5 reasons Golden Knights defeated Jets in playoff series
The Winnipeg Jets should have known they were in trouble when they saw who was sounding T-Mobile Arena’s rally siren.
Annabelle Hanson, the 8-year-old the Golden Knights signed in January through Make a Wish Southern Nevada, was back for Thursday’s possible deciding Game 5. The Knights won the first game she attended this season, 6-2 against the Washington Capitals on Jan. 21.
Their good-luck charm came through again in a 4-1 victory that sent them to the second round.
🥹 OUR FRIEND ANNABELLE IS BACK AT THE FORTRESS!!!!! 👏
🤗 @MakeAWishSNV 🤗 pic.twitter.com/r3F43B8gFF
— z – Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) April 28, 2023
“We got the fans that we do and you ringing the horn, we feel pretty confident,” center Chandler Stephenson said to Hanson after the game.
The series win was the Knights’ eighth, the second-most in the NHL since they entered the league in 2017-18, behind only the Tampa Bay Lightning with 13.
Here are five reasons the Knights won the series besides their good-luck charm:
1. Star performances
The top three regular-season scorers in the series were Jets. The top two playoff performers were Knights.
Stephenson and captain Mark Stone tied for the series lead with eight points and are tied for fourth in postseason scoring. Stone didn’t make an impact in Game 1 playing for the first time in more than three months because of back surgery, but then had two three-point nights in the next four games.
Stephenson finished the series with four straight multipoint games, which matched Max Pacioretty’s franchise record in the playoffs.
Winnipeg didn’t get those kind of efforts from some of its best players. No. 1 center Pierre-Luc Dubois had four points but was minus-5 at five-on-five. Center Mark Scheifele had one goal before leaving Game 4 with an upper-body injury.
“Their better players were so much better than ours, it’s not even close,” Jets coach Rick Bowness said.
2. Stick to the plan
The Knights knew what they wanted to do in the series.
Manage pucks in the neutral zone, get after the Jets’ blue line on the forecheck and hope a more patient approach would limit their opponent’s transition opportunities while eventually opening up space for them to attack.
The Knights didn’t execute in Game 1 and had too many turnovers. But when they stuck to the script the rest of the way, “it never didn’t work,” Stone said.
Winnipeg scored only three five-on-five goals in the final four games. The Jets struggled to get off the ground without rush chances, a credit to how coach Bruce Cassidy approached this matchup.
“He’s drilled into our heads the way we need to play,” Stone said.
3. Brossoit seizes moment
Winnipeg needed goaltender Connor Hellebuyck to outduel his former backup Laurent Brossoit to have a chance. It didn’t happen.
Brossoit’s save percentage was .915, far better than Hellebuyck’s .886. The one-time understudy fought through chants of “You’re a backup” to win two games in his former building in Canada Life Centre. He then returned for Game 5, with Knights fans chanting “he’s our starter.”
After winning his first playoff series as a starter, Brossoit is 9-1 in his past 10 games. The 30-year-old, who spent much of the season in the American Hockey League, is now leading one of the final eight teams standing.
“It’s going by quick, and it’s been a lot of fun,” Brossoit said. “But lots of stress. Lots of rewarding wins obviously, and resultswise, it’s as good as we could’ve hoped.”
4. Depth contributions
The Knights have so many ways to win because they have so many players who can contribute.
That included Brett Howden recording his first-ever two-goal game in Game 4, and right wing Michael Amadio scoring his first playoff goal in double overtime in Game 3.
The Knights had 10 players finish with at least three points. The Jets had six.
The Knights also got plenty of help from players who didn’t end up on the scoresheet. Defensemen Nic Hague and Zach Whitecloud needed to take on elevated roles with defensemen Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore out for Game 5, and both were excellent.
“Good for Nic and (Whitecloud) for stepping up,” Cassidy said. “They want this, too, right? They want to play more. They don’t want to be considered the best third pair, so to speak, forever.”
5. Top-pair prowess
Howden finished with the Knights’ best rating at five-on-five at plus-7.
Tied for second? The top defensive pair of Alex Pietrangelo and Alec Martinez, which is remarkable given they played almost half their five-on-five minutes against the Jets’ top line with Dubois and left wing Kyle Connor.
Pietrangelo was tied for the team lead with five assists. His 68 playoff points are tied for the 34th most ever by a defenseman and rank fourth among active blue liners.
Contact Ben Gotz at bgotz@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BenSGotz on Twitter.