The Vegas Golden Knights cruised to the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs with a 4-1 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.

The Jets took the first game of the opening-round series, but the Golden Knights won four straight to doom Winnipeg into becoming the first team to be eliminated this spring.

Vegas was in control as soon as the puck dropped on Game 5, with forward Chandler Stephenson scoring less than a minute into the first period.

That trend continued in a three-goal second period, as Mark Stone struck just 42 seconds in. William Karlsson tacked on a little extra insurance, while Stephenson netted his second goal of the game on the power play.

Jets sniper Kyle Connor spoiled ex-teammate Laurent Brossoit's shutout in the third period with the goalie pulled, but it was ultimately too late for Winnipeg to mount a comeback. Pierre-Luc Dubois had a goal called back for a missed game stoppage in the final minutes of regulation.

Winnipeg outshot the Golden Knights 31-25, but Brossoit stood tall with a 30-save effort, good for a series-best .968 save percentage on the night. Jets netminder Connor Hellebuyck turned aside 21 shots and he was pulled for the extra attacker with over eight minutes remaining in the contest.

Dynamic Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers made his series debut during the contest, but his return wasn't enough to help Winnipeg overcome absences to key cogs Josh Morrissey and Mark Scheifele, who were both out with injuries.

The Golden Knights were without a key defenseman of their own - Shea Theodore was a late scratch from the clash with an illness.

Vegas, which failed to make the playoffs for the first time last season, will take on either the Edmonton Oilers or the Los Angeles Kings in Round 2. The Oilers currently hold a 3-2 series lead.

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The Toronto Maple Leafs have been under siege whenever defenseman Justin Holl has been on the ice during their first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but head coach Sheldon Keefe stood by his beleaguered blue-liner after Game 5.

"He's not out there by himself in those situations when he's getting scored on," Keefe said postgame, per Sportsnet.

Holl has been on the ice for 14 of the Bolts' 20 goals through five games - the most of any Maple Leafs player in a single playoff series over the last 10 years, according to Sportsnet Stats. No other Maple Leaf has been out for more than nine this spring.

Holl and partner Mark Giordano were on the ice for three goals against in Thursday's 4-2 Game 5, in which Toronto squandered its first chance to eliminate the Lightning.

Most notably, Holl - who's a league-worst minus-seven in these playoffs - turned around while Mikey Eyssimont rushed down the wing in the Leafs' zone, allowing the Lightning forward to gain more space before scoring from a sharp angle to make it 2-1.

"We need those guys to be better," Keefe conceded. "They were involved in the goals for tonight. … At the same time, they've also done a good job for us at different times in this series."

Holl ranks second on the Maple Leafs in shorthanded ice time per game (3:28) this postseason. The Lightning have scored five power-play goals in 19 opportunities so far.

If Keefe opts to switch up his back end in Game 6, he does have a fresh option in 23-year-old Timothy Liljegren, who has yet to see any action in these playoffs. Liljegren put up 18 points and was plus-24 in 67 regular-season contests in 2022-23.

Toronto's next chance to advance to the second round for the first time since 2004 will come Saturday in Tampa Bay.

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The New Jersey Devils cruised to a 4-0 victory over the New York Rangers in Game 5 on Thursday to take a 3-2 series lead over their Metropolitan Division rivals.

Ondrej Palat opened the scoring 39 seconds into the pivotal contest, leading the way for New Jersey to earn its third consecutive victory. Erik Haula scored twice, and Dawson Mercer also found twine in the emphatic win.

Goaltender Akira Schmid made 23 stops to continue an impressive start to his playoff career. Schmid took over the Devils' crease for Vitek Vanecek in Game 3 and only allowed two goals since. He joined Martin Brodeur and Sean Burke as the only goaltenders in New Jersey franchise history to record a playoff shutout.

Although New York didn't manage many shots on target, Schmid's play made a significant impact as the Rangers outchanced the Devils 24-20 at five-on-five, according to Natural Stat Trick.

The Devils can close out the series Saturday night with a win at Madison Square Garden. A potential Game 7 would be May 1.

New Jersey hasn't advanced past the first round since reaching the Stanley Cup Final in 2012.

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Winnipeg Jets forward Nikolaj Ehlers is back in the lineup for his side's must-win Game 5 against the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday.

Ehlers missed the opening four contests of the first-round series due to an upper-body injury. The Jets won Game 1 in a 5-1 decision but dropped the next three games by a combined score of 14-8.

The winger sustained the ailment on April 11 after a collision with Minnesota Wild forward Ryan Hartman and was forced to miss Winnipeg's final regular-season contest.

Ehlers logged 12 goals and 26 helpers in 45 games this campaign. He suited up for the Jets' first two games of the season but was then sidelined until January after undergoing sports hernia surgery.

The Jets will have to try and keep their season alive at T-Mobile Arena without star forward Mark Scheifele, who suffered an upper-body injury in Game 4.

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Superstar Kirill Kaprizov is determined to make an impact after an uncharacteristically poor start to the Minnesota Wild's first-round series against the Dallas Stars.

Kaprizov scored in Game 1 but hasn't found the scoresheet since despite averaging more than 23 minutes per contest. He knows it's now or never with the Wild trailing 3-2 in the series.

"Obviously, it's a bit frustrating, but I'm confident this next game I should break through and be able to help out the team and do more on my end," Kaprizov said, according to NHL.com's Tracey Myers.

He added, "I think there's definitely some responsibility on my end to play better. Of course, I feel that. ... But it's not something I want to dwell on and it's not something I want to think about. It's not going to make it better."

Kaprizov was limited to 67 regular-season games due to injury but still led Minnesota with 40 goals and 75 points. He's previously shown he can produce in the postseason, bagging seven goals in the Wild's first-round loss to the St. Louis Blues last season.

"I've got to go out there and I've got to play my game," Kaprizov said. "If I do that, I think it'll turn, and the goals will come."

The Wild led the series 2-1 but have dropped two straight, being outscored 7-2 in the process. They can force a winner-take-all Game 7 with a victory on home ice Friday.

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