Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Lightning aim to pull even with Capitals

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the races for the 2018 NHL postseason. Game 1 of the Western Conference Final was played Saturday in Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Jets wasted little time jumping out in front of the Vegas Golden Knights.

#

What's on tap

-- For the second time in as many series, the Lightning are looking to rebound from a flat performance in a Game 1 loss. The Lightning, who lost 6-2 to the Boston Bruins in the opener of the Eastern Conference Second Round, fell 4-2 against the Capitals on Friday. They responded with a 4-2 win in Game 2 and went on to win the series in five games. How they respond Sunday could go a long way to determining who wins this series.Though Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom participated in the morning skate, he is
a game-time decision
.

About last night

Winnipeg Jets 4, Vegas Golden Knights 2 -- In front of a wild whiteout crowd, the Jets scored three goals in the first 7:35 and went on to win Game 1 of the Western Conference Final. Dustin Byfuglien and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and an assist, Patrik Laine scored, Blake Wheeler had three assists, and Connor Hellebuyck made 19 saves for Winnipeg. It was the League-leading 12th goal of the postseason for Scheifele. It's the first time Vegas has trailed in a playoff series. Game 2 is at Bell MTS Place on Monday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

What we learned

Here are some takeaways from Day 32 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Golden Knights need to limit penalties

Entering the Western Conference Final, the Golden Knights had the best penalty-killing percentage (85.0) of the four remaining teams, but they allowed two power-play goals in the loss Saturday. The first was on a one-timer from a wide-open Patrik Laine at 6:49 of the first period that gave the Jets a 2-0 lead and the second a net-front redirection of a Dustin Byfuglien shot by Mark Scheifele that made it a 4-1 game at 9:54 of the second. Winnipeg's ability to move the puck and free up Byfuglien at the blue line to unleash his powerful shot got the better of the conservative penalty-kill tactics that had been so successful during the first two rounds. Vegas either needs to shore up its kill or stay out of the box.

Vegas needs to go deep

The Jets stymied the Golden Knights when Vegas tried to carry the puck into the offensive zone. They had 10 takeaways, compared to one for the Golden Knights. One way to for Vegas to solve that issue is to dump the puck into the zone and chase it, playing to the strength of its forecheck, which has been a difference-maker throughout the first two rounds.
"[It's] just getting pucks in deep, turning their D, eliminating turnovers," said defenseman Brayden McNabb. "They're a quick, fast transition team with a lot of skill. You give them time and space with turnovers, it's going to kill you."

Jets' key players were on their game

Three assists for Wheeler, two points each (one goal, one assist) for Scheifele and Byfuglien, and a power-play goal from Laine had formidable impact on the game. When Winnipeg's top players are contributing and engaged like they were in Game 1, its chances for victory go way up.

Jets played well without puck

The Jets were dangerous with many of their attacks, but how they played without the puck was just as important. Winnipeg had solid positioning for much of the game, picking off passes and breaking up plays. Good reads and above-average quickness allowed it to play that kind of responsible game. In Game 1, that doggedness was a definite carry-over from the Jets' seven-game win against the Nashville Predators in the Western Conference Second Round.

#

Game 1 facts and figures

Byfuglien's goal at 1:05 of the first period was the fastest to begin a game by a franchise making its conference finals/semifinals debut since 1974-75. The Jets are 8-1 in the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs when scoring the opening goal.
Scheifele scored his League-leading 12th goal of the playoffs (in 13 games), one fewer than Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel scored (in 25 games) to lead the 2017 postseason. The NHL record for most goals in a playoff year is 19, set by Reggie Leach in 1976 (16 GP) and matched by Jari Kurri in 1985 (18 GP).
Scheifele has eight multi-point games and three in his past four. The record for most multi-point games by a player in an entire postseason is 14 set by Penguins forward Mario Lemieux in 1991 (23 GP).

Need to know

White is the new gold

It seems the only people not wearing white in Winnipeg on Saturday were the Jets, who donned their blue home uniforms. But they turned in a performance
that has fans thinking big
.

Dustin time

Dustin Byfuglien is getting a taste of playoff hockey after a long drought and he's
making the most of it
.

Rough night

Vegas
is behind in a series
for the first time following Game 1 and will need to find a way to slow down the Jets to get back on track in Game 2.

Power trip

A big reason the Capitals won Game 1 is their power play
continued to produce
. Tom Gulitti looks at what has made Washington's unit so dangerous.

Give the people what they want

Nikita Kucherov
wasn't happy
with the Lightning's performance in Game 1 and it wasn't just because Tampa Bay lost. He thought the fans didn't have a good time either.