Vegas on the brink of finals

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.

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 powerplay goal was the difference. Off the draw, Smith found Jonathan Marchessault, who fed Karlsson for the one-timer to beat Hellebuyck and give Vegas a 1-0 lead.

The Golden Knights, who shared third in the NHL with 29 home wins during the regular season, improved to 6-1 at T-Mobile Arena in the playoffs.