Recap: Winnipeg Jets @ Vegas Golden Knights
One final regular season game on the west coast for the Winnipeg Jets and it was against their hated rivals, the Vegas Golden Knights. A team that they haven’t beaten in the past 3 years….so the True Northers had their work cut out for them. Here is how I saw things play out….
GAME RECAP
The Jets had some lineup changes prior to the late puck drop, with defenseman Luke Schenn able to return to the ice after missing one contest and backup goalie Eric Comrie getting the nod in net. Winnipeg started the game off well, with an intense forecheck that allowed them to get the first 4 shots on net as they controlled the early play. Cole Perfetti had a great look when he flew down the left wing before testing Vegas’ Adin Hill with a pair of shot attempts. The Knights’ NHL leading powerplay got their first opportunity of the game when Colin Miller was called for a questionable roughing penalty, but Winnipeg did a good job of limiting the chances against thanks to a nice block by Brandon Tanev. Back at even strength, the franchises traded looks before the Jets took back control with back-to-back cycle shifts. It started off with a grind shift by the 4th line, including some great work along the offensive boards by Jaret Anderson-Dolan, and then the Jets’ top line followed up with a press of their own. Schenn sent a stretch pass from his blueline to a streaking Alex Iafallo, only for the puck to deflect off the winger’s stick and hit him in the face. The veteran didn’t let it slow him down, as he corralled the puck before setting up Mark Scheifele for a 1 timer that opened up the scoring. WPG 1-0. With 7 minutes to play in the opening period, Vegas pushed back a bit but Winnipeg was mostly able to keep them to the perimeter, but Nikolaj Ehlers did have to block a shot that ended up sending him limping to the bench. As the period neared its conclusion, captain Adam Lowry won a defensive zone face-off and that allowed the Jets to break out of their own end. After the big guy carried the puck into the Knights’ end, he wrapped the puck along the boards to work its way to the left point, setting up a shot from Logan Stanley. Both Nino Niederreiter & Lowry were battling in front of the Vegas’ goalie, allowing the captain to bang home his 15th goal of the campaign. WPG 2-0.
Winnipeg started the 2nd off extremely well, not allowing a shot against in the first 6 minutes as they made things difficult for Vegas by clogging up the neutral zone. The Knights are too good to lay down for the rest of the game and eventually they got some quality looks on the Jets’ defense. Fortunately, plays like Schenn sprawling out to block a cross pass on a VEG 3 on 2 helped keep them off the scoreboard. The True Northers got their first powerplay of the match when Scheifele took a high-stick, but the top unit couldn’t add to their lead despite a couple of shots on net. Fortunately, the 2nd unit took the direct approach with their limited time and they rapidly set up defenseman Miller for three straight shots. Each attempt got that much more dangerous and Winnipeg extended the lead when a 96 MPH 1 timer blast from the high slot found twine. WPG 3-0. I am only guessing, but it was around this time that Vegas realized that the LA Kings picked up a win already and their lead on the Pacific was now down to only 3 points. Regardless, the Knights flicked the switch and suddenly started to create quality looks on Comrie. The expecting a newborn-at-anytime goaltender was up to the challenge though, making a few top-notch stops to keep his shutout in tact through 2 frames.
Winnipeg pretty much gave up on offense in the 3rd period, focusing on playing responsibly and keeping Vegas’ scoring chances to a minimum. Of course, this resulted in the Knights getting more good scoring opportunities, including a few robberies of Jack Eichel, Mark Stone, & Tanner Pearson. Other times, it was Jets’ defenders like Josh Morrissey or Dylan Samberg making the big play to end a threat. Despite laying back on the gas, the True Northers didn’t stop playing defense and their intensity & efforts frustrated the home team to no end on Thursday night. Vegas gambled by pulling the goalie with 5 minutes to play, resulting in some solid offensive pressure for a few shifts. Eventually though, Winnipeg was able to create a turnover that saw young Perfetti seal the game with his 3rd goal in the last 3 games. WPG 4-0.
*****
FINAL SCORE: WINNIPEG JETS 4 VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS 0
FINAL STATS
Shots: 26-22 VEG / Hits: 29-24 WPG / Face-Offs: 55.4% VEG / x Goals: 2.89 WPG – 2.42 VEG /
MoneyPuck’s Deserve to Win: 56.0% WPG / High-Medium Danger Scoring Chances: 8 TO 8 TIE
*****
SCORING SUMMARY from ESPN
*****
SHOT CHART from MoneyPuck
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ADVANCED SKATER STATS from MoneyPuck
*****
GOALIE STATS from ESPN & MoneyPuck
*****
If you would like to dive deeper into the game’s stats, follow the links below to the game pages:
MoneyPuck: Winnipeg Jets vs. Vegas Golden Knights – Thursday April 3 2025 – MoneyPuck.com
NaturalStatTrick: Winnipeg Jets @ Vegas Golden Knights, 2025-04-03
*****
BOJA’s Observations:
A very enjoyable game to watch. A lot of Winnipeg Jets players performed very well last night, but due to time constraints, I will save my praise for only tender Eric Comrie. Put in a tough spot against a very good team and he stopped all 26 shots that came his way for his 2nd shutout of the season and a +2.42 Goals Saved Above Expected rating. All while having to deal with worries about his wife and when she will go into labour. Very impressive ability to focus, Coms.
The Winnipeg Jets restored their 4 point lead on the Dallas Stars with the big win and now the magic number is down to 5.5 with 6 games to play. Both squads are back in action on Saturday, so the chase goes on. Enjoy the warm fuzzies that come with a great performance by our Jets. I may be wrong, but this version seems to be more resilient than past seasons and have risen to the occasion in a lot of big matches in 2024-25.
UP NEXT: Winnipeg Jets @ Utah Hockey Club – Saturday, April 5th @ 6:00 pm CST...
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