The Winnipeg Jets are headed to the first Western Conference final in their short history after knocking off the NHL's best team in the regular season.

Tyler Myers and Paul Stastny scored 2:06 apart in the first period, and the Jets stunned the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Thursday night in their first Game 7 - continuing an amazing run for a team swept in its previous two playoff appearances.

Stastny finished with a second goal and an assist, and Mark Scheifele also had two goals. Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor each had two assists.

Connor Hellebuyck made 36 saves for Winnipeg, which won three of four games in Nashville after missing the Presidents' Trophy by three points to the Predators.

The Jets now host Vegas in Game 1 on Saturday night in a conference final nobody could've predicted when this season started.

P.K. Subban scored for Nashville, now the ninth Presidents' Trophy winner in 10 years not to win the Stanley Cup.

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PITTSBURGH (AP) Evgeny Kuznetsov's breakway goal 5:27 into overtime gave the Washington Capitals a 2-1 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 6 on Monday night, and a berth in the Eastern Conference finals for the first time in 20 years.

Kuznetsov took a lead pass from Alexander Ovechkin and tucked the puck by Matt Murray to end Pittsburgh's two-year reign as Stanley Cup champions and propel the Capitals into the NHL's final four for just the third time in franchise history.

Braden Holtby stopped 21 shots for the Capitals, who will face Tampa Bay in the Eastern Conference finals. Alex Chiasson scored his first playoff goal in four years during a taut, tight contest through regulation.

Kris Letang scored for the Penguins and Murray finished with 28 saves but couldn't close his legs fast enough to stop Kuznetsov's forehand flick from in close as Pittsburgh's bid at becoming the first team in 35 years to win three consecutive Cups came to an abrupt end.

The Capitals played without center Nicklas Backstrom, who was scratched due to a right hand injury suffered in the third period of Washington's Game 5 victory. Forward Tom Wilson also sat for a third straight game while serving a suspension for an illegal hit on Pittsburgh's Zach Aston-Reese in Game 2.

Washington spent the series saying its forgettable playoff history littered with squandered leads and blown opportunities - particularly against the Penguins - is not a factor. That this time is different. That this team is different. Twice the Capitals rallied in the third period to stun Pittsburgh, including a four-goal outburst in Game 5 that pushed them to the brink of their first Eastern Conference finals appearance in 20 years.

That last step, however, has always been tricky. Four times previously during the Ovechkin Era the Capitals won three games in the second round only to come up short in Game 7.

The Penguins, by contrast, have been impossible to finish off since head coach Mike Sullivan took over in December 2015. Pittsburgh came in 4-0 in elimination games under Sullivan, including a 2-0 victory in Game 7 in Washington last spring on its way to a second straight title.

The stakes led to an unusually slow start for both before the Capitals broke through 2:13 into the second when Walker held off Pittsburgh's Derick Brassard behind the Pittsburgh net and fed Chiasson in the right circle. Chiasson's shot slipped under Murray's left arm for his second career playoff goal and first in more than four years when he played for Dallas.

The deficit, however, hardly appeared to stoke the Penguins. Instead they continued to plod along, staying only one goal behind thanks in large part to the play of Murray. He stuffed Jakub Vrana on a breakaway to keep Pittsburgh's hole from getting any larger and at about the game's midway point, Sullivan had seen enough. He reshuffled the lines - putting Patric Hornqvist alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin alongside Phil Kessel - and the energy shifted immediately.

The score soon followed.

Crosby won a faceoff in the offensive zone and fed it to Letang, whose shot from the point Washington's Chandler Stephenson and slipped by Holtby 11:52 into the second to tie it and set the stage for more drama in a series and a rivalry that continues to one-up itself spring after spring.

NOTES: Washington forward Andre Burakovsky missed his 10th straight game with an upper-body injury. ... Crosby's assist pushed his career playoff total to 185, tied with Hall of Famer Steve Yzerman for 10th most all-time. ... Walker's assist was the first ever in the playoffs by an Australian.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Marc-Andre Fleury made 28 saves in his fourth shutout of the playoffs and the expansion Vegas Golden Knights are headed to the Western Conference Final in their inaugural season after beating the San Jose Sharks 3-0 in Game 6 of their second-round series Sunday.

Jonathan Marchessault opened the scoring, Nate Schmidt added an insurance goal that was only detectable by replay and Cody Eakin sealed it with an empty-netter to help Vegas become just the third team in NHL history to win multiple series in its first season.

