LEISHMAN SETS MARK

Knights take 3-1 series lead

LAS VEGAS — Reilly Smith scored on a breakaway late in the third period to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 4 of the Western Conference final Friday night.

Vegas, a 500-to-1 long shot to win the title when the season started, can advance to the Stanley Cup final when the series resumes Sunday in Winnipeg.

William Karlsson and Tomas Nosek also scored for Vegas, and Marc-Andre Fleury, ninth all-time for postseason wins, made 36 saves to earn his 73rd career playoff victory.

With the game tied at 2, Smith raced down the left side of the rink and beat Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck above his blocker to put the Golden Knights ahead with 6:58 left in the game.

Hellebuyck made 27 saves, but lost for the third consecutive game despite telling reporters after Game 3 that he liked his game better than Fleury’s. Patrik Laine and Tyler Myers scored for Winnipeg, which is on the brink of elimination.

The Jets took over where they left off in the third period of Game 3 by outskating the Golden Knights in the first period of Game 4, but Karlsson’s power-play goal was the difference. Off the draw, Smith found Jonathan Marchessault, who fed Karlsson for the onetimer to beat Hellebuyck and give Vegas a 1-0 lead.

With the assist, Marchessault (eight goals, 10 assists) tied the NHL record for most by a player in his team’s first postseason appearance, set by the Islanders’ Jude Drouin in 1975 and matched by the San Jose’s Igor Larionov in 1996. Marchessault is currently riding a six-game point streak.

Marc Leishman followed the best round of his PGA Tour career with a 5-under 66 at the AT&T Byron Nelson in Dallas, breaking the 36-hole tournament record previously shared by Tiger Woods. The Australian was at 15-under 127 for a one-stroke lead over Aaron Wise, the 21-year-old rookie who shot a bogey-free 63 at the new links-style Trinity Forest course. Hometown star Jordan Spieth matched Leishman’s 66 to remain eight shots back.