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 Joel Heath 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,” referring to Fleury at the postgame news conference.

But with the game tied at 2 Jamie Meder Jersey , 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, it was Hellebuyck failing to secure a shot by Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, who raced to the puck and fed Nosek Andre Holmes Jersey , 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,” 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 Chad Kelly Jersey , 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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Just call the New England Patriots the University of Georgia north.

The Patriots used their two first-round picks in the NFL draft to plug a hole on their offensive line and to bolster their depth at running back.

They selected 6-2, 302-pound offensive lineman Isaiah Wynn out of Georgia with the 23rd overall pick on Thursday night. They then chose 5-foot-11, 215-pound Georgia running back Sony Michel 31st overall pick. New England has a total of five selections in the first 95 picks.

They were just some of several needs for the AFC champions following the departure of a handful of starters in free agency.

Wynn started his college career as a guard but shifted to left tackle as a senior, earning second-team AP All-America honors in 2017. But he said he's open to playing anywhere on the offensive line at the next level.

"It doesn't matter where the Patriots put me, I'm ready to contribute any way I can," Wynn said.

Michel was a dual threat for the Bulldogs, rushing for 1,227 yards and 16 touchdowns as a senior in 2017. He averaged 7.9 yards per carry and also had a receiving touchdown. He was one of three running backs taken in first round, joining Saquon Barkley (No. 2 to Giants) and Rashaad Penny (No. 27 to Seattle).

Wynn and Michel join a New England roster that already features two Georgia alums 鈥?starting center David Andrews and receiver Malcolm Mitchell.

Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio said there was no hesitation in selecting a running back in the first round. New England hasn't used a first-round pick on running back since taking Laurence Maroney with the 21st overall pick in 2006. The Patriots lost running back Dion Lewis to Tennessee in free agency.

"Our thing is pick good football players that have good traits. However they get here, they get here," Caserio said. "There's no template of how you put it together."

Michel does enter the league with some baggage. He has a knee condition that concerned some executives heading into the draft process. He also had 12 career fumbles at Georgia.

Michel said simply that "I'm healthy," when asked about his knee.

Wynn is recovering from tearing the labrum in his shoulder back in November. He had surgery on it in January and said he's "right on track for recovery." He expects to be ready for mini-camp in June.

He said the fumble issue is something he plans to correct.

"It's all about being aware of how I carry the football Bradley Roby Jersey ," he said. "Ball placement. It's something I should focus on and work on."

Wynn would seem to be undersized as a tackle at the NFL level, though he could be an option to replace left tackle Nate Solder, who signed with the New York Giants.

Patriots starting right guard Shaq Mason is also entering the final year of his rookie contract and will become an unrestricted free agent following the upcoming season. With Mason expected to garner a lot of interest in the free agency market in 2019, this could be a pre-emptive move on the part of Bill Belichick to get someone in the pipeline now.

The Patriots have started rookies up front before 鈥?left guard Joe Thuney started 16 games in his first year in 2016.

Wynn's selection was part of a run on offensive linemen in the first round Thursday night. Six linemen were selected before the first wide receiver 鈥?Maryland's D.J. Moore 鈥?came off the board at No. 24.

New England still has needs on defense, including linebacker, defensive end and cornerback. The Patriots are also in the market for a quarterback to develop behind 40-year-old Tom Brady.

They had a chance to get former Alabama linebacker Rashaan Evans, who visited the Patriots facility during the pre-draft process.

But they were undercut by the Titans and its new head coach and former Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, who selected Evans with the 22nd pick it acquired from Baltimore.

Caserio insisted they didn't feel slighted by the move.

"(Titans general manager) Jon (Robinson) and Mike did what they thought was best for their team," he said. "But we didn't like throw any pens against the wall."

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