The Toronto Arenas won the Stanley Cup in the first postseason in league history in 1918 and St. Louis won two rounds to win the all-expansion West Division in 1968.

The Golden Knights relied on a crew of castoffs, led by a goalie who was part of three Stanley Cup-winning teams in Pittsburgh before headlining a new team. Fleury posted shutouts in Games 1 and 6 against the Sharks and was also spectacular in an overtime win in Game 3.

Next up for Fleury and Vegas will be the Western Conference Final against either Winnipeg or Nashville. The Jets lead that series 3-2 heading into Game 6 on Monday night.

The Sharks had numerous opportunities all night but were thwarted by a couple of shots that hit the iron, some acrobatic saves from Fleury and other chances that trickled just wide. This marked the fourth straight postseason for the Sharks that ended with a loss on home ice.

The Golden Knights took control of this game with some good fortune in the second period. It started when usually reliable Marc-Edouard Vlasic turned the puck over in his own zone. Reilly Smith took control near the blue line and found Marchessault alone in front for a goal that trickled between Martin Jones' pads.

Vegas nearly added to the lead when Smith had a shot at open net that San Jose forward Chris Tierney blocked from the crease. But Fleury made sure the Sharks couldn't capitalize on that momentum when he stopped Tomas Hertl.

The Golden Knights then added to the lead after an icing by Brent Burns led to an offensive zone faceoff. David Perron beat Tierney on the draw and Schmidt took a shot that appeared to deflect off the post and out.

Play went on for 25 more seconds before the buzzer rang, with the situation room in Toronto calling for a video review. That quickly showed that the puck bounced off the post, off a piece equipment inside the net and out.

Vegas then had a delayed celebration for the goal that made it 2-0.

The Golden Knights then smothered the Sharks for most of the third period with Fleury getting some help again when Burns' point shot hit the post with about six minutes left. Fleury then rubbed the post in appreciation at the next stoppage.

The Sharks came out fast with Hertl drawing an early penalty and the team generating numerous chances. But none of those opportunities could beat Fleury, who got some fortunate bounces to go his way.

Hertl hit the crossbar on a partial breakaway and Logan Couture whiffed on a rebound attempt with an open net. Evander Kane had a deflection hit the cross bar in final minute of the period. He raised his hands in celebration, thinking he had scored, and that might have cost him a chance at knocking in a rebound.

San Jose had a handful of other deflections that Fleury was either able to stop with an acrobatic move or trickled just wide as the teams played just their second scoreless first period of the series.

NOTES: Jones made 30 saves. ... Vegas F William Carrier was scratched with a lower-body injury and replaced by Ryan Reaves, who played his first game this postseason.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) Kyle Connor scored two goals and had an assist as the Winnipeg Jets beat the Nashville Predators 6-2 on Saturday night, pushing the Presidents' Trophy winners to the brink of elimination with a 3-2 lead in their Western Conference semifinal.

Now the Jets, who just won their first playoff series in the first round, will have a chance to clinch a spot in their first Western Conference final Monday night in Game 6 back in Winnipeg.

Connor Hellebuyck made 38 saves for the Jets.

Dustin Byfuglien and Mark Scheifele each had a goal and an assist, and Paul Stastny and Mathieu Perrault also scored as the Jets got four goals on 14 shots in the second period. Blake Wheeler also had three assists, and Nikolaj Ehlers added two.

Yannick Weber and Ryan Johansen each scored for Nashville. The Predators have not won consecutive games since taking a 2-0 lead over Colorado to start the playoffs.

Pekka Rinne, Nashville's Vezina Trophy finalist, was pulled for the third time this postseason after giving up six goals on 26 shots.

Lady Antebellum became the latest star act to handle the U.S. anthem, and the Grammy-winning trio missed part of the lyrics . But Olympic gold medalist Scott Hamilton waved the rally towel, and one of first catfish to hit the ice was tossed by Caleb Daniel, a 5-year-old Predators fan with a new heart.

Nashville coach Peter Laviolette switched his lines again, swapping out Scott Hartnell for Kevin Fiala. This change didn't work.

Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice brought back Perrault on the third line after missing eight games with an upper-body injury.

The Predators had plenty of great scoring chances while outshooting the Jets 11-7. Only a great performance by Hellebuyck kept it scoreless through the first period for the first time in this series.

They made up for that in the second. Patrik Laine helped get the Jets on the board with a shot that deflected off Stastny's right hand and past Rinne at 7:44. Defenseman Yannick Weber tied it up for Nashville with a wrister from the left circle at 11:08 .

