PREMIUM
Rogers' Sunday Game 5 Coach's Clinic >> 15-8-1 NHL Run! Won 5 of 6!
(NHL) Vegas vs. Winnipeg,
Money Line: -141.00 Winnipeg (Home)
Result: Loss
Money Line: -141.00 Winnipeg (Home)
Result: Loss
The set-up: The Vegas Golden Knights have seized every opportunity during their spectacular inaugural season and now stand one win from the Stanley Cup finals entering Game 5 of the Western Conference finals Sunday at the Winnipeg Jets. Vegas lost Game 1 by a 4-2 score but have ripped off three straight wins by riding the outstanding goaltending of Marc-Andre Fleury. Vegas has scored fewer than 90 seconds after a Winnipeg goal four times in the series and the Golden Knights have netted the game's opening tally in winning each of the last three games. "The fact we always bounce back right away when they get (a goal) and keep the momentum on our side, I think has been the key to the series," Fleury told reporters after Vegas captured Game 4 with a 3-2 victory on Reilly Smith's go-ahead goal with 6:58 to play. Winnipeg has played well for long stretches of each of the past two games, only to come away with two road losses that has put its season on the brin.
Vegas: The Golden Knight's top line of William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Smith again played well in Game 4, combining for two goals and two assists. That was more than enough for Fleury, who made 35 saves overall and robbed Winnipeg several times in facing 27 shots in the final two periods. Fleury has been terrific all postseason long (1.72 GAA and .945 SP) but one must add the Vegas has excelled in the past two games by hounding the Jets in the neutral zone, finishing Game 4 with 24 takeaways and blocking 25 shots.
Winnipeg: "In our minds, this series is far from over," Jets defenseman Tyler Myers told reporters after Game 4, in which he scored the game-tying goal early in the third period. "We're going back home for the next one and we'll focus on that." Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves but allowed three goals in losing his third game in a row. The Jets can't be happy that his save percentage over the last three games (all losses) is .895.
The pick: Maybe it's just silly to step in front of Vegas at this point but the Jets are an outstanding team. They were second to only Nashville in total points during the regular season (114 to 117) and then won a hard-fought seven-game series victory over Nashville in the conference semifinals (won three of four games played in Nashville!). In each of the two games played in Las Vegas this series, Winnipeg applied waves of pressure in the final two periods and outshot the Golden Knights. However, Fleury never 'blinked.' Here in Winnipeg, where the Jets are 37-10-2 this season (outscoring opponents 3.69-to-2.43), that dynamic changes. Make Winnipeg an 8* play.
Vegas: The Golden Knight's top line of William Karlsson, Jonathan Marchessault and Smith again played well in Game 4, combining for two goals and two assists. That was more than enough for Fleury, who made 35 saves overall and robbed Winnipeg several times in facing 27 shots in the final two periods. Fleury has been terrific all postseason long (1.72 GAA and .945 SP) but one must add the Vegas has excelled in the past two games by hounding the Jets in the neutral zone, finishing Game 4 with 24 takeaways and blocking 25 shots.
Winnipeg: "In our minds, this series is far from over," Jets defenseman Tyler Myers told reporters after Game 4, in which he scored the game-tying goal early in the third period. "We're going back home for the next one and we'll focus on that." Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves but allowed three goals in losing his third game in a row. The Jets can't be happy that his save percentage over the last three games (all losses) is .895.
The pick: Maybe it's just silly to step in front of Vegas at this point but the Jets are an outstanding team. They were second to only Nashville in total points during the regular season (114 to 117) and then won a hard-fought seven-game series victory over Nashville in the conference semifinals (won three of four games played in Nashville!). In each of the two games played in Las Vegas this series, Winnipeg applied waves of pressure in the final two periods and outshot the Golden Knights. However, Fleury never 'blinked.' Here in Winnipeg, where the Jets are 37-10-2 this season (outscoring opponents 3.69-to-2.43), that dynamic changes. Make Winnipeg an 8* play.