
Marchessault's scores fuel Vegas
First goal comes just 35 seconds in; Knights lead series
Published 12:20 am, Thursday, May 17, 2018
Las Vegas
Jonathan Marchessault scored two goals — including an empty-net score in the closing seconds — to lead the Vegas Golden Knights to a 4-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 3 of the Western Conference final Wednesday night.
Vegas took a 2-1 series lead and is now two wins from advancing to the Stanley Cup Final. The Golden Knights improved to 5-1 at home in the playoffs, and play host to Game 4 on Friday night.
James Neal and Alex Tuch also scored for Vegas, while Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 33 shots.
Mark Scheifele scored both of Winnipeg's goals and has a playoff-leading 14 goals in 15 postseason games. Connor Hellebuyck had 26 saves for the Jets, who arrived in Las Vegas having outscored their opposition 23-15 in road games during the playoffs.
Marchessault scored his seventh goal of the playoffs just 35 seconds into the game, giving the Golden Knights a 1-0 lead.
Scheifele tied it with a double-deflection off his stick and calf that went past Fleury. But 12 seconds later, Neal answered, giving the Knights a 2-1 lead.
Tuch notched his fifth goal of the playoffs to push the lead to 3-1 after Neal fed him with a nifty pass from behind the net.