What a difference a year makes.

A year ago at this time Kyle Juszczyk Jersey , the Winnipeg Jets weren¡¯t even in the playoffs and the Vegas Golden Knights didn¡¯t even have players.

Now they¡¯re getting ready to pit their depth, speed and two of the postseason¡¯s best goaltenders against each other when the Western Conference final gets underway in Winnipeg on Saturday night.

¡±We know what they bring, we know that they¡¯re good, that they maybe surprised a few teams, but not really,¡± said Paul Stastny, whose Jets advance to the final with a Game 7 victory over the Predators on Thursday night. ¡±They had 109 points. In a sense they play like us, they have a lot of depth and they can roll four lines and they have good, puck-moving D. So we¡¯re going to have our hands full for sure.¡±

Vegas beat the Jets in two of their three regular-season meetings, splitting the two games in Winnipeg and winning the lone meeting at T-Mobile Arena. Two of those games were with Knights goalie Marc-Andre Fleury out with an injury.

Fleury has had a tremendous postseason, registering four shutouts Chase Allen Jersey , a .951 save percentage and 1.53 goals-against average ¨C all career bests. Appearing in his first postseason, Winnipeg¡¯s Connor Hellebuyck has a 2.24 GAA and a .927 save percentage.

Fleury had five days off in between series while Hellebuyck will have had just 48 hours to prepare for one of the fastest and most potent offenses in the league.

¡±It is a quick turnaround,¡± Hellebuyck said Thursday night. ¡±We¡¯re going to get our rest, we¡¯re going to enjoy tonight and get back to it. Rest is a weapon, but I think the way we battle in this room, I think we¡¯re prepared for anything.¡±

Here are other things to watch in this series:

SCORING

The Jets have some of the best scoring depth of any team in the NHL, led by 44-goal scorer Patrik Laine. And he¡¯s on the second line. Winnipeg¡¯s top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler scored a combined 208 points in the regular season. The Jets¡¯ second line wasn¡¯t far behind, with Laine, Stastny and Nikolaj Ehlers scoring 183 points. Winnipeg is tied with Washington for the most goals (43) during the playoffs.

Vegas also boasts two potent lines but is capable of rolling four dangerous lines to balance the scoring across 12 forwards. The Golden Knights had four players finish with at least 60 points this season, led by William Karlsson (43 goals Lester Hayes Jersey , 35 assists). Linemates Jonathan Marchessault (75 points) and Reilly Smith (60 points) complete one of the best lines in the NHL.

RAGING ROOKIES

Both teams have first-year phenoms who can¡¯t be overlooked.

Vegas¡¯ Alex Tuch has four goals and three assists as the sole postseason rookie for the Golden Knights.

Winnipeg forward Kyle Connor scored his first two career playoff goals and added an assist in Game 5 against Nashville to become the first rookie in franchise history to post a three-point game in the playoffs. Connor, who scored nine goals over his last 13 regular-season games, had two assists in the Jets¡¯ 5-1 victory over the Predators in Game 7.

REST OR RUST

The Golden Knights may have the advantage of rested legs, but they also will catch a dangerous Jets team that could still be fueled by momentum from Thursday¡¯s win. Vegas had a long layoff after the first round and beat the Sharks 7-0 in Game 1 of the next series. But San Jose also had extended time off.

ROAD WARRIORS

Both teams have shown they can win on the road in the playoffs.

The Golden Knights won Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles to complete a first-round sweep of the Kings, then took Games 3 and 6 in San Jose. Vegas has lost only once on the road in the postseason.

Winnipeg is 4-2 on the road in the playoffs after splitting a pair in Minnesota in its opening-round series against the Wild. They took three on Nashville¡¯s home ice.

¡ª

The sweet-swinging Cleveland Indians are taking their show on the road after one successful homestand.

Edwin Encarnacion hit an eighth-inning grand slam, helping the Indians rout the Detroit Tigers 12-2 on Sunday for their season-high seventh straight win.

Francisco Lindor, Jose Ramirez and Jason Kipnis also connected for Cleveland, which outscored Detroit 26-3 in the three-game sweep. Ramirez finished with three hits, extending his streak of reaching base to 31 consecutive games.

¡±Everybody¡¯s doing their part,¡± Encarnacion said. ¡±The top of the lineup, the bottom of the lineup. Everything¡¯s going great.¡±

Adam Plutko (4-1) pitched six innings of two-run ball Eric Weddle Jersey , becoming the second rookie starter to beat the Tigers in the series. Shane Bieber pitched seven innings in Friday night¡¯s 12-0 win.

Tigers starter Matthew Boyd (4-6) allowed a season-high six runs in three-plus innings in his shortest outing of the season.

Detroit has lost five straight overall and is 3-10 against Cleveland this season.

¡±They¡¯re hot, they¡¯re swinging the bats good, and they jumped on us early again today,¡± Detroit manager Ron Gardenhire said. ¡±The ball is flying here now.¡±

The Indians have outscored their opponents 54-9 during their win streak. They open a nine-game road trip Monday night in St. Louis.

¡±We¡¯re having a lot of fun,¡± Encarnacion said.

Cleveland had the game in hand when it added five more runs in the eighth. Kipnis hit a leadoff drive against Artie Lewicki. Lindor¡¯s single and a double by Michael Brantley put runners on second and third.

Ramirez was intentionally walked and Encarnacion followed with a drive to right for his 11th career grand slam.

¡±When Edwin swings like that, it has to make them think twice,¡± Indians manager Terry Francona said. ¡±Then when they pitch around somebody, you love to see it hurt the other team. And you can tell Edwin was really bearing down there.¡±

Niko Goodrum and James McCann had RBI singles for Detroit in the fourth.

ADD AN O TO OHIO

The Tigers have lost all nine games they have played in the state of Ohio this season. Detroit was swept in a four-game series at Progressive Field in April. The Tigers lost both games in Cincinnati this week before heading north. The Tigers return to Cleveland in September.

¡±They took it to us this weekend, there¡¯s no doubt,¡± McCann said.

CAN¡¯T LOOK

Francona doesn¡¯t enjoy certain parts of interleague games in NL parks, such as when his pitchers have to hit. Mike Clevinger Kenny Stills Jersey , Corey Kluber and Bieber will be the starters in St. Louis.

¡±They¡¯re doing things they¡¯re not used to, even running the bases,¡± Francona said. ¡±They¡¯re just not used to doing that during a game. They¡¯re using different muscles, not that they¡¯re not in good shape but they¡¯re just doing different things. We definitely are holding our breath.¡±

BAD INNING

The eighth was difficult for Lewicki, who was hit on the right ankle by Lindor¡¯s hard grounder to the mound. He remained in the game after a visit from Gardenhire and a team trainer, but gave up the grand slam before finally being pulled.

The right-hander allowed six runs and nine hits in 4 1/3 innings.

TRAINER¡¯S ROOM

Tigers: RHP Drew VerHagen (broken nose) will not resume baseball activities for two weeks after being struck on the face with a throw from shortstop Jose Iglesias while covering first base Tuesday in Cincinnati.

Indians: RHP Carlos Carrasco will throw bullpen sessions this week to test his bruised elbow. He was struck by a line drive hit by Minnesota¡¯s Joe Mauer on June 16.

UP NEXT

Tigers: RHP Jordan Zimmermann (2-0, 4.95 ERA) takes on Oakland at Comerica Park on Monday in the opener of a four-game series.

Indians: Clevinger (6-2, 3.00 ERA) pitches the series opener in St. Louis on Monday. RHP John Gant (1-2, 4.39 ERA) starts for the Cardinals.

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