After getting off to a rocky start to the Western Conference Final, Johnathan Marchessault redeemed himself with a stellar Game 2 performance.

Marchessault was the best player on the ice Monday night, he scored twice as the Vegas Golden Knights bounced back from a Game 1 loss to take a 3-1 win over the Winnipeg Jets.

Noting that there was lack of aggression in the opener, The Golden Knights forward turned in on quickly, following up Thomas Tartar’s ice-breaking goal with one of his own, capitalizing a Jets turnover to make it 2-0 in the first period. There’s more, though, as Marchessault quieted a Winnipeg crowd that looked alive after Kyle Connor’s third period goal with his second of the night just over a minute and a half later.

Marchessault had his footprints all over Game 2; ending up with 8 shots on goal, combining with William Karlsson and Reily Smith for five points in the win. He has just been on fire these playoffs – scoring 6 goals
and having over 9 assists.

“Definitely satisfied with our effort tonight,” Marchessault said at the post-game press conference, “every time we need a big game by our group, we show up.”

Vegas has yet to lose back-to-back games this postseason, showing the league that they are a resilient team.

These Golden Knights are having a season to remember, winning twice as many games as critics projected (51-24), reminding everyone that they belong in the NHL, and that their not just any other expansion team. Vegas keeps shattering expectations and looks to continue their historic playoff run, now that momentum is level with the series tied 1-1.

Photo by Michael Miller [CC BY-SA 4.0], from Wikimedia Commons