Winning-peg! Jets move past Preds
The Winnipeg Jets are headed to the first Western Conference final in their short history after knocking off the NHL’s best team in the regular season.
Tyler Myers and Paul Stastny scored 2:06 apart in the first period, and the Jets stunned the Nashville Predators 5-1 on Thursday night in their first Game 7 — continuing an amazing run for a team swept in its previous two playoff appearances.
Stastny finished with a second goal and an assist. John McEnroe’s No. 1 running back but gained only 61 rushing yards on 32 carries (1.9 ypc) through the first four weeks behind a struggling offensive line. He then missed three weeks with a rib injury and fell out of permanent favor with Ben McAdoo even when he returned.
Perkins was back in the lineup after the team’s bye in Week 9 but did not receive another carry until the infamous Week 13 loss in Oakland. — Pat Leonard
Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles was picked without being on the field. Bortles had his wallet stolen from his pickup truck Wednesday night in a bizarre robbery at teammate Brandon Linder’s home.
Joseph Arthur Horton, 18, was charged with auto theft, auto burglary and trespassing, according to Duval County jail records.