It's not where many expected the Winnipeg Jets to be, but through four games the team trails the Vegas Golden Knights 3-1 in the Western Conference Final.

After taking a split in the first two games at home, the Jets have been edged by the Golden Knights twice at T-Mobile Arena, including Friday night in a contest that captain Blake Wheeler suggests the team deserved to win.

"We win that game nine times out of 10," Wheeler said, per Sportsnet's Chris Johnston. "Tonight was the one. Had some looks where their goalie made some extraordinary saves. You've got to sometimes take your hat off to a good player stealing a game."

Teammate Tyler Myers echoed his captain's sentiment, suggesting the Jets outplayed the Jets for the majority of the past two games.

"For the last five periods, we’ve been the better team," Myers said, according to TSN's Frank Seravalli.

Myers makes a compelling case as the Jets have outshot the Golden Knights in each of the last five periods by a combined 69-49. Unfortunately, they've been outscored 6-4 over that span to a team that's developed a habit of bouncing back after conceding goals.

The Jets now head back home for Game 5 where they face the daunting task of winning three consecutive games against a Vegas side which has dropped three straight just three times all season.

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The Vegas Golden Knights are one victory away from a berth in the Stanley Cup Final, as they defeated the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in Game 4 on Friday night to take a commanding 3-1 series lead.

More to come.

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David Perron is back in the Vegas Golden Knights' lineup as they look to take a 3-1 series lead over the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference Final on Friday night.

Perron missed Games 2 and 3, as head coach Gerard Gallant said the winger "wasn't feeling well."

In nine postseason games, Perron's recorded seven assists.

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Forward Nikolaj Ehlers will return to the Winnipeg Jets' lineup for Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Friday after missing Game 3 with an illness, the team confirmed.

Ehlers' return will reunite the club's second line alongside Patrik Laine and Paul Stastny. Jack Roslovic - who replaced Ehlers for Game 3 - remains in the lineup with Joel Armia serving as a scratch.

While Ehlers is still looking for his first goal of the playoffs, he has contributed seven assists in 13 games.

In other roster news, goaltender Michael Hutchinson will back up Connor Hellebuyck rather than Steve Mason.

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St. Louis Blues forward Jaden Schwartz will miss the remainder of the World Championship due to an upper-body injury, Hockey Canada announced on Friday.

The 25-year-old tallied four assists in eight games for Canada.

Luckily for the Blues, the injury is not expected to affect his availability for training camp ahead of next season.

Canada will face Switzerland in the semifinals on Saturday.

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The Mastercard Memorial Cup kicks off Friday in Regina, Saskatchewan, and hockey fans should expect to see plenty of players who will appear on NHL rosters in the not-too-distant future.

The host Pats kick off the 100th edition of the Canadian junior hockey championship against the Ontario Hockey League champion Hamilton Bulldogs. The Acadie-Bathurst Titan, who won the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League title last weekend, and the Western Hockey League champion Swift Current Broncos will face off Saturday in their round-robin openers.

The tournament has 28 players, spread across all four rosters, who have either been drafted or signed free-agent contracts with NHL teams. With a focus on that group, here’s a look at the tournament field:

Acadie-Bathurst Titan

GM Sylvain Couturier, who played 33 games for the Los Angeles Kings and is the father of Philadelphia Flyers forward Sean Couturier, has masterfully overhauled his roster over the past two seasons.

Forward Antoine Morand was one of Couturier's prized draft picks in the rebuild and is now a member of the Anaheim Ducks, who took him with the 60th overall pick last spring. The Montreal-area native has been a point-a-game player in the playoffs and scored slightly more regularly than that during the regular season. He's also a player to watch for possible inclusion on Canada's World Junior roster in Vancouver next season.

San Jose Sharks free-agent signing Jeffrey Truchon-Viel won the Q's postseason MVP award after leading the Titan in scoring with 23 points (14G, 9A) in 20 games. Truchon-Viel grew up in Rimouski, Quebec, watching Sidney Crosby win a QMJHL title and playoff MVP while leading the Rimouski Oceanic to the 2005 Memorial Cup final in London.

Russian German Rubtsov joined the Titan midseason. He was a first-round pick (22nd overall) of the Flyers but his offensive production has lagged both Morand and Truchon-Viel.

Goaltender Evan Fitzpatrick, a trade pickup from the Sherbrooke Phoenix, is a draft pick of the St. Louis Blues. The 20-year-old from St. John’s, Newfoundland, has been sharp, registering a 2.10 GAA in the Titan’s run to the President Trophy.

Another Maritimer, defenseman Noah Dobson (17G, 52A), put up impressive numbers from the blue line this season and could be a first-round pick in June.

The long trip and emotional letdown after beating the favored Blainville-Boisbriand Armada suggest the Titan could be underdogs this week.

