2023 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS FIRST ROUND SCHEDULE VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. WINNIPEG JETS
Game 1: Tuesday, April 18, 6:30 p.m. PT at T-Mobile Arena (AT&T SportsNet, ESPN 2)
Game 2: Thursday, April 20, 7 p.m. PT at T-Mobile Arena (AT&T SportsNet, TBS)
Game 3: Saturday, April 22, 1 p.m. PT at Canada Life Centre (AT&T SportsNet, TBS)
Game 4: Monday, April 24, 6:30 p.m. PT at Canada Life Centre (AT&T SportsNet, ESPN)
\Game 5: Thursday, April 27, (Time TBD) at T-Mobile Arena (Broadcast TBD)
\Game 6: Saturday, April 29, (Time TBD) at Canada Life Centre (Broadcast TBD)
\Game 7: Monday, May 1 (Time TBD) at T-Mobile Arena (Broadcast TBD)
\ If necessary
The Golden Knights finished the regular season as Pacific Division Champions and atop the Western Conference with a 51-22-9 record and 111 points. The Winnipeg Jets finished as the second Wild Card team behind the Seattle Kraken with a 46-33-3 record and 95 points. Vegas went 3-0-0 against Winnipeg in the regular season.
On Oct. 20 at T-Mobile Arena, the Golden Knights were victorious in a 5-2 win over the Jets. They scored four consecutive goals in the first period from Jack Eichel, who scored twice, William Karlsson and Chandler Stephenson. In the second, Pierre Luc-Dubois got Winnipeg on the board to make it a 4-1 game. Neal Pionk then scored in the third to make it 4-2. Jonathan Marchessault found the back of the net with just 22 seconds remaining in the game to win it for the Golden Knights, 5-2. Adin Hill made 26 saves in the win.
Both teams met again on Oct. 30 at T-Mobile Arena. The first and second periods went scoreless until Adam Lowry opened the scoring in the third for Winnipeg. Mark Stone tied things at 1-1 halfway through the period. With just seven seconds remaining in overtime, Eichel scored the winner to lift the Golden Knights past Winnipeg, 2-1. Hill made 23 saves on 24 shots.
On Dec. 15, the clubs met up for the final time of the regular season at Canada Life Centre. It was a high-scoring game, with Vegas walking away with a 6-5 victory. Halfway through the first, Mark Scheifele got things started for Winnipeg, making it 1-0. Two minutes later, Daniil Miromanov scored his first NHL goal to tie the game at 1-1 for the Golden Knights. Stone then put Vegas ahead, 2-1, with just two seconds remaining in the first period. In the middle frame, Morgan Barron tied the game at 2-2. Stone scored his second goal of the game four minutes later to give the Golden Knights a 3-2 lead. With a few minutes left in the period, Sam Gagner tied the game at 3-3. In the third period, Scheifele scored his second goal of the game on the power play to give the Jets a 4-3 lead. Jonathan Marchessault then responded by scoring two goals in a row on the power play. The Golden Knights were now ahead 5-4. With less than two minutes remaining in the period, William Karlsson extended Vegas' lead to 6-4. Then, with two second left in the game, Scheifele secured a hat trick to make it a one-goal game, but Vegas held on for the 6-5 win. Adin Hill stopped 29 of 34 shots.
NOTABLE STATSPoints leaders:
Vegas -
Jack Eichel - 66 points (27G, 39A)
Chandler Stephenson - 65 points (16G, 49A)
Jonathan Marchessault - 57 points (28G, 29A)
Winnipeg -
Kyle Connor - 80 points (31G, 49A)
Josh Morrissey - 76 points (16G, 60A)
Mark Scheifele - 68 points (42G, 26A)
Goaltending comparison:Vegas -
Laurent Brossoit - 2.17 GAA, .927 SV%
Jonathan Quick - 3.13 GAA, .901 SV%
Winnipeg -
Connor Hellebuyck - 2.49 GAA, .920 SV%
David Rittich - 2.67 GAA, .901 SV%
