3 Keys: Golden Knights vs. Jets, Game 4 of Western 1st Round

(1P) Golden Knights at (2WC) Jets
Western Conference First Round, Game 4
Vegas leads best-of-7 series 2-1
9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN, SNW, TVAS, ATTSN-RM

WINNIPEG -- The Winnipeg Jets believe they are still in the Western Conference First Round against the Vegas Golden Knights despite losing Game 3 in heartbreaking fashion Saturday and being without star defenseman Josh Morrissey for the remainder of the series.

Winnipeg lost 5-4 to the Vegas Golden Knights at Canada Life Centre when forward Michael Amadio scored a 3:40 of double overtime. The Jets trail the best-of-7 series 2-1 heading into Game 4 on Monday.
Not only did the Jets allow Vegas to take a 1-0 lead 2:52 into the game and trailed 4-1 entering the third period, but Morrissey sustained a lower-body injury on his first shift and didn't return.
But Winnipeg scored three times, the game-tying goal coming from Adam Lowry with 22 seconds left in regulation.
The Jets feel like the blueprint for them to even this series before heading back to Las Vegas for Game 5 is in the way they approached the third period in Game 3.
RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Jets series coverage]
"We want to build off what we did in the third period," Winnipeg coach Rick Bowness said. "That crowd was unreal yesterday and it's going to be unreal tomorrow. Giving up that early goal probably gave us some jitters with the crowd and everything, but I think as the game wore on, we played through that.
"Got better in the second and, obviously, got a lot better in the third. And that first period in overtime was a good period as well. Some of the guys, it is the first time being exposed to that, it's a little nerve-wracking probably, but we played through it. And now they know what to expect and now we're leaving with a good feeling on how we battled back."
Teams that take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-7 series hold a series record of 299-31 (.906), including a 3-1 mark in the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Here are 3 keys for Game 4:

1. Logan's run

Logan Stanley is expected to replaced Morrissey in the lineup.
A first-round pick by the Jets (No. 18) in the 2016 NHL Draft, Stanley hasn't played in a Stanley Cup Playoff game since the 2021 season when he played in all eight games. In his final game of that run, he scored both goals in a 3-2 second-round overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on June 7.
The defenseman (6-foot-7, 242 pounds) had three points (one goal, two assists) in 19 regular-season games this season. The 24-year-old has 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 114 career NHL games in three seasons.
Bowness, who would not confirm who would replace Morrissey, knows that no one player can do the things Morrissey did for the Jets.
"The guys that are in the lineup, they're going to play their games and whoever we put in tomorrow, they're going to play their game," Bowness said.

2. Center of attention

After playing the first three games at wing for the Jets, Mark Scheifele is being moved back to his natural position at center. He is expected to be between Vladislav Namestnikov and Blake Wheeler.
Bowness said he made the decision to change things up because the experiment of Scheifele on the wing had run its course. Scheifele has one goal in the series (in Game 3) and is minus-1 in the first three games.
"I'm more comfortable down the middle. We had some good games with me on the right wing but at center, I'm more used to it," Scheifele said. "There's just a lot of different touches on the wing as opposed to center. Like I said before, wherever they need me I'll be ready to help."

3. Pound the D

With the Jets missing their top puck-moving defenseman in Morrissey, and players like Neal Pionk and Dylan DeMelo in line for extra minutes in Game 4, the Golden Knights will try even harder to get in on the forecheck and put bodies on the Jets defensemen, hoping to create turnovers in the short term and fatigue in the longer term.
"I think with the way we forecheck right now, it could be a big advantage for us," Vegas defenseman Alex Pietrangelo said. "Last game, we did a really good job of forechecking the puck well. It is something that we kind of thrive on, so we are going to have to continue that recipe."

Golden Knights projected lineup

Michael Amadio -- Jack Eichel -- Jonathan Marchessault
Reilly Smith -- William Karlsson -- Phil Kessel
Brett Howden -- Chandler Stephenson -- Mark Stone
Ivan Barbashev -- Nicolas Roy -- Keegan Kolesar
Alec Martinez -- Alex Pietrangelo
Brayden McNabb -- Shea Theodore
Nicolas Hague -- Zach Whitecloud
Laurent Brossoit
Jonathan Quick
Scratched:Paul Cotter, Kaedan Korczak, Brayden Pachal, Teddy Blueger, Pavel Dorofeyev, Ben Hutton, Adin Hill
Injured:William Carrier (lower body), Logan Thompson (undisclosed)

Jets projected lineup

Kyle Connor -- Pierre-Luc Dubois -- Nino Niederreiter
Vladislav Namestnikov -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Morgan Barron -- Adam Lowry -- Mason Appleton
David Gustafsson -- Kevin Stenlund -- Saku Maenalanen
Nate Schmidt -- Dylan DeMelo
Brenden Dillon -- Neal Pionk
Logan Stanley -- Dylan Samberg
Connor Hellebuyck
Arvid Holm
Scratched:Kyle Capobianco, Dominic Toninato, Axel Jonsson-Fjallby, Karson Kuhlman, Oskari Salminen
Injured:Cole Perfetti (upper body), Nikolaj Ehlers (upper body), David Rittich (lower body), Josh Morrissey (lower body)

Status report

Capobianco could play if Winnipeg chooses to dress seven defensemen. … The Jets recalled Holm on an emergency basis from Manitoba of the American Hockey League; Bowness said Holm will back up Hellebuyck on Monday but expects Rittich to dress for Game 5. … Ehlers, a forward, did not skate and will not play.