Vegas answers again
Golden Knights earn split in Winnipeg thanks to top line, goalie
WINNIPEG — Jonathan Marchessault scored twice and Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves as the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Monday night to even the Western Conference final 1-1.
Tomas Tatar also scored for the expansion Knights, while Reilly Smith had two assists.
Kyle Connor replied for the Jets, who got 25 saves from Connor Hellebuyck.
The series now shifts to Sin City for Game 3 on Wednesday and Game 4 on Friday.
Game 5 will be back in Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon.
Fleury, who has four shutouts in these playoffs, picked up the 71st post-season win of his career to pull even with Jacques Plante for ninth on the all-time list.
The Jets beat the Knights 4-2 in Saturday’s series opener some 48 hours after disposing of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Nashville Predators 5-1 on the road in Game 7 of a second-round matchup that never saw a team win two straight.
Winnipeg came out fast with three goals in the first eight minutes at a thunderous Bell MTS Place in that one against Vegas, which had a five-day break following a six-game triumph over the San Jose Sharks.
After the Jets had a number of chances during an early push Monday — including a shot from Mark Scheifele that nearly squeaked through Fleury’s pads and a Nikolaj Ehlers shot off the post on the shortside — Winnipeg sagged a bit before Tatar opened the scoring with 6:37 left in the first period. It was his first of the playoffs.
Marchessault made it 2-0 on a breakaway with 2:38 remaining in the opening frame.