Jets fail to clinch, blanked by Subban, Golden Knights

LAS VEGAS -- Malcolm Subban got his first NHL shutout when the Vegas Golden Knights prevented the Winnipeg Jets from clinching a Stanley Cup Playoff berth with a 5-0 win at T-Mobile Arena on Thursday.

Subban made 20 saves for his third straight victory in place of No. 1 goalie Marc-Andre Fleury, who is out with a lower-body injury.
"I didn't have too much (work)," Subban said. "They got their shots, they had some chances, a couple on the power play, but other than that, not too much. Definitely a great all-around win, for sure."
WATCH: [All Jets vs. Golden Knights highlights]
William Karlsson had two goals and an assist, Reilly Smith scored twice, and Paul Stastny had two assists for the Golden Knights (42-27-5), who won for the 10th time in 11 games. Vegas trails the San Jose Sharks by five points for second place in the Pacific Division and leads the Arizona Coyotes by 11 points for third.
Smith has 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) in the past 19 games, and Karlsson has 12 points (four goals, eight assists) in his past nine.
"It's nice when the puck's going in," Smith said. "I think our line (with Jonathan Marchessault) is doing a good job creating opportunities and finishing them off. We've gone through some droughts this season where that wasn't the case, but it's nice to see us being rewarded."

The Jets (44-26-4), who needed one point to clinch a playoff berth, lost for the first time in five games. They lead the Nashville Predators by two points for first place in the Central Division.
Laurent Brossoit allowed three goals on 18 shots and was relieved in the second period by Connor Hellebuyck, who made 18 saves. Jets coach Paul Maurice said Brossoit sustained a lower-body injury.
"We had a tough night," Maurice said. "Got ourselves into a hole early."

Karlsson scored with a no-look backhand shot from a sharp angle to give Vegas a 1-0 lead 1:24 into the game.
Smith made it 2-0 at 8:26 of the first period. Stastny intercepted Winnipeg defenseman Joe Morrow's clearing attempt and sent the puck to Smith, who evaded a sliding Morrow and scored short side from below the right face-off circle.
Tomas Nosek scored shorthanded at 6:00 of the second period to make it 3-0.
The Jets went on the power play at 4:15 when Ryan Reaves was called for interference against Patrik Laine. Twelve seconds later, Laine's shot from the left circle hit the left goal post.
"I think if we had been able to score at the 2-0 mark on the power play, we might have been able to capture some energy," Maurice said. "We weren't able to do that, and it was over pretty quick at the end of the second."
Smith and Karlsson scored 24 seconds apart to increase the Vegas lead to five goals late in the second. Smith made it 4-0 at 17:56, and Karlsson scored at 18:20 for the 5-0 final.

They said it

"They came out hard. Good teams always do. It was a tough way to start the game, but it wasn't a death sentence. We wanted to shut the game down from there, but we just weren't able to do it." -- Jets captain Blake Wheeler
"We're definitely trying to get in the right direction right now. There's a lot of positivity in this room right now. Our goal is to keep our foot on the gas and just try to make sure we're getting better every day." -- Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith

Need to know

Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba was minus-3 in 24:15 of ice time in his 400th NHL game. … Winnipeg is 1-4-0 at T-Mobile Arena, including the playoffs. … The Jets went 0-for-2 on the power play. They were 14-for-47 in their previous 14 games. … Golden Knights forward Max Pacioretty left the game at 15:56 of the first period with a lower-body injury. Coach Gerard Gallant did not have an update. … Vegas defenseman Jon Merrill, playing his 300th NHL game, had an assist on Karlsson's first goal. … Marchessault had an assist on Smith's second goal and has seven points (four goals, three assists) in the past three games. He is one point from 200 in the NHL. … Golden Knights forward Mark Stone had his six-game point streak end.

What's next

Jets: Host the Nashville Predators on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN360, SNW, SNP, FS-TN, NHL.TV)
Golden Knights: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday (10 p.m. ET; ATTSN-RM, FS-D, NHL.TV)