After sputtering to just four wins in their last 13 games, the Vegas Golden Knights hope they may have finally turned the corner heading into Tuesday’s game at the Winnipeg Jets.
The Golden Knights (32-25-14, 78 points) snapped a three-game losing streak in which they scored just one goal with a come-from-behind, 3-2 victory at red-hot Dallas on Sunday.
Reilly Smith, a healthy scratch in the previous five games, broke a 2-2 tie when he swatted in a rebound of a Mitch Marner shot with 3:38 left to win it. The victory enabled Vegas to leapfrog idle Edmonton into second place in the Pacific Division, four points behind the Anaheim Ducks.
Ivan Barbashev and Brayden McNabb also scored goals for the Golden Knights, who finished with a 33-15 edge in shots on goals while also holding the Stars without a shot on goal over the final 14:46 of the second period.
What made it even more impressive is the fact Vegas had to kill off a four-minute Stars power play during that span after Jack Eichel picked up a high-sticking penalty that drew blood on Dallas forward Mavrik Bourque.
“Listen, we haven’t done a lot of winning lately,” Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We needed a game like this where there was a little adversity, push through it, playoff atmosphere. For us now, we’ve got to carry it forward.”
McNabb, who scored on an end-to-end rush, was asked if the win over Dallas “feels different.”
“You hope so,” he said. “You just don’t want to get too ahead of yourself. We’ve got to go into Winnipeg, not great in the standings but they’re still a good team. Enjoy it tonight and tomorrow, and make sure we’re ready for Winnipeg.”
The Jets (29-29-12, 70 points), the reigning Presidents’ Trophy winners, kept their playoff hopes alive with a 3-2 shootout win over the Rangers in New York on Sunday. That victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Winnipeg, which is five points behind Nashville for the final wild-card spot in the Western Conference.
Gabriel Vilardi had a goal and an assist and also scored in the shootout. Eric Comrie made 27 saves and also turned away both New York shootout tries.
With just 12 games and a possible 24 points remaining in the regular season, there is little or no leeway for the Jets in their late playoff push. Two of the games are against Vegas, another is against Dallas and two more are against NHL points leader Colorado.
“It’s a sprint to the finish,” said Winnipeg captain Adam Lowry, who also scored a goal. “The margin for error is slim for us, and we know the position we are in and we know the teams coming up. But we got to take care of the one game in front of us and not look too far ahead and hope you are getting help on the out-of-town scoreboard.”
This is the second of three meetings between the Jets and Golden Knights. Vegas won the first one 4-3 in overtime on Jan. 6 in Winnipeg on a Tomas Hertl power-play goal.
