Hellebuyck stands tall for Jets in Game 1 victory in Nashville
Goaltender makes 47 saves as Winnipeg steals series opener, writes Ken Wiebe.
JETS 4, PREDATORS 1
NASHVILLE Connor Hellebuyck is answering all of the early questions about how he was going to react to his first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
One early exit notwithstanding, the Winnipeg Jets goalie has been nearly unbeatable and his stellar play is the main reason his team stole the opening game of the second round with a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night at Bridgestone Arena.
Since giving up six goals on 22 shots in Game 3 of the openinground series with the Minnesota Wild, Hellebuyck stopped the next 98 shots on goal he faced, going more than eight periods before allowing a goal.
Hellebuyck made 47 saves to give the Jets a 1-0 series lead over the Preds, with Game 2 set for Sunday night in Nashville.
“There’s never a chance to take your foot off the gas against them. No lead is safe,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler. “A lot of the things they do well are the things we pride ourselves on doing well, too. You’ve got to stay with the entire game. That’s probably the biggest compliment you can give a team, that they stay with it for 60 minutes. That’s what we try to do, too.”
The Jets had a full week off between games and it took them a while to get back into a rhythm, while the Predators came out strong, generating 20 shots on goal and 31 shot attempts in the opening period.
But thanks to Hellebuyck, it was the Jets who took a 1-0 lead.
After a nifty individual effort from Jets forward Bryan Little, Brandon Tanev pounced on a loose puck in front of the net and shovelled it home for his second goal of the playoffs.
The Predators pushed hard trying to get the equalizer in the second period, but once again, the Jets were opportunistic and found a way to extend the lead.
Winnipeg winger Nikolaj Ehlers used his skating ability to get the puck into the offensive zone and found Patrik Laine in the slot.
Laine unloaded a shot off the mask of Predators goalie Pekka Rinne and Paul Stastny buried the rebound for his second goal of the playoffs.
The Predators had a glorious opportunity to cut into the Jets lead during a power play late in the second period, but Filip Forsberg rattled his shot off the post.
Shortly after the minor penalty to Wheeler expired, Mark Scheifele snapped a shot past Rinne for his fifth goal of the playoffs to make it 3-0.
Looking to give his team a spark, Predators head coach Peter Laviolette replaced Rinne (who gave up three goals on 16 shots) with Juuse Saros to start the third period.
Sure enough, the Predators cut into the Jets lead as Kevin Fiala scored on a rebound 1:23 into the third period.
That snapped Hellebuyck’s shutout streak at 163 minutes.
Scheifele sealed it with an empty-netter with 35.6 seconds to go in regulation time, giving him six goals in six playoff games.
Although Jets head coach Paul Maurice stressed throughout the week that Laine was fine, the fact the Finnish sniper missed a skate and left early on a couple of others created some consternation among the Jets fan base.
But Laine declared himself good to go on Friday morning, telling reporters he simply needed a bit more rest after the opening round series with the Minnesota Wild.
“I’m pretty comfortable in these games. These are the games I enjoy the most,” said Laine. “My game is going to be better as soon as the stakes go higher.”
How does such a young player have the ability to stay calm in those big moments?
“It’s just always been like that,” said Laine. “I don’t know, just feel comfortable in these kind of games when there’s a lot on the line. And you need guys to score and finish the games, so I’m comfortable in these kind of situations. It’s just always been my mindset and I’ve always been comfortable.
“You can’t be (nervous) on the ice when your guys are chasing and you need to score — you can’t be nervous. You’ve got to be comfortable, and just enjoy.”
The Jets had defenceman Toby Enstrom in the lineup for the first time since he aggravated a lower-body injury March 23.
Enstrom was reunited with longtime defence partner Dustin Byfuglien.
“I’ve played with him for a long time, so of course it’s easier,” said Enstrom. “I feel happy to have him on my side.”
Enstrom has been with the Jets/Atlanta Thrashers organization for 11 NHL seasons, but Friday marked just the fifth playoff game of his career.
“This is a good time of the year to play hockey,” said Enstrom. “It’s always hard to stand on the side, but right now I’m feeling good and I’m happy so I’m just looking forward now.”
With Enstrom returning, Joe Morrow was a healthy scratch and Ben Chiarot stayed in the lineup on the third pairing with Tyler Myers.
The expectation was that it would be a physical series and Chiarot plays with a bit more of an edge than Morrow.
The Predators chose to scratch both Scott Hartnell and Ryan Hartman, both of whom are rugged forwards.