Vegas Golden Knights Take 3-1 Series Lead Over Jets

Reilly Smith scores a late clutch goal in game four, and the Vegas Golden Knights are one win away from the Stanley Cup Finals.

The Vegas Golden Knights squeaked out game three took a 2-1 series lead on the Winnipeg Jets. Golden Knights Head Coach Gerard Gallant didn’t like the effort by his team on Wednesday night during the third period. He knew he had to make some adjustments leading up to game four.

Questions came up about David Perron’s game four status as he was skating with the team during practice this morning. Perron didn’t play in games two and three in this series due to “not feeling too well.” Gallant left the media hanging to wait until warmups.

Warmups showed Perron skating with Ryan Carpenter, and Cody Eakin during line rushes. That indicates Tomas Tatar was the odd man out for Perron. Jets made two lineup changes as they dressed Nicholaj Ehlers and Michael Hutchinson and scratched Joel Armia and Steve Mason.

The Golden Knights got off to a hot start as Carpenter drew an interference penalty on Tyler Myers for the first Vegas power play. Coming into game four, the Golden Knights didn’t score a power play goal in this series. That is, till now.

Jets made a mistake on the faceoff won by the Golden Knights as two Winnipeg forwards pinched looking to dump the puck. Instead, Reilly Smith quickly saucered the puck over to Jonathan Marchessault and finding a wide-open William Karlsson for his sixth goal of the playoffs. Vegas only needed 2:25 to get on the board first.

The Jets started to gain traction midway through the first period. But it quickly vanished when the Golden Knights went back on the power play when Mark Scheifele went to the box for slashing. The Golden Knights immediately went back to work, and it looked like they were going to be up by two; however, Connor Hellebuyck made a huge stop on a rebound chance by Erik Haula.

The first period ended as the Golden Knights carried a 1-0 lead over the Jets going into the middle frame. Winnipeg led in shots by a slight 10-9 margin in an even period of hockey. The Golden Knights established their forecheck early on, but it dipped as the period came to a close.

In the second period, the Golden Knights started hot again as Alex Tuch forced a Jets turnover resulting in a chance for James Neal in the shot, but Hellebuyck made another timely stop. The Jets found their game once again when Karlsson got called for a slashing penalty. Winnipeg’s best chance came when Bryan Little had a chance on the cross-ice feed, but Marc-Andre Fleury stood tall on a cartwheel save.

A few minutes later, Tomas Nosek took a terrible offensive zone penalty, and the Jets went back to work on the PP. All four Golden Knights defensemen were on one side of the ice, and they left Patrik Laine open for a shot that beat Fleury through the armpit. Laine’s fifth goal of the playoffs evened the score at one.

However, 45 seconds later, the Golden Knights responded yet again. Luca Sbisa weakly threw the puck on net, and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare tried a wraparound attempt then Nosek whacked at the puck, and it broke through Hellebuyck. Great timing for the Golden Knights fourth line to record their first goal of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

One of the best response teams in the NHL lives up to their name once again. This is the third game in a row that the Golden Knights scored within a minute after a Jets goal.

At the end of two periods, the Golden Knights led the Jets 2-1. Shots favored Winnipeg 25-23, but it felt a little more than that due to three power play chances for the Jets. With the third period on tap, the Golden Knights knew what position they were in, and it was essential to have a strong 20 minutes to finish off this game.

Both goaltenders were sharp through 40 minutes of play. Fleury stopped 24 on 25 shots, and Hellebuyck stood tall with 21 saves on 23 shots. It’s incredible to see another great goaltenders duel in these playoffs.

The third period started off just the same as the second did. Brayden McNabb took a horrible penalty and gave all the momentum to the Jets. Winnipeg didn’t score on the man advantage, but it set up a chance for them to keep the drive going.

After a long tiring shift for the Golden Knights, they looked lazy and laid back and let Tyler Myers walk in and blast one past Fleury. His fourth of the playoffs pulled the game even just four and a half minutes into the third. The Golden Knights calmed the play down from there as the defense finally tightened.

The Golden Knights started to find their game as the second line of Neal-Haula-Tuch created an odd-man rush. The defense began to loosen on each end as both teams earned great scoring opportunities. But it was Vegas who made their opportunity count.

Smith picked up a fanned Dustin Byfuglien shot and skated the puck down the wing and beat Hellebuyck over the shoulder to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead. His second goal of the playoffs couldn’t have come at a better time. The roof blew off T-Mobile Arena once again, and it was as loud as its ever been.

The Golden Knights didn’t give the Jets another chance to shoot the puck on goal for the rest of the game. Winnipeg tried pulling Hellebuyck, but no dice as the clock hit zero. The Golden Knights defeated the Jets 3-2, and they take a 3-1 series lead to Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon for game five.

Vegas Hockey Knight’s Three Stars

3rd Star) William Karlsson- One goal, +1 rating, two PIM, five shots on goal in 20:43 TOI.

2nd Star) Marc-Andre Fleury- 35 saves on 37 shots in game four victory.

1st Star) Reilly Smith- One goal, one assist, +1 rating, one shot on goal in 20:32 TOI.

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All in all, it was a solid effort from the expansion franchise. The Vegas Golden Knights now have three chances to punch their ticket to the Stanley Cup Finals. Their first chance comes Sunday in Winnipeg at 12 PM PT.