LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Look for Laurent Brossoit to be in goal and the Golden Knights to get past the Winnipeg Jets in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
That’s the consensus of the 8 News Now sports staff, especially with the Knights dominating the regular-season series against Winnipeg, winning all three games.
Chris Maathuis, 8 News Now sports director, says fans should be excited about the team’s return to the playoffs after missing out last season for the first time in franchise history. He also thinks center Jack Eichel’s first playoff appearance — he was shut out from the postseason in six seasons with Buffalo — will be a positive influence. “You got to feel good for Jack Eichel,” Maathuis says.
The same could be said for Brossoit, the former Jet.
Brossoit, 30, played 54 games in parts of three seasons in Winnipeg before joining the Knights at the start of the 2021-22 season. He missed time with the Knights, went down to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Henderson and then returned to the parent team when a rash of injuries hit its goaltenders.
Brossoit is 7-0-3 with the Knights with a .927 save percentage and a 2.17 goals-against average.
“I got to believe Laurent Brossoit will be in net,” Maathius says. “The guy’s red hot.”
Game 1 is 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at T-Mobile Arena, with Game 2 at 7 p.m. Thursday, with the Knights playing host again. Games 3 (Saturday, April 22) and 4 (Monday, April 24) are in Winnipeg.
If necessary, the Knights will be at home for Games 5 (Thursday, April 27) and 7 (Monday, May 1); Game 6 (Saturday, April 29) is scheduled to be in Winnipeg.
“I’m picking the Knights in six,” Maathuis says.
Here’s how the rest of the KLAS sports team sees the series:
Ron Futrell, sports reporter: I expect a hard-fought, low-scoring series. Laurent Brossoit is likely to be in net for the Knights. He’s a former Winnipeg Jet, and he will get plenty of help from his defensemen, who led the league in blocked shots. Watch former Knight Nate Schmidt on defense for Winnipeg. He led the league this season in lockdown defense, giving up only 1.36 goals per game. Pick: Golden Knights in six games.
Logan Reever, sports reporter: This should be a tune up series for the Knights. With the rest of the Western Conference goliaths looming in the second and third rounds, the goal is to make quick work of a team that the Knights owned in the regular season, winning all three matchups. It should also be a tune-up series for Jack Eichel and Shea Theodore, who will be returning from injury. Get out of this series quickly is the goal, because we know the Stanley Cup playoffs are a grind. Pick: Golden Knights in five games.
Gilberto Obregon, sports reporter: It’s the No. 1 seed in the West, the Knights, against the No. 8 seed. The Knights are 3-0 against the Jets this year, and this series won’t be any different. Let’s call it a gentlemen’s sweep for the Knights. Pick: Golden Knights in five games.
