Winnipeg Jets Vs Vegas Golden Knights: NHL Playoff Preview
The Winnipeg Jets pushed themselves into the Western Conference Finals with a gritty Game 7 victory over the Nashville Predators. It was a hell of a series. Now they’ve earned a date with the Vegas Golden Knights.
The Winnipeg Jets are the NHL’s second youngest team. The Vegas Golden Knights are, of course, the youngest, this being their first season. An expansion team in the Conference Finals. What a world.
This time, though, the Jets will have home ice. That will be nice. Yes, they won three games in Nashville in the Semis, but playing the first two (and a potential Game 7) in Winnipeg, is quite nice.
Now, if you’ve been following along, you’ll know the Winnipeg Jets are the best team remaining in the NHL Playoffs. The regular season point total is just part of it. Tampa and Washington are popular teams in popular markets. Steven Stamkos and Alex Ovechkin are big stars.
Vegas is a media darling due to their ‘Expansion Status’. Their roster is much more impressive than it looks at first glance. Marc-Andre Fleury is a Stanley Cup Winner, and they’re going to be a challenge.
The Winnipeg Jets are very good very disrespected. The media flocks where the money is, and it’s on the other three teams. There are plenty of reasons to believe that Winnipeg will be hoisting the Cup when the dust clears. Let’s break it down, shall we?
The Winnipeg Jets have a deep and scary forward group. They’ve been playing well and scoring at a good clip in the playoffs, but the depth Vegas was able to acquire in the expansion draft is impressive.
The Vegas Golden Knights are led by William Karlsson, who scored 43 goals this year. Really. Now, he also led the league with a 23% shooting percentage. That’s what one would call unsustainable. He’s netted four goals and had six assists in 10 games so far, however.
Jonathan Marchessault is the team’s best forward, for my money anyway. The former Florida Panther has four goals in the playoffs (tied for the team lead) and seven assists. The undrafted boy had 75 points this season.
This is a very odd team. They’re full of (theoretically) overperforming youngsters and exiled veterans. The latter category includes David Perron, who managed to have a career year after disappointing several teams. It also includes James Neal, former Penguins hero.
The former category includes Oscar Lindberg, the very impressive former Ranger. He’s not a top line center, sure, but he can win a faceoff, forecheck, and play the heck out of some defense. Reilly Smith put together a career year as well. Almost a point per game after hovering around .5 for his career.
It’s a ragtag bunch, but don’t underrate them. They play defense, forecheck, they’re fast. They are a cohesive unit under Gerard Gallant, who deserves all the credit in the world.
The Winnipeg Jets, however, are deep. Kyle Connor playing well really pushes the depth up. Nikolaj Ehlers played well, too, but without many goals. That doesn’t even bring up Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler. Those guys are a handful. Edge: Winnipeg Jets.
The Winnipeg Jets have a solid defensive corps, led by the heroic efforts of Dustin Byfuglien. The Golden Knights have played fantastic defensive hockey, however.
I’ll be honest with you here. Brayden McNabb, the Golden Knights’ top defenseman, is just about the only one I could’ve named. They also trot out Colin Miller, the bruising Deryk Engelland, Luca Sbisa, Shea Theodore and Nate Schmidt.
Schmidt and Miller have the best offensive games, but the team really had to focus on their plan. Having an expansion draft is a tough way to get top-end talent, especially on the blueline. Vegas knew the players who fit their system and drafted accordingly.
They turned a group of decent defenseman and made it a Cup contender. That’s impressive. It’s not Tyler Myers, Jacob Trouba, Dustin Byfuglien and Josh Morrissey impressive.
There are bruisers, skaters, shooters and passers in that group. Nobody is a weak link. That group allowed Winnipeg to keep Nashville from lighting it up in their series.
The Golden Knights have played fantastic defense this season, especially in the playoffs. We’ll get to the main reason in a bit, but the cohesive defensive schemes and team play have been a key cog. Underestimating this team is going to be a problem, but their players can’t match Winnipeg’s talent. Edge: Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets rode the wonderful performance of Connor Hellebuyck in Game 7 and will have him front and center in this series. His opponent in net is quite good, however.
Marc-Andre Fleury is a fantastic goalie. The three time Stanley Cup champion was pushed aside for Matt Murray in the Penguins plans, and thus became the star acquisition for Vegas this offseason.
If he keeps playing like this, Pittsburgh may regret their decision. The man has a .951% save percentage and four shutouts already this postseason. Good gravy, that’s impressive. Hellebuyck had the better regular season, and he’s been solid in the playoffs. Fleury has been otherworldly.
A .927% save percentage is nothing to sneeze at. Hellebuyck has been a catalyst for his team’s success. Fleury is a Cup winner with a chip on his shoulder, playing at level never before seen.
Will it continue? Hard to say, but I wouldn’t expect him to be bad. I didn’t expect Pekka Rinne to get pulled three times in seven games, either. Marc-Andre Fleury has shown he won’t wilt under the heatlamp. Edge: Vegas Golden Knights
The Winnipeg Jets aced their toughest test, the Nashville Predators. That doesn’t mean things will be easy from here on out.
Gerard Gallant knows what he’s doing. This team plays hard, doesn’t break their plan and wins games. They’ve been good since the start of the season. This is no fluke.
Paul Maurice showed an ability to make adjustments in the second round. He didn’t really have to in round one. I’m certain he will in the Western Conference Finals. The good thing is, he was out ahead of Peter Laviolette.
Gallant is going to put his plan into action. Can Maurice and the Jets exploit this plan? Maybe! The Sharks and Kings are solid teams. They’re not great scoring teams. The Winnipeg Jets are an offensive powerhouse. And they’re a defensive juggernaut.
Next: Jets Break into Conference Final
Both of these teams are top ten in scoring and defense, though. Make no mistake, the lack of stars on Vegas does not imply they can’t win this thing. They’re plucky and they’ll give the Jets a ride. I just don’t think they have enough to win. Jets in five.