Knights keep Jets from taking off
WINNIPEG — Jonathan Marchessault gave a blunt assessment of the Las Vegas Golden Knights’ pedestrian effort in Game 1 of the Western Conference final.
The winger backed up his strong words in impressive fashion Monday to help write the latest chapter in the first-year club’s surprising story.
Marchessault scored twice and Marc-André Fleury made 30 saves as Vegas defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 to send the best-of-seven series to Sin City tied at a game apiece.
After the Knights fell behind 3-0 early in Saturday’s 4-2 loss to open the third-round matchup, Marchessault stated: “We’re going to see what kind of team we are.”
Vegas weathered another early storm in Game 2, but steadied things to grab a 2-0 lead before responding with Marchessault’s second of the night just 88 seconds after the Jets got to within one midway through the third period.
“We definitely showed up,” said the 27-year-old, who was plucked from the Florida Panthers in the expansion draft last June. “We showed the hockey world that we own the right to be here.”
The Knights, who swept the Los Angeles Kings in the first round of the playoffs before downing the San Jose Sharks in six games to advance to the conference final, continue to defy the odds in a stunning inaugural campaign that saw them top the Pacific Division with 109 points.
“Everybody sees the opportunity here,” Marchessault said. “We were just a bunch of hockey players that wanted to find a home, and we did.”
Tomas Tatar came out of the press box to open the scoring for the Knights, while Reilly Smith added two assists.
Kyle Connor replied for the Jets, who got 25 saves from Connor Hellebuyck.
Winnipeg has now lost three of its past four games at Bell MTS Place in the playoffs after compiling the best home record during the regular-season at 32-7-4.
“We were chasing the game again,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said. “We just couldn’t get any momentum going.”
Games 3 and 4 go Wednesday and Friday in Vegas. Game 5 will be back in Winnipeg on Sunday afternoon.
Fleury, who has four shutouts in these playoffs, picked up the 71st post-season victory of his career to pull even with Jacques Plante for ninth on the all-time list.
“Everybody steps up at some point,” Fleury said. “Everybody is contributing to the success. That’s why we’ve been consistent. ”
The Jets beat the Knights to open the series some 48 hours after disposing of the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Nashville Predators 5-1 on the road in Game 7 of a second-round series that never saw a team win two straight.
Winnipeg came out fast with three goals in the first eight minutes in that one against Vegas, which had a five-day break following the defeat of San Jose, prompting Marchessault’s strong post-game statement.
“We kind of just dipped our toe in the water, a little bit of a feeling out process,” Knights winger James Neal said. “We didn’t go after it. We knew what to expect tonight. We were better.”
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 — Winnipeg sagged a bit before Vegas opened the scoring with 6:37 left in the first.
A healthy scratch for seven of the Knights’ 11 playoff games coming into Monday, Tatar scored his first of the post-season off a slick feed from Shea Theodore at the side of Winnipeg’s net.