WINNIPEG JETS NOTES:
Scene Setter
The Winnipeg Jets begin the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs on Tuesday night in Vegas with Game 1 of their First Round best-of-seven series against the Vegas Golden Knights. The Jets ended the regular season on Thursday with a 4-2 loss to the Colorado Avalanche after clinching the final playoff spot in the Western Conference on Tuesday with a 3-1 win against the Minnesota Wild. Game 2 of the series is Thursday in Vegas before the series shifts to Winnipeg for Game 3 Saturday afternoon and Game 4 Monday night.
Tale of the Tape
WPG Stat VGK
82 GP 82
46 W 51
33 L 22
3 OT 9
95 PTS 111
247 GF 272
225 GA 229
19.3% PP 20.3%
82.4% PK 77.4%
Broadcast Information
TV: Sportsnet
Play-By-Play: John Bartlett
Analyst: Garry Galley
Rinkside: Sean Reynolds
Radio: 680 CJOB/Power 97
Play-By-Play: Paul Edmonds
Analyst: Jamie Thomas
Host: Kelly Moore
Upcoming Schedule
Tuesday, April 18
Morning Skate 9:30 a.m.
Jets at Vegas Golden Knights 6:30 p.m.
Wednesday, April 19
Practice – T-Mobile Arena 1:00 p.m.
Thursday, April 20
Morning Skate 11:30 a.m.
Jets at Vegas Golden Knights 7:00 p.m.
All Times Local
Series Schedule
Date Location Time TV/Score Radio/Series
Apr. 18 Vegas 6:30 p.m. PT Sportsnet 680 CJOB/Power 97
Apr. 20 Vegas 7:00 p.m. PT Sportsnet 680 CJOB/Power 97
Apr. 22 Winnipeg 3:00 p.m. CT Sportsnet 680 CJOB/Power 97
Apr. 24 Winnipeg 8:30 p.m. CT Sportsnet 680 CJOB/Power 97
Apr. 27 Vegas* TBD Sportsnet 680 CJOB/Power 97
Apr. 29 Winnipeg TBD Sportsnet 680 CJOB/Power 97
May 1 Vegas * TBD Sportsnet 680 CJOB/Power 97
Last Game
Colorado Avalanche 4
Winnipeg Jets 2
Jets Scorers: Jonsson-Fjallby (6), Stenlund (6)
Avalanche Scorers: Malgin (13), Rantanen (55), Rodrigues (16), Lehkonen (21)
Jets Goaltender: David Rittich (21 sv, 3 ga)
Avalanche Goaltender: Alexandar Georgiev (18 sv, 2 ga)
Jets PP: 0-for-3
Jets PK: 2-for-3
Recap: Axel Jonsson-Fjällby and Kevin Stenlund scored for the Jets in the second period to give Winnipeg a 2-1 lead, but the Jets ultimately lost 4-2 to the Colorado Avalanche in their final game of the regular season on Thursday. Kyle Connor paced the Jets with three shots, while Neal Pionk had an assist and a pair of blocked shots. David Rittich made 21 saves in his first action since Mar. 14.
Playoff Experience
Nineteen players on the Jets roster have Stanley Cup Playoff experience, totaling 624 games and 249 points (87G, 162A)… Nino Niederreiter leads the Jets players with 82 games of playoff experience with Minnesota and Carolina… Brenden Dillon is second with 75, while Nate Schmidt is third with 68, including 47 with Vegas.
Overtime Winners
Four members of the Jets have scored overtime goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, led by Kyle Connor’s pair of OT winners… The Jets franchise is 4-3 in playoff overtime games, including winning three overtime games in the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Edmonton Oilers.
Against the Pacific
Winnipeg went 13-8-3 against the Pacific Division this season… Kyle Connor (12G, 17A) led the Jets with 29 points in 24 games against the Pacific Division during the regular season, while Mark Scheifele had 14 goals in 24 games, including seven of his 12 power play goals.
