Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Golden Knights make Cup Final, history

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2018 NHL postseason. The Vegas Golden Knights' incredible season continued when they became the third team to reach the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season.

About Last Night

Vegas Golden Knights 2, Winnipeg Jets 1 -- The impossible has become possible. The Vegas Golden Knights, an expansion team that was put together 11 months ago, will play in the Stanley Cup Final after eliminating the Winnipeg Jets in five games. Alex Tuch and Ryan Reaves each scored and Marc-Andre Fleury made 31 saves for Vegas, which became the third NHL team to reach the Cup Final in its inaugural season. The Golden Knights will play either the Washington Capitals or Tampa Bay Lightning in the Cup Final. The Lightning lead the Capitals 3-2 in the best-of-7 Western Conference Final with Game 6 at Capital One Arena on Monday (8 p.m ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN1, TVAS).

What we learned

Here are some takeaways from Day 40 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Jets secondary scoring dried up in third round

Winnipeg lost the Western Conference Final in five games with a 161-140 advantage in shots on goal. A key difference that favored Vegas was balance on offense. Production outside of Winnipeg's top line of Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor went dark. Patrik Laine had two goals in the series, but linemates Nikolaj Ehlers and Paul Stastny failed to score. Of all the other Jets' depth forwards, only Joel Armia scored one goal; Bryan Little, Andrew Copp, Mathieu Perreault, Adam Lowry, Jack Roslovic and Brandon Tanev had none.

Jets had trouble with pressure

A strong suit all season, the Jets' quickness was matched and exceeded by the Golden Knights in the conference final. Winnipeg found that little plays weren't easy because Vegas had sticks in the right place and was dogged with its pressure on the puck. The Jets dealt well with that in the first two rounds, but the Golden Knights were more relentless than the Minnesota Wild or Nashville Predators in the first two rounds -- and that's saying quite a lot.

Knights can play defense

Much of the focus has been on Golden Knights goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and the high-scoring prowess of forwards Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson and Reilly Smith, but Vegas can play some serious defense. After allowing three goals in the first 7:38 of Game 1, the Golden Knights allowed seven goals the remainder of the series. For an example of their stinginess, look no further than the closing minute of Game 5. The Jets were desperate to stave off elimination; they pulled goalie Connor Hellebuyck and were pressing for the tying goal, but Vegas held them without a shot on goal during the 6-on-5 advantage.

Don't give Vegas the lead

The Golden Knights are as good at closing out games as any team in recent memory; they have scored first in 11 of their 15 postseason games and have won 10 of them. They are 10-0 this postseason with the lead heading into the third period. Vegas never trailed in the final four games of the series and were tied in the third period once, in Game 4. With that advantage, the Golden Knights were able to dictate how the game was going to be played and Winnipeg chased and opened things up in the latter stages of each game.

Here's the story

For Vegas
The Golden Knights celebrated the Western Conference Final in Winnipeg on Sunday, but
their hearts were with the people of Las Vegas.
A remarkable ride
So how did the Golden Knights reach the Cup Final in their first season?
Here are some of the key moments
of their season.
'It was their time'
The Jets were stunned by the elimination from the playoffs on Sunday,
but gave credit where credit was due
- to the Golden Knights.

What's on tap

Tampa Bay Lightning at Washington Capitals (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN1, TVAS) -- The Lightning can reach the Stanley Cup Final for the second time in four seasons with a win against Washington at Capital One Arena. The Lightning, who lost the first two games of the series at home, are looking to become the second team in as many days to win four straight games in the conference final. If they do so, they will face that other team, the Vegas Golden Knights, in the Stanley Cup Final. Washington, playing in the Eastern Conference Final for the first time since 1998, is looking for its first home win of the series.
A real character
Ryan Callahan's inspired play
is one of the many reasons the Tampa Bay Lightning are one win from the Stanley Cup Final.
History lesson
The
Capitals are out to change the narrative
of their franchise but will need a win in Game 6 to have a chance to make that happen.