Vegas didn't just beat Winnipeg β they weaponized the penalty box, turning the Jets' 18 penalty minutes into a special-teams execution lesson that decided this game before the third period was five minutes old.
Vegas dismantled Winnipeg through special teams dominance and a relentless 38-shot attack that exposed a Jets penalty kill already operating at a structural disadvantage. This Pacific Division leader used a shorthanded goal, two power-play conversions, and a 15-shot edge in the third period alone to turn a tight game into a rout.
β‘TURNING POINT
With the score 2β4 and Winnipeg still mathematically alive in the third, Dorofeyev's power-play goal at 5:42 of the third extinguished any realistic comeback path by restoring a three-goal cushion. The Jets had scored twice in under three minutes to manufacture pressure β this goal on a subsequent man-advantage killed that momentum permanently and validated VGK's special-teams control as the game's decisive axis.
πWHY VGK WON
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Special teams created a structural advantage: VGK converted 2-of-8 on the power play and added a shorthanded goal, generating three of six goals from non-even-strength situations while holding a 25% PP conversion rate to Winnipeg's 14.3%.
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Eichel's 4-point night functioned as a force multiplier β his involvement on the PP goal and the shorthanded goal meant Vegas's highest-leverage moments ran directly through their best player.
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A 38β23 shot advantage reflects sustained offensive zone control; Vegas out-generated Winnipeg at 5v5 and forced a volume the Jets could not absorb.
πWHY WPG LOST
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The penalty kill collapsed at critical moments: surrendering a shorthanded goal while on the man-advantage and allowing two PP goals on seven opportunities represents systemic execution failure, not variance.
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Nine giveaways against six VGK takeaways created a turnover imbalance that repeatedly ended Winnipeg zone sequences before they could generate consistent pressure.
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Despite winning 56.4% of faceoffs, that territorial advantage never translated into shot generation β 23 shots in a 6-goal game meant the Jets' offensive zone time produced no leverage.
Three Stars
Jack Eichel1st
VGK, C
1G 3A 4P4 SOG+31 PPG
Eichel's fingerprints covered every critical VGK sequence β his assists on the shorthanded goal and the 5th and 6th goals made him the engine of every momentum-securing moment.
Mark Stone2nd
VGK, R
1G 2A 3P3 SOG+3
Stone assisted on both the shorthanded goal and Dorofeyev's turning-point power-play goal, making him the connective tissue in VGK's two most decisive special-teams conversions.
Rasmus Andersson3rd
VGK, D
1G 1A 2P7 SOG+320:10 TOI
Andersson led all skaters with 7 shots on goal while logging 20-plus minutes β his offensive volume from the blue line sustained the pressure that defined Vegas's third period.
