3 takeaways from Golden Knights’ win: 1 step from 2nd round

Feelings of déjà vu seemed to sweep across Canada Life Centre as Winnipeg Jets fans roared to life in the third period Monday.

The Golden Knights lost a 4-1 lead two days earlier in their 5-4 double overtime win in Game 3 of their first-round series with the Jets. A similar finish seemed possible again in Game 4 when center Pierre-Luc Dubois scored 2:57 into the third to cut Winnipeg’s deficit to 3-2.

But the Knights didn’t give the “White Out” crowd anything further to cheer about this time. They kept playing, stuck to their structure and closed out a 4-2 victory to win their third straight and take a 3-1 series lead.

Left wing Brett Howden, who grew up a Jets fan in nearby Oakbank, Manitoba, sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 17 seconds remaining.

The Knights are one win from reaching the second round for the fourth time in six seasons. They can clinch the series in Game 5, which will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at T-Mobile Arena.

“At this point in the season, you have to learn from your mistakes,” said defenseman Shea Theodore, who finished with two assists. “We didn’t want to let what happened last game happen again. I thought we regrouped well enough to get the job done.”

The Knights were the ones that rallied first Monday.

Right wing Blake Wheeler put Winnipeg up 1-0 on a power-play goal 5:53 into the first period, helping his team score first for the third time in the series. Howden answered four minutes later off the rush. He regained control of the puck after his initial wrist shot was blocked by defenseman Neal Pionk and fired it past goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.

The Knights took the lead for good in the second by scoring two goals 47 seconds apart. Center William Karlsson struck for the third time in the series two seconds after a power play expired, then left wing Ivan Barbashev deflected aTheodore shot past Hellebuyck with 5:41 left in the period.

All that was left to determine was whether the Knights could protect a multigoal lead in the final period this time. They didn’t get off to a good start, as Dubois scored a bizarre power-play goal. The puck deflected high in the air above the crease and came down into the net after defenseman Alex Pietrangelo failed to swat it away.

It was a bad break that could have easily deflated the Knights given how Game 3 went. Instead, they stayed collected and won their fourth straight playoff game at Canada Life Centre.

“We kept our composure a lot better tonight,” goaltender Laurent Brossoit said. “Really didn’t give them anything, even though it turned into a one-goal lead. That’s a good sign for our group to not repeat the same mistakes, right? We made a good adjustment. We kept our foot on the pedal.”

The Knights have advanced four of five times in their history after taking a 3-1 series lead. The one time they didn’t was in the first round in 2019 in San Jose.

Here are three takeaways from the win:

1. Contributors keep emerging

Howden’s two-goal game was the first of his career.

It was fitting in some ways, because the Knights keep coaxing standout performances from seemingly everyone in their lineup this season. Howden and Barbashev became the team’s seventh and eighth players with a goal in the series. Every forward except for Nicolas Roy has recorded at least a point.

“Look at this series,” coach Bruce Cassidy said. “It’s different people. You can’t just say our best players are winning the series for us. We’ve got different people scoring.”

2. Brossoit’s effort

Jets fans chanted “You’re a backup” at Brossoit on Monday in an effort to get under Hellebuyck’s former understudy’s skin.

It didn’t work. Brossoit continued to stay calm in his crease to quiet his former team. He made 24 stops to improve his save percentage in the series to .902.

”Oh, yeah, I could hear them,” Brossoit said. “It’s just fuel when you have that many people chanting your name. Whether it’s positive or negative, it’s fuel.”

Hellebuyck gave up three goals on 29 shots. His save percentage for the series is .895.

3. Scheifele exits

Winnipeg played most of the game without center Mark Scheifele, who appeared to suffer an upper-body injury after crashing into the end boards 2:30 into the game.

The 30-year-old attempted to play through it, but left for the locker room after a shot attempt on the power play. Scheifele, who led the Jets with 42 goals in the regular season, didn’t return. Coach Rick Bowness said Scheifele will be re-evaluated Tuesday.

Winnipeg was already playing short-handed. No. 1 defenseman Josh Morrissey was lost for the series because of a lower-body injury in Game 3. Left wing Nikolaj Ehlers has yet to appear because of an upper-body injury.

Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.