Road Record
The Jets were 20-20-1 on the road this season… The Jets have posted a .500 or better record on the road in six of their past seven seasons… Kyle Connor (13G, 21A) led the Jets in scoring on the road with 34 points in 41 games… Mark Scheifele had a team leading 20 goals, which is the 11th time in franchise history a player has reached 20 goals on the road in a season.
PK Prowess
Winnipeg finished tied for seventh in the NHL this season with a penalty kill successful 82.6% of the time… The last time the Jets had a penalty kill better than 82% was in 2013-14 when they finished the season at 83.2%… The franchise record for penalty kill percentage in a season is 85.2%, which occurred in Atlanta during the 2003-04 season.
Special Difference
The Jets finished fourth in the NHL by playing 45:41 more on the power play than the penalty kill… Winnipeg had 56:43 of more power play than penalty kill time at home, which was second in the league… Winnipeg finished 23rd on the power play during the regular season at 19.3%.
Comebackers
The Jets had 17 comeback wins in the regular season, which was tied for 15th in the league… Winnipeg had to come back from a deficit in 37% of their wins, which was 24th in the league… PierreLuc Dubois led the Jets with seven game-tying goals in the regular season, while Mark Scheifele had 6… Scheifele and Kyle Connor each paced the team with 15 go-ahead goals.
Margins
The Jets played 27 games in the regular season that were decided by one goal, going 17-7-3… The 27 games were tied for fourth fewest in the NHL… On the other side of the spectrum, Winnipeg was 19-19 in 38 games decided by three goals or more, which was tied for fifth most in the NHL
Season Series
The Jets and Golden Knights played three times during the regular season, with the Jets going 0-2-1… Two of the three games were decided by one goal… Winnipeg only had four power play opportunities in the three games, going 1-for-4… Winnipeg outshot Vegas in the last meeting 34-33, but were outshot 113-86 overall in the three games… Mark Scheifele (3G), Adam Lowry (1G, 2A), and Neal Pionk (1G, 2A) each had three points in three games against the Golden Knights during the regular season… Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck posted a .913 save percentage in two starts against Vegas and faced an average of 40 shots per game.
All-Time Mark
The Jets are 8-4-2 all-time against Vegas during the regular season… Winnipeg’s three-game winless skid against Vegas this season comes after a five-game winning streak that spanned from Nov. 2/19-Mar. 22/22… The Jets have a pair of 4-0 shutouts against Vegas, which both came at home – Mar. 6/20 and Mar. 22/22… Kyle Connor has feasted on the Golden Knights during the regular season with 21 points (10G, 11A) in 14 career games, but was held to one assist in the three games this season… Mark Scheifele has 15 points (8G, 7A) in 13 career games against Vegas, while Blake Wheeler has 13 points (1G, 12A) in 13 games.
Playoff History
Winnipeg and Vegas met in the 2018 Western Conference Final with the Golden Knights taking the series in five games… The first three games were decided by two goals, while the last two were one-goal games… The Jets lost both games of the series in Vegas… Blake Wheeler led the Jets in scoring in the series with six assists in five games… Only seven players that suited up for the Jets in that series are still with the team – Kyle Connor, Nikolaj Ehlers, Connor Hellebuyck, Adam Lowry, Josh Morrissey, Mark Scheifele, and Blake Wheeler… Jets defenceman Nate Schmidt played for Vegas in that series, recording an assist in five games.