Then the Jets scored two goals 2:05 apart. First, Connor scored off the rebound of a shot by Scheifele with 7:30 left for his first postseason goal, then Rinne lost his stick in a scrum in the crease. The puck squirted out, and Byfuglien scored with a slap shot for a 3-1 lead with 5:25 remaining. Connor made it 4-1 with a wrister from the slot with just under three minutes to go.

The period seemed to be slipping further away from Nashville when Viktor Arvidsson went to the box for slashing. But Johansen scored his fifth goal this postseason with 2:01 remaining for the first short-handed goal of his career in the postseason.

The Jets made it 5-2 just 28 seconds into the third, stifling any Nashville rally when Scheifele scored his ninth goal this postseason from the slot . Perreault capped the scoring at 6:23 to chase Rinne for the second time this series.

NOTES: Nashville now is 0-4 when trailing after two periods. ... Weber's goal was the fourth of his career in the postseason and first with Nashville.

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LAS VEGAS (AP) Alex Tuch scored twice to lead Vegas to a 5-3 victory over the San Jose Sharks on Friday night, giving the Golden Knights a 3-2 series lead in their Western Conference semifinal.

James Neal, Erik Haula and Jonathan Marchessault also scored for Vegas. Veteran goalie Marc-Andre Fleury stopped 27 shots, making save after highlight save until things got interesting late in the third period.

With San Jose trailing 4-0, Kevin Labanc, Tomas Hertl and Boedker scored in a 6:09 span to pull the Sharks within one with 4:16 remaining. However, Marchessault's empty-netter with 21 seconds left sealed it for Vegas.

Martin Jones allowed four goals on 31 shots before being pulled in the third. Aaron Dell came on and stopped all six shots he faced.

From a spectacular glove save on Mikkel Boedker's point blank shot in the first period, to a pair of back-to-back saves before and after being knocked into the goal midway through the second period, or an incredible pad save on Tomas Hertl early in the third, Fleury was dialed in from the start.

After looking lethargic for Game 4 in San Jose, the Golden Knights came out refreshed and looking more like the team that won Game 1 by a 7-0 final. Vegas set the tone in the first period, outshooting the Sharks 15-7, outhitting them 26-14, and taking a 1-0 lead.

Neal made sure the Golden Knights didn't head into the locker room empty-handed after a strong first period. Logan Couture blocked Shea Theodore's shot from the point, with the rebound going right to Neal, who drilled it past Jones to give Vegas the lead with 3 seconds left in the period.

Tuch made it 2-0 when he was in perfect position in front of the net, where he tapped in Reilly Smith's rebound past Jones on the power play.

Jones may still be trying to figure out how Haula scored, as he threw the puck at the net from the goal line and it somehow slipped through to make it 3-0 midway through the second.

Tuch pushed the lead to 4-0 with an exquisite tip over Jones' glove at 8:36 of the third, while ending the night for Jones.

The Sharks ended Fleury's bid for a fourth shutout this postseason when Labanc sniped a wrist shot top shelf, glove-side for a power-play goal to make it 4-1 at 9:35. Less than two minutes later San Jose made things interesting when Boedker's wraparound got loose, and Hertl was in the right spot to poke it in and cut Vegas' lead to 4-2.

With a little more than four minutes left in the game, and Fleury sprawled out in front of the net behind a slew of traffic, Boedker picked up a loose puck and lifted it over the pile to make it 4-3.

NOTES: A record 18,693 filled T-Mobile Arena for Game 5. ... Veteran D Luca Sbisa saw his first action since Feb. 27 for the Golden Knights, replacing Jon Merrill. ... Vegas F Oscar Lindberg made his playoff debut, taking Tomas Tatar's place on Cody Eakin's line, while Ryan Carpenter also returned to the Golden Knights' lineup, taking Tomas Nosek's spot on Pierre-Edouard Bellemare's line along with William Carrier.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Tomas Hertl scored his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs, Martin Jones made 34 saves for his sixth career postseason shutout and the San Jose Sharks evened their second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights with a 4-0 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Marcus Sorensen and Joonas Donskoi scored in the first period to allow San Jose to play from ahead and Joe Pavelski added a power-play goal in the third to help the Sharks rebound from an overtime loss at home in Game 3.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves and Vegas failed to convert on all five power-play chances to lose for the second time in eight games this postseason.

The teams have now alternated wins through four games, heading into Game 5 on Friday night in Vegas.

