Jets put pressure on Preds

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Connor Hellebuyck made 47 saves and the Winnipeg Jets beat the Nashville Predators 4-1 on Friday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinal between the NHL’s top teams in the regular season.

Not only did the teams top the standings, this series is the first between clubs with the most combined points ever before a conference finals after Nashville (117) edged Winnipeg (114) for the Presidents’ Trophy.

Both the Jets and Predators brought a Vezina Trophy finalist into this series, and the 24-year-old Hellebuyck outdueled veteran Pekka Rinne, who was pulled after the second period after giving up three goals on 16 shots. Hellebuyck, who made his NHL postseason debut in the first round where he finished off Minnesota with back-toback shutouts, picked up in Nashville where he left off a week ago.

Hellebuyck stretched his shutout streak to 163 minutes before Nashville finally scored.

Maple Leafs rift? Mike Babcock was at his daughter’s graduation when he received a text message from a friend about reports of a strained relationship with star center Auston Matthews.

“I’ll find out in the morning,” the Toronto coach replied. “I’ll meet him. I’ll ask him in the morning.”

As the Maple Leafs cleaned out their lockers Friday in the wake of a seven-game loss to the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs, Babcock and Matthews addressed speculation the coach had “lost” his player during the series.

“I said, ‘What’s going on?’ ” Babcock told reporters of his conversation with Matthews. “It’s interesting in Toronto, you (media) do such a good job. You’re everywhere. You’re under the bench, you’re in the crack in the door, you’re in the car, you’re in the parking lot. You’re everywhere, and any time anybody does anything there’s a big story.

“I asked him flat-out, ‘Do we have any (issues)?’ He was sitting right there. We don’t seem to.”