Morning Skate Report: April 20, 2023
Golden Knights look to even series against Jets
By
Caylee Allard
VegasGoldenKnights.com
BROADCAST INFORMATION
TV Local: AT&T SportsNet
TV National: TBS
Radio: FOX Sports Las Vegas 98.9/1340 | Deportes Vegas 1460
FAN ACTIVATIONS
To celebrate the team's return to the postseason, fans are encouraged to arrive early at T-Mobile Arena, where doors will be open 90 minutes prior to puck drop for the duration of the playoffs. On Toshiba Plaza, Golden Knights fans can await the game with complimentary hair styling, beard dyes and trims from 101 Barbershop. A local artist, Joey Hamilton from Revolt Tattoos, will also be outside T-Mobile Arena before Game 2 for fans interested in a permanent or temporary tattoo of the team's logo. The two activations will be available beginning at 3:30 p.m. PT on Thursday. A live broadcast Game 2 will be played outside on Toshiba Plaza for fans without a ticket to the game. Inside T-Mobile Arena, rally towels will be placed on individual seats for every home game during the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Tuesday's rally towels are presented by Ghost Energy and will be prepared for fans when the doors open at 5:30 p.m. PT. Those with a ticket to the game are encouraged to download the Stadium FX mobile application on their iPhone or Android device to become part of the team's immersive experience during the pregame show. The Golden Knights will host official watch parties for Game 3 at The Dollar Loan Center and Game 4 at Stadium Swim at Circa Las Vegas when Vegas travels to Winnipeg. Additional details regarding the watch parties are available
here
. Official playoff merchandise is available for purchase now at The Arsenal at City National Arena.
TRAFFIC UPDATE
The Nevada Department of Transportation's I-15 Tropicana Project will have a major impact on many fans' travel to games at T-Mobile Arena. Road, ramp and lane closures will change throughout the two-and-a-half year project. The Vegas Golden Knights encourage fans to arrive early and stay late for games, but with some closures fans' typical routes to the arena will not be available. Please visit
vgk.io/i15Trop
for more information. Fans can also use traffic mobile apps like Waze which will be updated with road and ramp closures.
SERIES AT A GLANCE
Game 1: Jets 5, Golden Knights 1
Game 2: Thursday, April 20 at 7 p.m. PT at T-Mobile Arena
Game 3: Saturday, April 22 at 1 p.m. PT at Canada Life Centre
Game 4: Monday, April 24 at 6:30 p.m. PT at Canada Life Centre
Game 5: Thursday, April 27 at TBD at T-Mobile Arena (if necessary)
Game 6: Saturday, April 29 at TBD at Canada Life Centre (if necessary)
Game 7: Monday, May 1 at TBD at T-Mobile Arena (if necessary)
LAST TIME OUT
Vegas came up short in Game 1 as Winnipeg earned the 5-1 win on Tuesday night at T-Mobile Arena. After a scoreless first period, Kyle Connor got the Jets on the board, making it 1-0. One minute later, Pierre-Luc Dubois scored to extend the lead to 2-0. William Karlsson then cut the lead in half at 2-1, scoring with five minutes left in the second period. In the third, Blake Wheeler got on the board to make it 3-1. Adam Lowry then scored twice, once on the power play, to bring the final score to 5-1.
PLAYOFF SCORING LEADERSGolden Knights:
William Karlsson - 1 point (1G)
Jonathan Marchessault - 1 point (1A)
Ivan Barbashev - 1 point (1A)
Jets:
Blake Wheeler - 3 points (1G, 2A)
Adam Lowry - 2 points (2G)
Pierre-Luc Dubois - 2 points (1G, 1A)
Nino Niederreiter - 2 points (2A)
AROUND THE NHL
Vegas Golden Knights vs. Winnipeg Jets (Winnipeg leads, 1-0)
Colorado Avalanche vs. Seattle Kraken (Seattle leads, 1-0)
Los Angeles Kings vs. Edmonton Oilers (Series tied, 1-1)
Dallas Stars vs. Minnesota Wild (Series tied, 1-1)
Boston Bruins vs. Florida Panthers (Series tied, 1-1)
Carolina Hurricanes vs. New York Islanders (Carolina leads, 2-0)
New Jersey Devils vs. New York Rangers (New York leads, 1-0)
Toronto Maple Leafs vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (Tampa Bay leads, 1-0)
SEASON SERIES
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.
KEYS TO THE GAME
Positive mindset:Losing the first game of a playoff series can be discouraging. Luckily, the Golden Knights have a positive outlook on Game 2. "We're a resilient team and we're never going to quit on anything," Jonathan Marchessault said. "I'm definitely excited to see our group tomorrow." It's time for Vegas to regroup and realize it's a best-of-seven series for a reason.
Power play: Vegas went 0-for-3 on the power play during Game 1 on Tuesday night. If they were able to capitalize on those chances, they could have rallied to win the game. Head Coach Bruce Cassidy said he was pleased with the momentum the power play generated in Game 1, but results need to come soon. The Golden Knights must find a way to start scoring with the man advantage, especially against a solid netminder like Connor Hellebuyck.