On the Road
This is the 10th playoff series in franchise history and fifth time the Jets won’t have home ice advantage…The Jets are 2-2 in playoff series when not having home ice – beating Nashville in the Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs and Edmonton in the First Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS NOTES:
2023 STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS – FIRST ROUND – VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS VS. WINNIPEG JETS
Golden Knights 2022-23 Regular Season Record: 51-22-9, 111 points (25-15-1 at Home, 26-7-8 on Road)
DATE OPPONENT TIME (PT) TELEVISION RADIO SPANISH RADIO
Apr. 18 vs. Winnipeg Jets 6:30 p.m. AT&T SportsNet, ESPN2 Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Apr. 20 vs. Winnipeg Jets 7 p.m. AT&T SportsNet, TBS Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Apr. 22 at Winnipeg Jets 1 p.m. AT&T SportsNet, TBS Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Apr. 24 at Winnipeg Jets 6:30 p.m. AT&T SportsNet, ESPN Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Apr. 26* vs. Winnipeg Jets TBD TBD Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Apr. 28* at Winnipeg Jets TBD TBD Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
Apr. 30* vs. Winnipeg Jets TBD TBD Fox Sports 98.9 FM/1340 AM Deportes 1460 AM
*If Necessary
VGK/WPG – Regular Season Recap
The Vegas Golden Knights owned a 3-0-0 advantage against the Winnipeg Jets during the 2022-23 regular season. The clubs began the season series with two contests at T-Mobile Arena just 10 days apart. In their first meeting, Jack Eichel tallied his first multi-goal game of the season to lead the Golden Knights to a 5-2 win over the Jets. In their next matchup, Eichel was the overtime hero as he snuck the puck past Connor Hellebuyck to send the Vegas crowd to a frenzy. In their final meeting at Canada Life Centre, Mark Stone and Jonathan Marchessault each had two goals to help Vegas power past Winnipeg despite Mark Scheifele’s late hat trick. Winnipeg was one of 10 NHL teams that Vegas swept during the regular season.
2022-23 Season WPG Series: 3-0-0 (Home: 2-0-0, Road: 1-0-0)
Date Location Result Goaltenders GWG
Oct. 20 Vegas Vegas 5, Winnipeg 2 Adin Hill (VGK) // David Rittich (WPG) Chandler Stephenson (VGK)
Oct. 30 Vegas Vegas 2, Winnipeg 1 OT Adin Hill (VGK) // Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) Jack Eichel (VGK)
Dec. 13 Winnipeg Vegas 6, Winnipeg 5 Adin Hill (VGK) // Connor Hellebuyck (WPG) William Karlsson (VGK)
Playoff History with WPG
Western Conference Final 2017-18 (4-1)
- May 12 @ WPG – Vegas 2, Winnipeg 4
- May 14 @ WPG – Vegas 3, Winnipeg 1
- May 16 @ VGK – Vegas 4, Winnipeg 2
- May 18 @ VGK – Vegas 3, Winnipeg 2
- May 20 @ WPG – Vegas 2, Winnipeg 1
Rulers of the Realm
For the third time in six seasons, the Golden Knights finished first in the Pacific Division (2017-18, 2019-20 previously) and enter the postseason as the number one seed in the Western Conference for the first time.
Keeping it One Hundred
Vegas completed the regular season with a franchise-high 111 points. This is the second time in Golden Knights history the club reached the 100-point mark and first since its inaugural season in 2017-18 (109). Vegas was the first team in the Western Conference to hit 100 points this season and the only club to surpass the 110-point mark in the West.
Bench Boss Butch
Bruce Cassidy recorded 50 wins in back-to-back years after accomplishing the feat last season with the Bruins (51-26-5, 107 points). He is the first coach in NHL history to record at least 50 wins in consecutive campaigns with two different franchises.
x – Marks the Spot
Vegas is the seventh franchise in NHL history to reach the Stanley Cup Playoffs five or more times in its first six seasons, after the Rangers (6 of 6), Blues (6 of 6), Oilers (6 of 6), original Ottawa Senators (5 of 6), Minnesota North Stars (5 of 6) and Quebec Nordiques (5 of 6).
In the Winning Business
Vegas (38-28 in 66 GP) has a postseason winning percentage of .576, the third highest among all NHL franchises behind Edmonton (.583) and Tampa Bay (.582). The Golden Knights can become the fourth club in League history to reach 40 postseason victories in 70 games or fewer, following the Oilers (40-19 in 59 GP), Ducks (40-28 in 68 GP) and Islanders (40-28 in 68 GP).
