Jets open first round series in Vegas on winning note

When Morgan Barron left Game One against the Vegas Golden Knights after taking a skate blade to the face, his Winnipeg Jets were locked in a 0-0 tie.
By the time he returned in the second period, it was 2-0 in favour of the Jets, and there was no slowing them down on this night.
Adam Lowry scored twice, while Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor, and Pierre-Luc Dubois also had singles in a 5-1 Jets win at T-Mobile Arena.
A result that left Barron - and his 75-plus stitches - grinning from ear to ear.
"They did a great job stitching me up and, obviously, it missed my eye," said Barron, who was making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut. "It was 0-0 when I left, so I just had my eyes closed listening to the guys hooting and hollering whenever they scored."

He was more than happy to join in on those celebrations the rest of the way, as the Jets grabbed a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven first round series.
"A big part of our game is pressuring the puck carrier," said Jets head coach Rick Bowness. "They like their delays and they look for that second wave. I thought our forwards did a great job backtracking and taking away those guys. And they also did a great job pressuring the puck carrier."
The Jets, who had lost all three games to Vegas in the regular season and came up empty in Nevada in the 2018 Western Conference Final, established their style of game early and limited what they gave up throughout the night.
Even though Vegas only had 17 shots, Connor Hellebuyck still had to be strong when called upon.
It was, a textbook definition of a total team effort.
"We were prepared for a fast start and the other times we played here this year, they buzzed us really early and we had a tough time getting our game going," said Wheeler, who finished with three points. "We wanted to try to assert ourselves and be aggressive early on and after that first period we were feeling pretty good about our game."

After a scoreless first that saw the Jets fire 14 shots at the Vegas net, the reward came early in the second for the visitors.
First, Dubois beat his check along the left-wing boards and used the space to find Connor in the slot, and Connor made no mistake from there. His one-timer sailed past Laurent Brossoit just 1:24 into the middle frame.
Dubois wasn't done there, as he took advantage of a Vegas line change 1:02 later, using the open ice to get in on a partial break. He snapped home Winnipeg's second goal of the period, high on the stick side of Brossoit, to make it 2-0.
"We get that goal and then Bones says we're going back out there. Whether we score, we have to keep the momentum on our side," said Dubois. "It was a nice play by Wheels. I was fortunate the puck came to me, and it's a goal. When you get out there that fast after a goal, the next couple shifts, you just want to keep the momentum on your side. I thought we did a good job of that."

It was exactly the start the Jets needed, especially with Nikolaj Ehlers - listed as a game-time decision heading into the series opener - out of the line-up.
"There wasn't necessarily a setback, nor was there the progress that we hoped," said Bowness. "And we're not going to put a player on the ice that isn't at least close to 100 per cent. And put him in a vulnerable position where you risk a setback. So we made that decision."
William Karlsson cut into Winnipeg's lead with just over four minutes left in the second, as he took an Ivan Barbashev pass from the left wing, then sent a wrister past Hellebuyck to make it 2-1.
That was the only puck that beat the 2020 Vezina Trophy winner.
"He was great all night. We're so confident in him back there and he gives us confidence up front," said Connor. "He never wavers. We did a good job of limiting their shots tonight, but the chances they did get he was ready and on top of it."
Wheeler, already with an assist in the game, restored Winnipeg's two-goal lead 3:53 into the third. His backhand attempt from the slot squeezed through the legs of Brossoit, giving Wheeler his ninth career goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, and 40th career postseason point. Nino Niederreiter and Nate Schmidt picked up assists on the goal.
"It was good to have a good third," said Wheeler of the Jets, who outshot Vegas 10-2 in the final frame. "They scored a big goal there toward the end of the second period and it gave them some momentum, the crowd was into it. The end of the period came at a good time for us, we were able to reset."

Then, after a key penalty kill late in the third, the Jets put Game One away, with Lowry scoring his first of two goals in the game into an empty net with 1:21 remaining.
He'd add another, this one on a late power play after a Keegan Kolesar boarding penalty, tapping in a backdoor pass from Niederreiter to put the finishing touches on the victory.
Winning the special teams battle was the cherry on top of the ideal start to the series for the Jets, but Lowry expects adjustments as the series goes on from Vegas. Especially after Winnipeg's perfect night on the penalty kill (3-for-3).
"Special teams, they're usually the difference in tight games," Lowry said. "That last kill, we didn't really give them any looks. We were taking away their lanes and causing some turnovers. We'll have to be ready for some adjustments they'll probably make."

The Jets will have adjustments too, but Tuesday's result is one they can build on heading into Game Two on Thursday. They're in the driver's seat, and now it's a matter of staying there.
"As we talked to the team after, every game in a playoff series, every game moving forward gets tougher," Bowness said. "And we know the next game in here is going to be a lot tougher here for us."
Before that though, Barron wants to let everyone know he's doing just fine.
Wins have a way of making most things feel better.
"I texted my girlfriend and my parents just to make sure that they knew I was OK before I got stitched up," said Barron, adding he has more texts to send.
For the moment though, he'll reflect on his memorable playoff debut fondly.
"We played a full 60 (minutes)," he said. "I've been saying it for a while, I feel like we're peaking at the right time."