loudest buildings in the NHL. But concern rose as both teams hit the ice for warmups.

David Perron listed himself as a game-time decision but he wasn’t on the ice for warmups.  The illness will keep him out of the lineup for the second straight game. Malcolm Subban also didn’t take warmups as he is an out with an “undisclosed issue.” Max Lagace backed up Marc-Andre Fleury for this one.

As for the Jets, they also made a tweak to their lineup. Nikolaj Ehlers didn’t take warmups as he was ruled out with an undisclosed injury. Winnipeg Head Coach Paul Maurice called upon Jack Roslovic to take his spot in the lineup. As usual, Fleury and Connor Hellebuyck took the net for their respective clubs.

Before I start reviewing the game, let’s take a minute and give a ton of credit to the Golden Knights for their fantastic introduction. The intro to this hockey game screamed Las Vegas, and they did an incredible job. Take a look at this:

As soon as the game got underway and it started off with a bang. A tremendous defensive play by Brayden McNabb on Mark Scheifele led to Jonathan Marchessault winning a footrace and creating a breakaway opportunity. He slid the backhand shot past Hellebuyck for his seventh of the playoffs. It only took 35 seconds for the games first goal.

Vegas survived a scare as Dustin Byfuglien elbowed James Neal in the head. There was no intent to injure, but it kept Neal down on the ice for several seconds before he made it back to the bench. The Whitby, Ontario native got sent to the locker room but quickly re-emerged before the first period was over.

The Golden Knights controlled much of the first period as they held the Jets to only three shots on goal. It was a little disappointing the Golden Knights only led by one. Hellebuyck had an excellent first period saving nine out of ten shots, and many of those were timely stops.

The second period started off a little more lethargic for the Golden Knights. As expected, the Jets came out with a little more pep in their step. And that turned out to be bad news for Vegas.

The Jets tied the game as Blake Wheeler shot the puck from the goal line corner and Scheifele was there for the tip for his 13th goal of the playoffs. Definitely, one Fleury wanted to have back despite the deflection from the playoff leading goal scorer. But as soon they dropped the puck for the center ice faceoff, the tied game was no more.

Just 12 seconds later a misplay behind the net by Hellebuyck led to Erik Haula picking up the puck and beautifully feeding “Real Deal” James Neal for the goal.  His fourth goal of the playoffs restored the Golden Knights one-goal lead. But the Vegas second line wasn’t done yet.

Due to the strong defensive play by Nate Schmidt on Kyle Connor, he sprung Neal out on the wing. Neal found a way through the Jets defense using the boards as an advantage. He threw the puck weakly on the net, then picked it back up and found Alex Tuch who flipped it past Hellebuyck to put T-Mobile Arena in a frenzy. His fifth goal of the playoffs gave Vegas a 3-1 lead.

Golden Knights got very lucky later in the period as Patrik Laine rung the post on a power play opportunity. Scrums started to insue as Ryan Carpenter, Cody Eakin, Wheeler and Scheifele got into a small fight. The second period ended with Hellebuyck making two huge stops on Reilly Smith and Marchessault.

The middle frame wasn’t great for the Golden Knights, but they ended up on the positive end with a two-goal lead. The shots in the second period were 15-10 favoring the Jets. And Winnipeg kept up that trend as they started off the third period with a bang of their own.

Jets quickly dumped the puck in the Golden Knights defensive zone and went to work quick as Scheifele beat Schmidt to a pass from Connor and Scheifele made no mistake for his second of the game and 14th of the playoffs. Not a great start from the home team in a crucial game three situation.

The Jets continued to put pressure on the Vegas Golden Knights all period long. Even defenseman Tyler Myers stepped up into the play and went on the breakaway. Luckily for the Golden Knights, Fleury was there to make a key stop.

Scheifele made a bid for the hat trick, but Fleury was there to shut him down not once, but twice. That series of saves could go down as a defining moment for the Golden Knights if they continue this playoff run. Check it out:

The Golden Knights eventually found their game in the last two minutes of the third. Vegas recovered very well after reeling for much of the third period. The Jets continued to push, but they couldn’t overcome the great backchecking by the Golden Knights in the final minute.

When the Vegas Golden Knights cleared the puck, Marchessault raced down the ice, beat everyone to the puck and wrapped it around the net for the clincher. His eighth goal of the playoffs sealed the deal as the Golden Knights defeated the Jets 4-2. But make no mistake about it, this was the Fleury show in Las Vegas.

What Marc-Andre Fleury did in this game was a sight to see. He stopped 15 of 16 shots in what was the most anxious third period of the year to date. Furthermore, you can make the case that the Sorel, Quebec native stole this game from the Jets.

Vegas Hockey Knight’s Three Stars

3rd Star) Mark Scheifele- Two goals, five shots, four PIM and two hits.

2nd Star) James Neal- One goal, one assist, +3 rating, five shots and one hit.

1st Star) Marc-Andre Fleury- 33 saves on 35 shots in game three victory.

Next: Vegas Golden Knights: Status Of David Perron For Game Three

Overall, all that matters is the Vegas Golden Knights have a 2-1 series lead and look to make it a 3-1 series lead on Friday night.  Catch puck drop of game four between Winnipeg and Vegas at 5 PM PT on NBCSN.