The Vegas Golden Knights delivered their best performance of the first round, dominating the Winnipeg Jets in a decisive Game 5 victory, securing their spot in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs.
Chandler Stephenson scored twice, leading Vegas to a 4-1 win on Thursday night, eliminating the Jets from the playoffs.
“I think it was our best, or closest to complete, but we still have work to do, and we know that,” said Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy. “Nobody plays their best game in the first round. You keep building, and we’ll do the same.”
After losing Game 1, the Golden Knights rallied to win four straight, becoming the first team to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. This victory marks another milestone for the franchise, which reached the Stanley Cup Final in its inaugural season in 2018, boasting a postseason record of 42-29 and an 8-5 record in playoff series.
Mark Stone contributed a goal and two assists, while William Karlsson also found the back of the net. Goaltender Laurent Brossoit made 30 saves to secure the win.
“I thought overall it was one of our better games,” Stone said. “We stuck to the program for most of those last four games.”
Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, a Vezina Trophy candidate, made 21 saves, and Kyle Connor scored late in the third period, spoiling Brossoit’s shutout bid.
Jets coach Rick Bowness expressed frustration with the team’s effort, drawing comparisons to their poor performance from late January through February.
“I’m so disappointed and disgusted right now,” Bowness said. “No pushback. It’s the same crap we saw in February. … Their better players were so much better than ours it’s not even close. They were the better team in the regular season and the better team in this series.”
Stephenson opened the scoring just 50 seconds into the game, taking a feed from Stone and beating Hellebuyck.
Leading 1-0 after the first period, Vegas exploded with three goals in the second. Stone extended the lead 42 seconds in with a wrist shot from the slot. Karlsson then capitalized on a backhand pass from Michael Amadio, and Stephenson added his second game goal on a power play.
Teams with a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series now have a series record of 300-31 (.906).
ROSTER UPDATES: Nikolaj Ehlers, Karson Kuhlman, and Kyle Capobianco made their 2023 Stanley Cup Playoff debuts for the Jets. Vegas was without Shea Theodore, Phil Kessel, and Brayden McNabb. Vegas defenseman Ben Hutton, 30, appeared in his first career Stanley Cup Playoff game.
CHAN, TO THE MAX: Stephenson recorded multiple points in Vegas’ last four games, joining former Golden Knight Max Pacioretty as the only players in franchise history to have such a streak.
STONE COLD: After missing 39 regular-season games due to his second back surgery in less than a year, Stone returned to the lineup in stellar form, registering two three-point games in the series.
NEXT UP: Vegas will face Edmonton or Los Angeles in the second round. Edmonton leads the Kings 3-2 in their series, with Game 6 scheduled for Saturday. The Golden Knights split the season series against the Kings, each team going 2-2-0, while the Oilers won their series against Vegas, going 3-0-1.