This first-round series features a pair of teams returning to the post-season after both had four-year playoff streaks snapped in 2022.
The Vegas Golden Knights clinched their third Pacific Division title since 2018 with a win over Seattle in Game 82 on Thursday, while the Winnipeg Jets secured the West’s final wild-card spot by staying ahead of Calgary and Nashville down the stretch.
Winnipeg has essentially been in playoff mode for multiple weeks now.
“Every game from here on out, that next game is going to be even bigger,” Jets forward Kyle Connor said earlier this week. “That's kind of what we were facing in the regular season so we can draw from that experience, what we did, and hopefully use that to our advantage.”
Vegas set a franchise record with 111 points in the standings in Bruce Cassidy’s first season behind the bench after his surprise firing in Boston last summer. That 51-22-9 record is an impressive feat considering the team had five different goalies start multiple games in the regular season, plus many of their star players missed extended periods of time due to various injuries.
This is the first time these teams have met in the playoffs since 2018’s Western Conference Final when the then-expansion Golden Knights advanced in five games to extend that memorable inaugural NHL campaign.
Winnipeg’s lone playoff series win since being eliminated by Vegas was when they swept fellow North Division team Edmonton in 2021.
Game 1 is set for Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena in Nevada.
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HEAD-TO-HEAD RECORD
Golden Knights: 3-0-0
Jets: 0-2-1
THE BREAKDOWN
The regular-season series was one-sided in Vegas’s favour but when you consider two of those games took place in October and the most recent was in mid-December, it should feel like a fresh matchup when these teams hit the ice for Game 1.
Both teams rank near the middle of the pack in most offensive and defensive categories. Neither team has a particularly dangerous power play, although Winnipeg was among the better penalty killing units.
No skater on either team averaged a point-per-game or more, but that’s not to say there won’t be plenty of scoring potential out there. Mark Scheifele set a career high with 42 goals and Josh Morrissey enjoyed a breakout year by more than doubling his previous career high for points in a season.
One advantage the Jets should have is in net where Connor Hellebuyck could potentially start across from one of his former backups in Laurent Brossoit.
Brossoit is one of several options for Vegas, along with Logan Thompson, Adin Hill and two-time Stanley Cup and 2012 Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Quick who went 5-2-2 in nine starts after being acquired from the Kings in March.
Hellebuyck closed out the regular-season schedule on a heater, winning five of his last six starts while allowing just nine total goals against. He finished tied for third-most wins in the NHL and hasn’t allowed more than three goals in any game in the past month.
Hockey fans will finally get to see star centre Jack Eichel compete in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after missing the post-season throughout his entire tenure in Buffalo and in his first year with Vegas.
Eichel led his team with 66 points despite missing 15 games, with 25 of his 27 goals coming at even strength – he finished the season on a nine-game point streak.
ADVANCED STATS
(5-on-5 totals via Natural Stat Trick)
REGULAR SEASON TEAM STATS
Golden Knights X-Factor: The return of Mark Stone
Stone hasn’t played since January but returned to practice this past week, donning a non-contact jersey. Vegas’s captain registered 17 goals and 37 points in 43 games prior to his back injury for which he underwent surgery. The winger and two-time Selke Trophy finalist plays a vital role at both ends of the ice for the Golden Knights.
Vegas went 28-13-2 with Stone in the lineup this season and Eichel spoke highly of his teammate earlier this week during an appearance on the Pat McAfee Show.
Jets X-Factor: The return of Ehlers and possibly Perfetti
Winnipeg fans were livid when Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman levelled Nikolaj Ehlers with an open-ice cheap shot that resulted in a one-game suspension. Ehlers left that contest and was held out of his team’s regular-season finale with an upper-body injury. The specifics of Ehlers’ ailment and his Game 1 status were unclear as of Friday afternoon, but he wasn’t in the concussion protocol so presumably he isn’t dealing with a head injury.
Ehlers had 38 points in the 45 games he suited up for in 2022-23 and contributed a pair of goals in each of Winnipeg’s past two brief playoff appearances.
Cole Perfetti began skating with his team in the past week, which is a positive sign. The forward has been on the mend from an upper-body injury and last played on Feb. 19. The return of one or both forwards would be a boon to Winnipeg’s lineup and depth scoring.
BROADCAST SCHEDULE
(all times Eastern)
Tuesday, April 18: at Vegas, 9:30 p.m. (Sportsnet West)
Thursday, April 20: at Vegas, 10 p.m. (Sportsnet/CBC)
Saturday, April 22: at Winnipeg, 4 p.m. (Sportsnet/CBC)
Monday, April 24: at Winnipeg, 9:30 p.m. (Sportsnet West)
*Thursday, April 27: at Vegas
*Saturday, April 29: at Winnipeg
*Monday, May 1: at Vegas
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