Vegas Golden Knights Vs Winnipeg Jets: Keys, What To Watch And More

Yesterday four really good series kicked off the beginning of the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Today another good matchup gets underway between the Vegas Golden Knights and the Winnipeg Jets. These teams met three times during the regular season, with Vegas winning all three games and outscoring the Jets by five.

Vegas Golden Knights Vs Winnipeg Jets: Keys, What To Watch And More

What to watch tonight:

Connor Helleybuyck: With .920 save percentage, he almost replicated his Vezina winning season, being 3rd in save percentage among goalies with at least 40 starts  (just behind Ullmark and Sorokin. He was an absolute key for the Jets this season, with 64 games to his name (tied most with Saros). He can be an essential factor for the Jets.

Jets steam: With the Jets’ final games of the season, they were playing all in as the playoff started for them a month ago, with the Preds and Flames also in the last playoff spot. At the end of the day, they did what they needed to do, but this is not the end, just a start. Vegas has not been playing for their lives as much as the Jets have had to, which could mean Vegas is more rested.

Vegas goaltending: Although acquiring Quick was a great move before the playoffs, the injury of Logan Thompson might be a problem. The Quick-Brossoit tandem is not looking as good as Helleybuyck alone. For game one, Bruce Cassidy decided to go with Brossoit. Still, I see the chance in game two would be given to Quick (who has a lot more playoff experience as he played almost as many playoff matches with 92 as Brossoit regular season matches with 117 and has 2 Stanley Cups to his name). Quick is no stranger to the Stanley Cup Playoffs and it could be interesting to see how he does this year.

Key to victory – Vegas

This might sounds silly, but it is essential for the Knights to make Mark Sone feel comfortable. He hasn’t played since the Jan. 12. They’ll need every scorer to be his best for the series, so make him feel good. If he doesn’t click from the start, do not push him much in this game cause I am pretty sure you don’t want one of your best players to be frustrated after just one game.

Key to victory – Winnipeg

Be motivated and help Hellebuyck as much as possible by trying to block every possible shot. Vegas led the league with 1233 shots blocked, while the Jets were 27th with just 882. So this is the thing you want to be better at in playoffs. Also, try to hit hard to send the message; you won’t give this series up for anything.

Projected lineups:

Date: Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Time: 9:30 PM ET

Where: T-Mobile Arena

TV Broadcast: ET, EPN2, SNW, TVAS2

Streaming: fuboTV

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Series Schedule:

Game One: Tue., April 18: Jets at Golden Knights, 9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN2, SNW, TVAS2

Game Two: Thu., April 20 Jets at Golden Knights, 10 p.m. ET, TBS, SN, CBC, TVAS

Game Three: Sat., April 22: Golden Knights at Jets, 4 p.m. ET, SN, CBC, TVAS, TBS

Game Four: Mon., April 24: Golden Knights at Jets, 9:30 p.m. ET, SNW, TVAS, ESPN

Game Five: Thu., April 27: Jets at Golden Knights, TBD

Game Six: Sat., April 29: Golden Knights at Jets, TBD

Game Seven: Mon., May 1: Jets at Golden Knights, TBD