The Vegas Golden Knights were a 500-to-1 long shot to win the Stanley Cup before the NHL season began in October. Their surprisingly
successful inaugural season is still rolling along
http://www.raidersauthorizedshops.com/authentic-johnny-townsend-jersey , and they’re one win from a berth to the Stanley Cup final.
Reilly Smith scored on a breakaway late in the third period to lead Vegas to a 3-2 victory over the Winnipeg Jets in Game 4 of the Western Conference final
Friday night.
Vegas can clinch the conference title and advance to the Stanley Cup final when the series resumes Sunday in Winnipeg.
”The last one is always the toughest to get,” Golden Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury said.
William Karlsson and Tomas Nosek also scored for Vegas, and Fleury, ninth all-time in postseason wins, turned in another spectacular performance by making
36 saves to earn his 73rd career playoff victory. The 14-year veteran goalie,
left exposed by the Pittsburgh Penguins for Vegas to select him in the expansion
draft, continues to have a career-best postseason as he aims for a third
straight Stanley Cup title.
”I think we’ve got to keep the same mindset,” said Fleury, who has a 1.72 goals against average and .945 save percentage in the playoffs. ”Just take it
one game at time and not think too far ahead and be ready to play that next
game, because they’re going to be coming hard.”
It’s something the Jets have already been doing, even in their three losses in the series.
Asked how his team has been able to survive Winnipeg’s tenacious attack, Smith replied: ”He’s sitting right next to me
Su'a Cravens Color Rush Jersey ,” referring to Fleury at the postgame news conference.
But with the game tied at 2, it was Smith who made the big play after racing down the left side of the rink and beating Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck above
his blocker to put the Golden Knights ahead with 6:58 left.
Hellebuyck made 27 saves, but lost for the third consecutive game despite telling reporters after Game 3 that he liked his game better than Fleury’s.
Patrik Laine and Tyler Myers scored for Winnipeg, which is on the brink of
elimination.
”I know we can win a game, we’re a good enough team,” Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said. ”We’ve battled. We’ve gone into some pretty heavy environments and
won a game that we needed to win. So it’s just one game.”
The Jets took over where they left off in the third period of Game 3 by outskating the Golden Knights in the first period of Game 4, but Karlsson’s
power-play goal was the difference. Off the draw, Smith found Jonathan
Marchessault, who fed Karlsson for the one-timer that gave Vegas a 1-0 lead.
In a case of deja vu from Game 3, when Vegas responded 12 seconds after giving up a 1-0 lead, Winnipeg and the Golden Knights traded goals 43 seconds
apart midway through the second period.
First, it was Laine’s one-timer on the power play that even Fleury wasn’t catching up to and it tied the game at the 9:29 mark. Then
Alex McGough Color Rush Jersey , it was Hellebuyck failing to secure a shot by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who raced to the puck and fed Nosek, who
punched in his first career playoff goal to put Vegas up 2-1.
”It’s a good way to be, when they get one, the next guy’s up and ready to go,” said Golden Knights forward James Neal, who is looking to make it to the
Stanley Cup final for a second consecutive year after getting there with
Nashville last season. ”It’s always hard when you get one and the other team
scores right away, it kind of takes the wind right back out of you. For us being
at home, it just energizes the building. As soon as it sucks the wind out, boom,
huge goal, and we’re back.
”That was a great goal by Nose.”
The Jets outshot the Golden Knights 12-2 by the midway point of the third period – including Myers’ tying goal – keeping Fleury busy. But the three-time
Cup champion was finished allowing anything in his net.
”We win that game nine times out of 10 – tonight was that one
http://www.coltsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-quenton-nelson-jersey ,” Winnipeg’s Blake Wheeler said. ”Their goalie made some extraordinary saves, he’s
a good player. You’ve got to sometimes take your hat off to a good player.”
NOTES: The Golden Knights and Jets joined a record 18,697 in attendance in a moment of silence for those affected by the shootings at Santa Fe High School in
Texas on Friday. … Jets forward Mark Scheifele, who registered his 10th and 11th
road goals in Game 3 to set a single-year NHL postseason record, had his
six-game goal streak as a visitor end.
UP NEXT
Game 5 is at Winnipeg on Sunday.
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The youth movement is alive and thriving for the Boston Celtics.
And for the second straight game it was enough to upend a Philadelphia 76ers team that still has much to figure out as it heads home trailing 2-0 in the
Eastern Conference semifinals.
