WINNIPEG 鈥� Brett Howden was ecstatic to score his first playoff goal. His second one into an empty net was icing on the cake.
Howden鈥檚 goals, along with and scoring 47 seconds apart in the second period, lifted the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-2 road victory over the Monday night.
The victory gave Vegas a 3-1 lead in their first-round playoff series. Game 5 of the best-of-seven Western Conference battle goes Thursday in Vegas. Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series hold a series record of 299-31.
鈥淏oth games had both my parents and all my siblings here, in-laws as well, so pretty special to be able to do it in front of them,鈥� said Howden, who was born in Oakbank, Man.
Winnipeg lost more than the game when veteran star centre left the ice early in the first period and the team announced he wouldn鈥檛 return because of an upper-body injury. He joined a growing list of injured teammates that includes all-star defenceman (injured in Game 3) and speedy forward , who hasn鈥檛 yet competed in the playoffs.
鈥淯pper-body injury and he鈥檒l be re-evaluated tomorrow,鈥� Jets head coach Rick Bowness said of Scheifele.
and each had two assists and made 24 saves for the Golden Knights.
鈥淲e didn鈥檛 really give them anything,鈥� said Brossoit, who played three seasons with the Jets. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e dealing with some injuries, but we鈥檝e got a veteran group that didn鈥檛 get complacent and we took it to them.鈥�
had a goal and assist and also scored for Winnipeg. contributed two assists, extending his point streak to seven assists in four games.
鈥淲e have two options,鈥� Dubois said. 鈥淲e can either feel bad for ourselves, or we can have a positive mindset. We won one in Vegas before. We feel like we have the recipe to do it again.
鈥淲e're going to do some video, have a practice. I'm sure we'll talk a lot about what we have to do better and we'll be ready for the next game.鈥�
stopped 26 of the 29 shots he faced for Winnipeg, which played in front of another boisterous sellout crowd of 15,325 white-clad fans at Canada Life Centre.
鈥淚t鈥檚 unfortunate, obviously, to lose Mark, a guy we really rely on,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淭he guys battled extremely hard. We just couldn鈥檛 get a bounce five-on-five.鈥�
The score was 1-1 after the first period and 3-1 for Vegas following the second.
Scheifele had fans cheering and then worrying in a matter of minutes.
On a breakaway about two-and-a-half minutes into the game, Scheifele took a close shot that Brossoit stopped, and then got tripped up and crashed into the end boards on his left side.
He got up and continued skating and was on the ice for a Winnipeg power play. When he tried to fire a shot from inside the circle, it didn鈥檛 have a lot of power behind it and he appeared to immediately clutch his right arm. He skated to the bench and went down the tunnel at 5:11.
Scheifele led the Jets in goals in the regular season with a career-best 42. He had one goal in the playoffs.
Wheeler took the crowd鈥檚 mind off the injury for a moment when he beat Brossoit with the man advantage at 5:53.
The good mood didn鈥檛 last long after Howden scored the equalizer exactly four minutes later. His first shot was blocked and he got the loose puck and put it past Hellebuyck.
The Golden Knights boosted their lead to 3-1 in the second period with Karlsson鈥檚 goal at 13:32, followed by Barbashev with a tip of Theodore鈥檚 shot at 14:19.
Dubois squeezed the score to 3-2 on a power play with a bouncing puck that went high in the air off 鈥檚 stick and down beside Brossoit and into the net at 2:53 of the third.
Howden scored into the empty net with 17 seconds left.
鈥淎t the end of the day, no panic, just take care of business,鈥� Vegas head coach Bruce Cassidy said. 鈥淧lay the right way and end up getting the win, that鈥檚 what we came here for.鈥�
NOTES
Stephenson鈥檚 two assists gave him multiple points in three straight games. He became the fourth player in Golden Knights鈥� history to record multiple points in three or more consecutive playoff games. 鈥� Vegas forward played in his 100th career playoff game. 鈥� Winnipeg defenceman took Morrissey鈥檚 roster spot. 鈥� Jets backup goalie (lower body) missed the game. He was replaced with emergency AHL call-up Arvid Holm.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 24, 2023.
Judy Owen, The Canadian Press
