Jets overcome Predators in opener
Connor Hellebuyck stole Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals Friday night with 47 saves as the Winnipeg Jets overcame a 48-19 discrepancy in shots on net to beat the host Nashville Predators 4-1.
Hellebuyck made 20 saves in the first period and 16 more in the second while Brandon Tanev, Paul Stastny and Mark Scheifele beat Pekka Rinne for a 3-0 lead after two periods. That enabled Winnipeg to withstand a third period onslaught and grab a 1-0 lead in a bestof-seven series between the league’s two best teams in the regular season.
As an added bonus, the Jets not only took home-ice advantage, but knocked out Rinne after two periods. Rinne, who stopped 13 of 16 attempts, was replaced by Juuse Saros. He made two saves.
A low-scoring opener was somewhat surprising since the teams combined for 42 goals in five regular season games. Nashville won three of the five, potting 22 tallies, but simply couldn’t solve Hellebuyck in the teams’ first playoff meeting.
Winnipeg initiated scoring at 14:51 of the first period, shortly after a Craig Smith giveaway. Bryan Little maneuvered through traffic and squeezed off a shot that Rinne stopped, but Tanev jammed home the rebound for his second playoff goal.
Stastny made it 2-0 at 9:01 of the second period with his second postseason marker. Nikolaj Ehlers carried the puck into the zone and fed Patrik Laine. Rinne stopped Laine’s attempt, but Stastny buried the rebound.
Scheifele tacked on his fifth playoff goal at 17:51.
The Predators finally got on the board just 1:23 into the third period. Kevin Fiala, who was ineffective in the team’s opening round elimination of Colorado, tapped in his second of the playoffs at the goalmouth after an excellent pass from behind the net by Kyle Turris.
Hall, Kopitar, MacKinnon named MVP finalists
The New Jersey Devils’ Taylor Hall, Los Angeles Kings’ Anze Kopitar and Colorado Avalanche’s Nathan MacKinnon were named the three finalists for the Hart Trophy – the NHL’s equivalent to Most Valuable Player – on Friday.
The award will be voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers Association and handed out during the NHL Awards show in Las Vegas on June 20.
Hall, 26, had career highs of 39 goals and 54 assists in leading the Devils to the Stanley Cup playoffs as the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. No Devils player has won the Hart.
Kopitar, 30, also tallied career highs in goals (35) and assists (57) on his way to a 92-point campaign for the No. 1 wild card Kings out of the Western Conference. Wayne Gretzky in 1989 is the only Kings player to win the Hart.
MacKinnon, 22, had 39 goals and 58 assists in 74 games as part of a breakout season, leading the Avalanche to a 47-point improvement from last season and No. 2 wild-card berth in the West. He’d be the third Avalanche player to win the Hart, joining Joe Sakic (2001) and Peter Forsberg (2003).
Hall (2010) and MacKinnon (2013) were both No. 1 overall picks in their respective drafts. The Edmonton Oilers’ Connor McDavid (No. 1 in the 2015 NHL Draft) won the Hart Trophy last year, and the Chicago Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane (No. 1 in 2007) won it in 2016.