Hamilton Bulldogs

Bulldogs GM Steve Staois raised eyebrows when he left a job in the Toronto Maple Leafs organization to become president of his hometown team.

It's difficult to argue with that decision now. Staois, who has since added the GM portfolio, has assembled a talent-laden roster that has nine players who have either been drafted or signed by NHL teams.

Forward Robert Thomas, a first-round pick (20th overall) of the Blues, is one of four Memorial Cup participants attempting to add the national crown to the gold medal won with Team Canada back in January. Thomas won the OHL's postseason MVP award and has been an offensive catalyst since coming over from the London Knights. But he's part of a balanced attack that has been relentless on the puck, particularly in the Bulldogs' win over the heavily favored Soo Greyhounds in the OHL final.

Matthew Strome (Flyers), Will Bitten (Montreal Canadiens), Marian Studenic (New Jersey Devils), MacKenzie Entwistle (Arizona Coyotes), and Nicholas Caamano (Dallas Stars) are all NHL-drafted forwards at head coach John Gruden's disposal. Undrafted Brandon Saigeon (35G, 35A) was the Bulldogs' leading scorer and his tenure with the team dates back to its time in Belleville.

Strome will be attempting to become the first of his family to win the Memorial Cup. While playing for the Erie Otters, Dylan Strome lost in the final last year but won the MVP award. Seven years ago, Ryan Strome lost in the OHL final as a member of the Niagara IceDogs.

Defenseman Riley Stillman is the son of longtime NHLer Cory, who is now the head coach of the Sudbury Wolves. Stillman's grandfather, Bud Stefanski, was the associate head coach of the 2000 Barrie Colts, who lost to the Oceanic in the Memorial Cup final in Halifax. Stillman (Florida Panthers) is one of two NHL-drafted defensemen on the Bulldogs, joining Nicolas Mattinen (Maple Leafs).

Regina Pats

The Pats lost a seven-game heartbreaker to Swift Current in the first round of the playoffs and enter the Memorial Cup after being idle for more than six weeks.

The Windsor Spitfires won the Memorial Cup under identical circumstances last year. But John Paddock's team is probably more talented on paper, complete with captain Sam Steel and defenseman Josh Mahura, who both won gold with Team Canada in Buffalo.

Both Steel (30th overall) and Mahura (85th overall) were drafted by the Ducks two years ago. Defenseman Libor Hajek (New York Rangers) went the other way in the Ryan McDonagh trade this year. Cale Fleury (Canadiens) is also a leader on the Pats' defense corps.

Up front, the Pats have Jake Leschyshyn (Vegas Golden Knights), son of former NHLer Curtis; Nick Henry (Canadiens); Cameron Hebig (Edmonton Oilers); and Jesse Gabrielle (Boston Bruins). Overager Matt Bradley was the Pats' second-leading scorer behind Steel. He was drafted by the Canadiens three years ago but was unsigned and is a free agent.

Whatever can be inferred from the first-round exit, Paddock's team played at a feverish pace after Christmas but had two elite teams - the Moose Jaw Warriors and the Broncos - ahead of them in the WHL's ultra-tough east division. Those three teams effectively beat each other up during the first two rounds of the playoffs. The looming Pats-Broncos showdown could have extra meaning for that reason, but especially so in a province attempting to overcome the Humboldt Broncos tragedy.

Swift Current Broncos

Glenn Gawdin (56G, 69A) was one of three 100-point performers on the Broncos' roster, along with Aleksi Heponiemi (Panthers) and Tyler Steenbergen (Coyotes). That trio combined for an incredible 345 regular-season points, despite Steenbergen and Heponiemi each missing more than a month through injury/illness and World Junior duty.

Another storyline to watch is Steenbergen's status as the hero of Team Canada's gold medal win after he scored with 1:40 to play in the victory over Sweden. Similar exploits in Regina could make Steenbergen a hero of very rare distinction.

Gawdin was formerly a pick of the Blues but was scooped up by the Calgary Flames; he won the WHL's playoff MVP award after the Broncos' series triumph over the Everett Silvertips.

Overager Giorgio Estephan is a well-traveled and well-respected WHLer who helped the Broncos defeat his former team, the Lethbridge Hurricanes, in the WHL's Eastern Conference Final. He's a former pick of the Buffalo Sabres but is now a free agent.

On defense, New Jersey signee Colby Sissons was a point-a-game player from the back end and is joined by Colorado Avalanche pick Josh Anderson. Undrafted Sahvan Khaira is a workhorse defenseman who, like Estephan, could be in the running to earn a free-agent deal.

Goaltender Stuart Skinner was outstanding in the playoffs, recording six shutouts, four of which came on the road. He was recently signed by the Oilers, who drafted him 78th overall last season.

Forward Beck Malenstyn (Washington Capitals) rounds out the Broncos NHL-connected contingent.

