The Vegas Golden Knights have steamrolled through the Stanley Cup Playoffs this season by overwhelming the opposition early.
Turn about is fair play as the Winnipeg Jets hosted the Knights Saturday evening and put three goals on the scoreboard on just eight shots in less than 10 minutes en route to
a 4-2 win over the Knights.
Dustin Byfuglien launched a shot from inside the blue line on the right point for the first goal on the series with just 65 seconds gone in the game.
“We didn’t have much of a rest, we’re still in game mode,” Byfuglien said. “It was just a matter of coming out, playing our game, keeping it simple. We got in moving our feet right away, ice opened up, so we got to move the puck easily, just do simple things.”
That set the tone on the ice and i the arena.
Patrik Laine then ripped home a one timer from the left side of the cage for a 2-0 lead
“It’s obviously huge to get the first goal,” Laine said. “I think it’s just everybody maybe feels a little bit looser on the ice. It’s hard to say. For me, it gives me confidence a lot, because we’re in the lead and it’s easier to play.”
Joel Armia was credited with the third goal of the outburst at 7:35 of the period.
That third goal was reviewed for goalie interference but held by the Toronto war room.
Brayden McNabb struck for the Knights just after the Armia goal to cut the lead to 3-1 but it did little to quell the excitement in the arena.
The Jets were coming off the Game 7 win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday and had little time to prepare.
“We’ve lost games, and in those losses, we’ve won the next one. So we were able to maintain the identity. Had we lost here, it would have been an every second game continuation from the last round,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “What we’ve done reasonably well is leave the game where it was played, whether it was a win or loss, and moved right on to the next. We’ve been able to maintain our identity after losses, as well.”
Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves to pick up the win.
“They don’t give up a lot,” Vegas’ Deryk Engelland said. “We’ve got to fight for ice and get more pucks to the net.”
William Karlsson also scored for Vegas.
“Not the start we wanted, and they just played two days ago, but they were game ready and we weren’t,” the Knights Jonathan Marchessault said. “We’re going to see what kind of team we are. (Monday) is definitely a must-win game.”
Mark Scheifele scored in the third period to give the Jets a 4-1 lead.
“We were chasing the game all night. They played a real good game. They played a great defensive game. They created offense when they had to and they had a great power play. That was the difference in the hockey game. And they had a great start. We just didn’t get enough to the net,” Vegas head coach Gerard Gallant said after the loss.
[WATCH: All Golden Knights vs. Jets highlights | Complete Jets vs. Golden Knights series coverage]
Marc-Andre Fleury made 22 saves in taking the loss.
“They came out hard like we expected,” Fleury said. “We made our way back throughout the game. I thought we stuck with it, though. Nobody panicked and played great second and third (periods).”

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