3 Keys: Jets at Golden Knights, Game 5 of Western 1st Round

(2WC) Jets at (1P) Golden Knights
Western Conference First Round, Game 5
Vegas leads best-of-7 series 3-1
10 p.m. ET; ESPN2, CBC, SN, TVAS, ATTSN-RM

LAS VEGAS -- The Vegas Golden Knights can advance in the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a win against the Winnipeg Jets in Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.
A win would give the Golden Knights some much-needed rest before they play the Edmonton Oilers or Los Angeles Kings in the second round. Edmonton leads that series 3-2 with Game 6 scheduled for Saturday.
A loss and the Golden Knights give the Jets life and forces Game 6 at Canada Life Centre on Saturday.
"Obviously the last game, Winnipeg] is going to give everything they got," Vegas forward Nicolas Roy said. "There are some teams that take their foot off the gas a little bit there. That's obviously what we don't want to do. We want to keep pushing. The last one is always the toughest to get. Hopefully we get it tonight."
[RELATED: [Complete Golden Knights vs. Jets series coverage]
Teams that hold 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.
The Golden Knights are 4-1 when leading 3-1 in a best-of-7 series, but it's the loss that still haunts them.
It was in the first round of the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the Golden Knights lost three straight to the San Jose Sharks, including the final two in overtime.
Seven players remain on the Golden Knights roster from that series: defensemen Brayden McNabb and Shea Theodore, and forwards Reilly Smith, William Carrier, Mark Stone, William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault.
"We haven't been talking about it," Vegas coach Bruce Cassidy said. "They've seen both sides. The guys in the room are probably acutely aware of how it's gone. That's where you hope they share their previous experiences."
Here are the 3 Keys to Game 5:

1. Health questions

Each team will have some lineup decisions to make.
Vegas is the healthier of the two teams and has dressed the same 18 skaters in each of the first four games. But Carrier will be a game-time decision after missing the past 24 games, including the first four games of the series, because of a lower-body injury sustained March 3.
Carrier set NHL highs with 16 goals and 25 points in 56 games this season.
Nikolaj Ehlers will be a game-time decision for Winnipeg, although coach Rick Bowness said he is confident the forward will play if he receives medical clearance.
He also is confident Mason Appleton will play despite the forward leaving practice early Wednesday.
The Jets are without forward Mark Scheifele, who sustained an upper-body injury during Game 4, and defenseman Josh Morrissey, who has been ruled out of the series after sustaining a lower-body injury during Game 3. Backup goalie David Rittich is out for Game 5 because of a lower-body injury.

2. Be Aggressive

The Jets don't want to see their season end and are looking at Game 1 as a template for a way to extend the series.
The Jets won that game 5-1 at T-Mobile Arena, and were on top of the Golden Knights for long stretches, taking away their transition game, getting traffic in front of goalie Laurent Brossoit and dominating on the forecheck and in the cycle game.
"Don't interpret this when I say aggressive it means just physicality," Bowness said. "Aggressive means pressuring them as well. Using our skating.
"It's not just the physical part of the game that we want to stay aggressive, it's the pressure side of the game, forcing turnovers. We want to stay on top of them, we want to pressure them. That's just aggressive hockey. You check with your feet moving and your stick on the ice, and usually you can stay out of the penalty box."

3. Stay Positive

The Jets can't win three games Thursday; they can only win one and extend the series two more days and then try again to push it to a Game 7.
They have watched the Eastern Conference First Round, where the Florida Panthers, against the Boston Bruins, and the New York Islanders, against the Carolina Hurricanes, each won a Game 5 on the road to stay alive.
They believe it's their turn now.
"There's teams that have come back [from 3-1 down]," Winnipeg forward Adam Lowry said. "That's the thing. I don't think we've been blown out of the water. You know what I mean? We've had a chance to win every game this series so that's the belief for our group, is if we play up to our capabilities, we can compete with them. We have a chance to win these games.
"That's how we're approaching it. We're not looking at the daunting task of you have to win three straight. It's, we have to win this next one and get it back to Winnipeg. That's our goal."

Jets projected lineup

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

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
Adin Hill
Scratched:Paul Cotter, Kaedan Korczak, Brayden Pachal, Teddy Blueger, Pavel Dorofeyev, Ben Hutton, Jonathan Quick
Injured:William Carrier (lower body), Logan Thompson (undisclosed)

Status report

Each team held an optional morning skate. … Capobianco could replace Stanley. If the defenseman plays, it would be his Stanley Cup Playoff debut.