Broncos head coach Manny Viveiros has an interesting backstory as well; he won the Memorial Cup with the Prince Albert Raiders 34 years ago. Since then, he has embarked on a circuitous playing and coaching career. Viveiros’s career included time with the Minnesota North Stars as a player, and then all over Europe.

He stayed in Europe to coach and led Austria to Olympic qualification four years ago in Sochi, where they played Canada in the round robin. His installation as Broncos head coach two years ago was a surprise, but he's proven as adept as a WHL coach as he was a former WHL star defenseman.

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)

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Without Andrei Vasilevskiy's stellar play between the pipes, the Tampa Bay Lightning's season would probably be over today.

Vasilevskiy single-handedly stole Games 3 and 4 of the Eastern Conference Final after the Lightning buried themselves in an 0-2 hole, stopping a combined 72 of 76 shots in back-to-back 4-2 wins to even the series.

The Lightning did not deserve to win either of those contests, as they were dominated in nearly every facet of the game:

Game 3

Game 4

But Vasilevskiy made one highlight-reel save after another, constantly bailing out a team that's yet to show up for a full 60 minutes in this series.

Related: Solo effort: Breaking down Vasilevskiy's clutch glove save on Connolly

While the Capitals have dictated the play at five-on-five in this series, their biggest offensive weapon so far in this playoff run has been a dynamic power play. Heading into Game 3, the Caps were 16-for-49 (32.7 percent) with the man advantage, but there's been a power outage across the last two games, with the unit going 0-for-7.

Tampa Bay's penalty killers certainly deserve credit, but against such a lethal unit, the goalie has to be the best penalty killer - and Vasilevskiy has been just that.

(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)

Across the past two games, the Caps generated 16 shots, 11 scoring chances, and seven high-danger scoring chances with the man advantage, but Vasilevskiy turned aside everything.

On the flip side, the Lightning's power play has been their main source of offense, going 3-for-7 across the last two games, and 6-for-14 overall in the series. Braden Holtby has struggled in the opposite crease, while Vasilevskiy has shined, and that was the difference in Games 3 and 4.

On the surface, Vasilevskiy's sensational play shouldn't come as a surprise, considering his regular season was worthy of a Vezina Trophy nomination. But for those who followed the season closely, he was a bit of a question mark heading into the playoffs after recording a save percentage of just .900 in his last 31 regular-season games, compared to a .939 mark across his first 34. Fatigue was clearly an issue for 23-year-old in his first full season as a starter, but he's since erased any doubts.

Even if Vasilevskiy had stolen one game on the road, the Bolts would still be looking at a 3-1 series deficit - a steep mountain to climb against a Capitals team that's playing exceptionally well.

But by stealing both contests, not only did Vasilevskiy put his team in the driver's seat heading back to Tampa Bay to begin a best-of-three, but he literally saved its season in the process.

(Stats courtesy: Natural Stat Trick)

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Andrei Vasilevskiy's highway robbery on Brett Connolly in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Final may very well end up being the turning point in the series.

With the game even at two goals apiece in the third period, Vasilevskiy made a ridiculous glove save on Connolly to keep the game tied. A little over six minutes later, Alex Killorn notched the game-winning goal for Tampa Bay. Below, we'll break down how Vasilevskiy was able to make such a difficult stop.

For a full video of the save, click here:

Capitals forward Chandler Stephenson (No. 18, bottom of screen) scoops up the puck along the boards. Lightning defenseman Dan Girardi (No. 5) then overcommits, forcing his partner, Victor Hedman, to apply pressure to the puck-carrier, assuming the center will be back to take the high guy. The latter doesn't happen, though, and Connolly (top right) is left all alone in the slot.

Hedman does a good job of forcing Stephenson in deep before he can get a pass through to the middle of the ice. Realizing this, Vasilevskiy puts the paddle of his stick on the ice in an attempt to break up the pass before it can reach Connolly.

Vasilevkiy's decision to throw his paddle down backfires, as the puck ramps off his stick, into the air, and into the slot, leaving him in a vulnerable position deep in the crease while Connolly is streaking in to bury the loose puck.

Amazingly, Connolly bats the puck out of midair. And remember, Vasilevskiy was leaning to his right when he tried to break up the pass, so the top right part of the net is open for Connolly. The puck looks like it's heading right over Vasilevskiy's left shoulder.

This last part can't be taught. Vasilevskiy uses his otherworldly reflexes to lift his left hand and get a piece of the fluttering puck. He doesn't catch it in the web of his glove, but he gets a big enough piece to knock it into the slot. Matt Niskanen doesn't get much on the rebound attempt and misses the net.

Vasilevskiy has bailed out his defense routinely over the last two games, but this was perhaps his best example of a sensational solo effort.

(Photos courtesy: NHL.com)

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