The Vegas Golden Knights’ road trip ended with a familiar refrain: a strong start, a disastrous middle period, and a loss. Winnipeg scored three unanswered goals in the first 13 minutes of the second period to erase an early Knights push and cruise to a 4-1 victory Tuesday at Canada Life Centre.

The Knights (32-26-14) opened the game with nine of the first 10 shots and outshot Winnipeg 13-5 in the first period, but Kyle Connor’s one-time blast with 2:35 left in the frame gave the Jets a 1-0 lead.

That margin grew quickly in the second. Alex Iafallo scored on a one-timer off a Shea Theodore turnover at 2:08, and Cole Perfetti made it 3-0 at 4:06 after Brayden McNabb misplayed a rolling puck, springing a 3-on-1.

“They get one, they get two, they get three. That’s kind of been the issue,” defenseman Rasmus Andersson said. “We don’t stop the bleeding soon enough. Frustrating because once again, we’re the better team in the first period. We just got to stop the bleeding earlier.”

Colton Sissons got the Knights on the board with a power-play goal at 7:30 of the second, his first with the team on the man advantage. It marked the third straight game the second unit has scored, but the top unit continued to struggle.

The Knights managed only 14 shots over the final two periods and were outshot 7-6 in the third. Mark Scheifele sealed the win with an empty-net goal with 1:09 left. Adin Hill made 17 saves.

The loss capped a 1-2 road trip and extended a troubling stretch: Vegas has lost 10 of 15 since returning from the Olympics. Coach Bruce Cassidy pointed to the team’s top stars, who have gone quiet.

“Those are our top guys,” Cassidy said. “They’ve struggled at 5-on-5 and the power play.”

Power play’s top unit sputtering

The Knights’ power play is 9-for-40 since the Olympic break, but the top unit has been the primary culprit. Jack Eichel has no power-play goals this season, Mark Stone hasn’t scored since returning from the Olympics, and Tomas Hertl hasn’t scored in 10 games. Pavel Dorofeyev has four of the nine goals but none in five games.

“They’ve got to get their confidence back to make plays,” Cassidy said. “You can get away with it for a while, but it’s a number of games now. It’s got to change for us.”

Stars still cold

Since Feb. 25, Eichel has six points and is minus-9. Stone is minus-6 with two assists in nine games. Hertl has one point since his overtime winner March 4. The Knights have scored five goals in their last five games.

“We’ve just got to find ways to win hockey games down the stretch,” Sissons said.