Global Courant 2023-04-28 10:13:15
The Winnipeg Jets were eliminated from the NHL postseason on Thursday night after a 4-1 decision against the Vegas Golden Knights.
Chandler Stephenson scored twice, while Mark Stone and William Karlsson added singles as the top-seeded Golden Knights won the best-of-seven series in five games.
Kyle Connor scored the only goal for Winnipeg.
Nikolaj Ehlers made his series debut for the Jets after missing more than two weeks with an upper body injury. Mark Scheifele (upper body) and Josh Morrissey (lower body) sat outside.
The Golden Knights set the tone early on when Stephenson beat Connor Hellebuyck just 50 seconds into the game.
Vegas controlled the game for most of the first period, as Winnipeg was held without a shot for the first eight minutes.
Stone, Karlsson and Stephenson all scored in the space of eight minutes into the second period and the Golden Knights were on their way.
LOOK | Stephenson leads the way as Golden Knights take down Jets:
Golden Knights eliminate Jets from playoffs as Stephenson leads the way
Winnipeg falls to Vegas 4-1 and is eliminated from the NHL playoffs in five games. Chandler Stephenson scores twice while Mark Stone finishes with three points.
The Jets looked like a different team in a 5-1 win in Game 1, but they couldn’t repeat the effort later in the first round.
Vegas rebounded with a 5-2 win in Game 2 before taking two wins at Canada Life Center, beating the Jets 5-4 in double overtime and adding a 4-2 win in Game 4.
Before Game 5, showgirls with feather headdresses danced near the boards during warm-up. Vegas-style theater was featured in a medieval pre-game ceremony.
When the puck fell, the Golden Knights picked up where they left off.
They outscored, outhit, and outplayed the visiting Jets, who showed little spark and appeared overmatched. A boisterous sellout crowd at the T-Mobile Arena ate it up.
Vegas clogged the center of the ice and prevented Winnipeg from finding its rhythm. The Jets appeared scattered as breakaway attempts from the zone were often stifled by passes that were off.
Winnipeg finally got a half-decent scoring opportunity in the 15th minute. The Golden Knights defeated the Jets 8-5 in the opening period.
Stone scored 42 seconds into the second period when he reeled in a bouncing puck and beat Hellebuyck by the glove. Karlsson cemented the lead at 4:41 when he made a one-off pass through Michael Amadio’s goal mouth.
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William Karlsson strikes to give Vegas a 3-0 lead. pic.twitter.com/68hBsUFC5o
Adam Lowry almost put Winnipeg on the board moments later, but Laurent Brossoit refused to save him with a dive glove. Lowry was later called for hooking and the Vegas power play changed nine seconds later when Stephenson scored at 8:37.
Stone assisted on goal for his second three-point game of the series.
Trailing by four and in desperation mode, the Jets pulled Hellebuyck for an additional forward with more than eight minutes left in the third period. Connor scored a puck with 5:38 left to end Brossoit’s shutout bid.
With the Winnipeg net still empty, Pierre-Luc Dubois blocked a loose rebound with 2:35 to play.
However, the goal was disallowed after the Golden Knights used a coach’s challenge. Blake Wheeler was ruled to make a hand pass to the point of the draw.
Vegas now gets a few days off while the team waits for its opponent in Round 2.
The Golden Knights play against the winner of the Edmonton-Los Angeles series. The Oilers have a 3-2 series lead with Game 6 on tap Saturday.
The Jets got off to a strong start to the regular season, but struggled mightily in the second half at times. Winnipeg managed to rack up a number of wins over the last few weeks of the campaign to clinch the second wildcard spot.
A first-round exit should lead to an interesting off-season for a club that must decide whether to continue with its current squad or overhaul its squad.
Winnipeg reached the Western Conference Finals in 2018 – also losing to Vegas – and has since progressed no further than the second round.
Entering this year’s first round, teams leading 3-1 in a best-of-seven series had a series record of 299-31 (.906).
