WINNIPEG, Manitoba -- Winnipeg Jets fans might want Patrik Laine to get demoted to the fourth line slightly more often as he responded with arguably his best game of the season, leading his team to a 7-4 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on Friday night at Bell MTS Place.

The Finnish sniper, who has been anything but the last couple of weeks, scored a power-play goal and added two assists in less than six minutes in the third period, just 48 hours after spending much of the night against Denver on the bench.

The Jets had three power-play goals on five opportunities, with markers from Tyler Myers and Kyle Connor, who also had a second at even strength. They also had singles from Nikolaj Ehlers, Matt Hendricks and Mark Scheifele. The Golden Knights replied with singles from William Karlsson, Cody Eakin and Erik Haula. Vegas went 0-5 with the man advantage.

Connor Hellebuyck stopped 27 shots in the Jets (16-6-4) net for his 14th win of the season while Maxime Lagace stopped 31 at the other end of the ice for the Golden Knights (15-9-1).

The win propelled the Jets into first place in not only the Central Division but the entire Western Conference with 36 points, one more than the St. Louis Blues, who lost to Los Angeles 4-1 on Friday. It's unfamiliar territory for this squad for sure, particularly since they have missed the playoffs in all but one of their six previous seasons since relocating from Atlanta in 2011.

Laine's three-point outburst, which boosted his season totals to 12 goals and 20 points, came after he expressed displeasure with his play and lagging confidence after the morning skate on Friday. It's the second time he has criticized his own performance and come back with a goal the following game.

"I'm only doing that because I know I wasn't playing really well. I'm not lying to you guys when you're asking about it. (Tonight's win) was a good game so I'm happy," he said.

"We were playing really well as a line for two periods but didn't get rewarded even though we had some great chances. Our power play was really good in the third period. Nicky (Ehlers) got a huge goal. It wasn't a very good pass from me but he's a great scorer and he can score on that."

Hockey players are notoriously superstitious but Laine didn't alter his pre-game routine before taking the ice against Vegas.

"No, just the same old, same old. I didn't change anything, just my mentality on the ice," he said.

And he didn't consider shaving off his lengthy beard, which has led to some Jets fans comparing him to a Hutterite farmer.

"No, it's a bet so I can't do that," he said.

The Jets received a scare in the second period when Hendricks was inadvertently clipped on his jawline and neck by a skate attached to the foot of Golden Knights defenseman Colin Miller. The center immediately realized he was cut and rushed off the ice to the dressing room. Trainers glued the cut closed and he was back out on the ice just a few minutes later, even blocking a slapshot while out on the penalty kill.

He said anytime a player gets clipped with a skate like that, it brings back visions of Buffalo Sabres goalie Clint Malarchuk, who had his carotid artery severed in 1989 after a St. Louis Blues forward crashed his crease. Blood spurted out on the ice from his neck with every heartbeat but his life was saved by quick-thinking trainers and he returned to the line up just a few weeks later.

"It was scary. When you get a skate up high like that and you see blood (but) it wasn't terrible. Guys have come back and played with a lot worse injuries than that. I'm lucky it's not as bad as it could be," he said.

"We've all seen how devastating those skates can be when they get up high like that. The first thing that pops into your head is 'get off the ice as soon as you can and make sure you're (close) by the training staff and they can help you out.'"

The turning point in the game came at 9:39 of the second period when the Golden Knights, who were leading 2-1 at the time, appeared to extend their lead when defenseman Colin Miller blasted a slapshot past Hellebuyck on the power play. The Jets appealed and it was determined that right winger Alex Tuch was offside. It was the Jets second successful appeal of an offside goal in as many games.

The move paid dividends just a few shifts later when left winger Mathieu Perreault won a battle along the boards just inside the Golden Knights blue line and fed Hendricks, who took a few quick strides and ripped a wrister that beat Lagace high to the blocker side for this third of the season to tie the game at 13:21.

Despite the impact on the outcome, Vegas coach Gerard Gallant admitted the officials were right in overturning it.

"It's disappointing. It's the right call so we can't worry about it. It happens all the time in our game today. We would have loved to have that 3-1 lead, obviously, but you've got to keep playing, you've got to keep battling back," he said.

"But the big one was that early third-period goal (by Connor) to make them go up 3-2 and then we took a penalty right after that and they scored again (Laine). So that was the turning point in the game for me."

NOTES: Golden Knights Fs Cody Eakin and Brendan Leipsic are from Winnipeg, while assistant GM Kelly McCrimmon is from Brandon, Manitoba, and owns the WHL's Brandon Wheat Kings. ... After surrendering an average of 13 giveaways for the three games prior to Wednesday, the Jets had only two against Colorado. ... The Jets posted the second-best record in the NHL in November at 9-3-2. ... The Golden Knights have two five-game winning streaks this season.