Rookie Jayson Tatum scored 21 points and hit a pair of free throws in the closing seconds, helping the Celtics rally from a 22-point deficit to beat the
76ers 108-103 on Thursday night.
Terry Rozier added 20 points, nine assists and seven rebounds. Marcus Smart finished with 19 points and five rebounds as the Celtics improved to 6-0 at TD
Garden this postseason. They have never blown a 2-0 lead.
”Coach was saying whoever is the tougher team is going to win,” Rozier said. ”They definitely punched us in the mouth at the beginning of the game. We just
had to bounce back and get things together.”
Game 3 is Saturday in Philadelphia.
J.J. Redick had 23 points for the 76ers, making five 3-pointers. Robert Covington added 22 points and nine rebounds. Joel Embiid finished with 20
points, 14 rebounds and five assists, but rookie star Ben Simmons missed all
four shots and had just one point.
”Mentally, just thinking too much
Zach Davies Milwaukee Brewers Jersey ,” Simmons said of his tough night. ”I’m going to have bad games. It happens. Obviously, it’s bad timing.”
Philadelphia recovered after squandering its big lead to nudge back in front 93-88 midway through the fourth quarter.
But an 11-4 run put Boston back in the lead 99-95 with less than four minutes to play.
It was 101-97 when a missed Philadelphia jumper led to a 2-on-1 fast break and alley-oop dunk from Rozier to Tatum with 2:23 left.
A layup by Dario Saric cut it to 104-101. But Al Horford was able to drive past Embiid for a layup with 8.3 seconds left.
Saric scored out of a timeout to make it 106-103. The Sixers quickly fouled Tatum, who calmly hit a pair of free throws.
Following an anemic offensive effort in Game 1, the Sixers looked rejuvenated early in Game 2, using a 14-2 run to begin the second quarter on their way to
building a 48-26 lead.
It didn’t last.
The Celtics responded by ending the half on a 25-8 run. It included three straight 3-pointers and a tip-dunk by Jaylen Brown, who returned to action after
sitting out the series opener with a strained right hamstring. He came off the
bench and played 25 minutes, scoring 13 points and grabbing four rebounds.
The Sixers’ lead was completely erased midway through the third quarter, when Aron Baynes got a 3-pointer to bounce in and put Boston in front for the first
time.
The lead grew to 76-68 on a baseline dunk by Tatum that capped a 50-20 Celtics run.
”Once we got on that run we never looked back,” Rozier said.
Brown entered the game for the first time at the 7:14 mark of first quarter. It took less than a minute to make an impact. He missed his first shot attempt
before chasing down a loose ball and sprinting ahead for a one-handed dunk .
Prior to Thursday, Brown had started every game he’d appeared in this season. It was his first time off the bench since Game 5 of last season’s Eastern
Conference Finals.
”They won two games at home and we have to reciprocate,” Sixers coach Brett Brown said. ”There’s not going to be a pity party.”
TIP-INS
76ers: Outrebounded the Celtics 49-41. … Went 13 of 33 from the 3-point line.
Celtics: The 22-point comeback victory represents their largest come-from-behind playoff victory since Game 4 of the 2008 NBA Finals (24 pts). …
Went 15 of 36 from the 3-point line.
HE SAID IT
”It’s like a movie. You only see these type of comebacks in movies.” – Celtics guard Marcus Smart.
SLOW START
Despite Brown’s early highlight, the Celtics were sluggish early.
They started off the game 0 for 5 and didn’t score until Smart’s 3-pointer at the 8:37 mark of the first quarter.
Horford (1 for 3)
http://www.eaglesauthorizedshops.com/authentic-dallas-goedert-jersey , Rozier (0 for 4), Brown (1 for 4) and Marcus Morris (0 for 3) were a combined 2
for 14 in the period, allowing Philadelphia to build a 31-22.
CELEB SIGHTINGS
Philadelphia-born rapper Meek Mill sat courtside for Game 2. Mill was released from jail last week after spending nearly five months behind bars on a
probation violation. Rapper Gucci Mane sat across from the 76ers bench wearing a
Brown jersey. The two met last year when Brown attended one of his concerts.
Another Philly native, actor Kevin Hart, sat a few seats down from Gucci. Hart at times antagonized the TD Garden fans, drawing boos.
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