Golden Knights:51-22-9, 111 points
Jets:46-33-3, 95 points
Season series: VGK 3-0-0; WPG 0-2-1
Game 1:Tuesday at Vegas (9:30 p.m. ET; ESPN2, SNW, TVAS2)
The Vegas Golden Knights are back in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, arriving in style as the Pacific Division champions and the top seed in the Western Conference.
After reaching the playoffs in their first four seasons, they missed out last season. It did not sit well with the franchise, which had gone to the Stanley Cup Final in its first season, losing to the Washington Capitals.
This season was marked by change. Bruce Cassidy was hired as coach, replacing Peter DeBoer. Max Pacioretty, a high-scoring forward, was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes in July, and in August, No. 1 goalie
Robin Lehner
was ruled out for the season because of a hip injury.
However, Vegas found a way to return to excellence.
"Proud of the guys. We won all we could win in terms of regular season," Cassidy said after Vegas clinched the top seed with a 3-1 victory at the Seattle Kraken on Thursday. "I know the players want to relax and take a breather. As coaches, you're always looking at the next challenge. It happens to be the Winnipeg Jets. We haven't seen them in a long time in terms of playing them. We want to get to playing that."
The Jets were not assured of a playoff spot until the penultimate game of their season, slipping in as the second wild card from the Western Conference after holding off the hard-charging Nashville Predators.
From Feb. 14 to the end of the season, Winnipeg was 13-14-2 for a .483 points percentage, the second-worst among playoff-bound teams during that span, ahead of only the Tampa Bay Lightning (.467). Vegas was at .768 (19-4-5).
"We battled our adversity," Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck said. "It might have taken us a little bit longer but I think we figured ourselves out. We have the character in the room and now we know what our game is. To come out and show it through this stretch is huge."
Winnipeg was 5-2-0 in its final seven games, outscoring its opposition 26-13.
These teams played in the Western Conference Final in 2018, with Vegas shocking the hockey world with a five-game upset to become the only first-year team to make the championship round in NHL history.
The Golden Knights hope the Jets once again will be part of their path to glory because they believe that the adversity they endured this season, including injuries to many of their key players, has served them well.
"We made big strides from where we ended in the regular season last year," Vegas forward Reilly Smith said. "We always believed in this group. There's still a lot of work to be done, but I don't think this should be understated."