Golden Knights shut out 4-0 by Jets as Pacific Division lead dwindles

The Vegas Golden Knights delivered a dud in their second straight home defeat, falling 4-0 to the top-ranked Winnipeg Jets Thursday night at T-Mobile Arena.

It was the Jets’ first win against Vegas in the regular season since March 22, 2022, and the game was never in doubt. Winnipeg was the much better team in the first period and jumped out to a 2-0 lead, and the Jets got excellent goaltending from Eric Comrie the rest of the way to close out the win.

After winning six straight, the Golden Knights (45-22-8) have lost back-to-back games against playoff opponents. With seven games remaining, Vegas now leads Los Angeles (43-23-9) by just three points and Edmonton (44-26-5) by five in the Pacific Division.

Akira Schmid replaced Adin Hill to start the third period, though the move had nothing to do with Hill, who finished the game with 16 saves on 19 shots. Bruce Cassidy explained after the game that he wanted to get Schmid into a game before this weekend’s back-to-back. Schmid faced just two shots in the third period, stopping both.

Alex Pietrangelo returned to the lineup after missing four games, but it was more of the same shaky play from the veteran blueliner, who continues to commit glaring turnovers, leaving question marks surrounding his game going into the playoffs. But he was far from alone, as the entire team struggled with puck management throughout the effort.

The Golden Knights’ performance was a mess for much of the night, particularly in a difficult first period that allowed the Jets to take control of the game.

Mark Scheifele opened the scoring at 13:01 of the contest, beating Hill on a backdoor one-timer after a stellar cross-ice feed by Alex Iafallo. Iafallo got behind Brayden McNabb, created a 2-on-1 and delayed before sending a perfect backhand pass across the zone.

The Jets doubled their lead 5:14 later when captain Adam Lowry potted his 15th of the season. Lowry got behind Shea Theodore and McNabb and won a loose puck battle before chipping it past Hill.

The Golden Knights had the lone power play of the period but failed to get anything going. Winnipeg led 11-5 in shots, 26-16 in shot attempts, 13-2 in scoring chances and 7-1 in high-danger chances with an 83.84 percent expected goal share.

The Golden Knights had a few decent looks in the second period by Mark Stone and Brett Howden, but otherwise it was more of the same. The Jets, on the other hand, extended their lead on the power play when former Vegas defenseman Colin Miller blasted one home from the point to beat a screened Hill.

Vegas was better in the third period, leading 14-3 in shots, but couldn’t solve Comrie. The Golden Knights pulled the goalie with more than five minutes left but were unable to cut the deficit. Cole Perfetti officially put the game away with an empty-net goal in the final minute of regulation.

“It was a weird one,” Stone said. “Just didn’t have that killer instinct to get ourselves back in the game once they got up 3-0. It was a bit of a lull the rest of the game.”

The Golden Knights were not sharp, lost too many battles, committed too many turnovers, didn’t make the necessary adjustments after struggling on entries and failed to generate sustained pressure or momentum at any point.

This was far from the type of effort Vegas needed to deliver against the top team in the league, particularly after Tuesday’s loss. As was the case against the Oilers, the Golden Knights essentially lost this game in a period. This time around, it was the lackluster first that cost them.

“The start wasn’t great,” Stone said. “Once you get down 2-0, you’re chasing the game. … I’m sure if you look back on it, probably the difference in the game is the start of the game.”

As Cassidy pointed out after the game, most of the Golden Knights’ success throughout March came against Eastern Conference teams. However, Vegas has dropped three critical matchups against Western teams, including the Kings, Oilers and now the Jets, which is problematic heading into the postseason.

The most recent loss prompted him to speak to the team after the game, something he rarely does.

“I am concerned,” he said. “This isn’t a one-off.”

The Vegas bench boss said Vegas was a step behind, never got to its game and that “it showed” that the Golden Knights did not practice yesterday, something for which he took the blame. “Our pace wasn’t good enough,” he added. “We didn’t execute well enough.”

This game was never guaranteed. Despite losing eight straight against Vegas, the Jets are the best team in the league.

However, the Golden Knights were never really in the game, and it was an underwhelming response to Tuesday’s loss against Edmonton.

“I think it feels like a step back,” William Karlsson said. “They’re a good team, we’re in the hunt to catch them. So to have a performance like this is not good enough, and we’ve got to learn from it.”

The Golden Knights will look to rebound Saturday against the Calgary Flames (36-27-12).

“You can feel sorry for yourselves or you can pick yourself off the mat and get back to work and put in your best effort on Saturday night,” Stone said. “We’re playing a desperate team who is still fighting, trying to make the playoffs, so we have to be at our best. Hopefully those games are the ones that can kind of bring it out of you.

“We’re not gonna roll over. We’re obviously gonna learn from these games. But I think this team will bounce back, and we’ll get ourselves ready to go.”