Jets dump Preds to soar into final four
Winnipeg strikes early before hitting cruising altitude in lopsided Game 7 win
NASHVILLE In this unbelievable battle between Central Division heavyweights, it was the Winnipeg Jets who finally delivered the knockout punch.
In a battle between the top two teams in the NHL during the regular season, neither team was able to string together consecutive victories. But after stealing home-ice advantage in the series opener, the Jets didn’t need to win two in a row against the Nashville Predators.
Thanks to a fast start and a sound defensive effort, the Jets eliminated the Presidents’ Trophy winners with a 5-1 triumph in Game 7 on Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena.
There won’t be much time to enjoy the victory as Game 1 of the Western Conference final against the Vegas Golden Knights goes on Saturday at Bell MTS Place (4 p.m.).
One of the strangest storylines in this series is that the road team won five of the seven games, including the clincher.
A big reason why the Jets were able to be road warriors in this series was the solid play of goalie Connor Hellebuyck.
Looking nothing like a playoff newbie, Hellebuyck stood tall, finishing with 36 saves in Game 7.
Seeking a fast start, the Jets were able to score twice before the game was 11 minutes old, getting goals just over two minutes apart from Tyler Myers and Paul Stastny.
The icebreaker can only be described as a softy as Myers caught Predators goalie Pekka Rinne cheating off the post and scored from a sharp angle near the goalline.
On the second goal, Stastny was able to shovel home his own re- bound after Rinne was unable to corral the initial shot.
After allowing two goals on seven shots on goal, Rinne was pulled in favour of Predators backup Juuse Saros. The move provided a bit of a spark for the Predators, who got back into the game after Jets leftwinger Kyle Connor was called for cross-checking defenceman P.K. Subban.
Naturally, the Predators made the Jets pay, cutting into the lead when Subban blasted home a slapper from the point.
The Jets were able to get out of the first period with a one-goal cushion and following a strong second, they extended the lead on a broken play.
Connor lost the puck after entering the offensive zone, but the puck ended up on the stick of Jets captain Blake Wheeler, who found linemate Mark Scheifele for a onetimer with 2:10 left in the second period.
Scheifele added an empty-netter with 2:33 to go, giving him 11 goals, which moved him past Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel for the league lead.