Each team has a shutout and an overtime win so far this series, which is now a best-of-three for a spot in the Western Conference Final.

Jones was sharp from the start, tying Evgeni Nabokov's record for most saves in a playoff shutout in Sharks history.

He robbed Reilly Smith early in the game and delivered big saves throughout. He was helped on a delayed penalty when Brent Burns cleared a puck off the goal line and when James Neal hit the post on a power play in the first period.

But he also delivered some big-time saves, including back-to-back stops against William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault on a Vegas power play in the final minute of the second period. Jones then turned aside Smith on a power play in the third.

Hertl helped give Jones a cushion with his goal early in the second. Logan Couture won an offensive zone faceoff against Erik Haula and Mikkel Boedker took the puck behind the goal for a wraparound attempt. Hertl was in front and knocked the loose puck in to make it 3-0.

Pavelski's goal on the rebound of Couture's shot sealed the game midway through the third.

The Sharks made some lineup changes from Game 3 with defenseman Joakim Ryan returning to the lineup for the first time since March 16 in place of Paul Martin and Donskoi getting back in after missing the previous game with a lower-body injury.

The moves paid off as the Sharks got off to the fast start coach Peter DeBoer was seeking. After an early giveaway led to a scoring chance for Vegas, Ryan fared well and stripped William Carrier of the puck to thwart a chance for the Golden Knights.

San Jose then scored twice in the final five minutes of the first period. Sorensen struck first, using a pick from linemate Eric Fehr to get loose from the corner and then skated around two defenseman to beat Fleury with his fourth goal of the playoffs.

The Sharks added to the lead with 5.1 seconds to go when Donskoi skated from his own zone and beat Fleury with a wrist shot from the high slot.

NOTES: Vegas had outscored the opposition 7-1 in the first period in the first seven games this postseason. ... Sorensen has five goals in 14 playoff games compared to six in 51 regular-season games.

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SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) Tomas Hertl scored his team-leading fifth goal of the playoffs, Martin Jones made 34 saves for his sixth career postseason shutout and the San Jose Sharks evened their second-round series against the Vegas Golden Knights with a 4-0 victory in Game 4 on Wednesday night.

Marcus Sorensen and Joonas Donskoi scored in the first period to allow San Jose to play from ahead and Joe Pavelski added a power-play goal in the third to help the Sharks rebound from an overtime loss at home in Game 3.

Marc-Andre Fleury made 30 saves and Vegas failed to convert on all five power-play chances to lose for the second time in eight games this postseason.

The teams have now alternated wins through four games, heading into Game 5 on Friday night in Vegas.

Each team has a shutout and an overtime win so far this series, which is now a best-of-three for a spot in the Western Conference Final.

Jones was sharp from the start, tying Evgeni Nabokov's record for most saves in a playoff shutout in Sharks history.

He robbed Reilly Smith early in the game and delivered big saves throughout. He was helped on a delayed penalty when Brent Burns cleared a puck off the goal line and when James Neal hit the post on a power play in the first period.

But he also delivered some big-time saves, including back-to-back stops against William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault on a Vegas power play in the final minute of the second period. Jones then turned aside Smith on a power play in the third.

Hertl helped give Jones a cushion with his goal early in the second. Logan Couture won an offensive zone faceoff against Erik Haula and Mikkel Boedker took the puck behind the goal for a wraparound attempt. Hertl was in front and knocked the loose puck in to make it 3-0.

Pavelski's goal on the rebound of Couture's shot sealed the game midway through the third.

The Sharks made some lineup changes from Game 3 with defenseman Joakim Ryan returning to the lineup for the first time since March 16 in place of Paul Martin and Donskoi getting back in after missing the previous game with a lower-body injury.

The moves paid off as the Sharks got off to the fast start coach Peter DeBoer was seeking. After an early giveaway led to a scoring chance for Vegas, Ryan fared well and stripped William Carrier of the puck to thwart a chance for the Golden Knights.

San Jose then scored twice in the final five minutes of the first period. Sorensen struck first, using a pick from linemate Eric Fehr to get loose from the corner and then skated around two defenseman to beat Fleury with his fourth goal of the playoffs.

The Sharks added to the lead with 5.1 seconds to go when Donskoi skated from his own zone and beat Fleury with a wrist shot from the high slot.

NOTES: Vegas had outscored the opposition 7-1 in the first period in the first seven games this postseason. ... Sorensen has five goals in 14 playoff games compared to six in 51 regular-season games.

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