Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/jets-don-bulletproof-vests- 481134493.html?k=zgSM9g

Jets don bulletproof vests Badly outshot and outgunned, still manage win

By: Mike McIntyre

NASHVILLE — Connor Hellebuyck has already racked up several honours this season: franchise-record in wins; most wins in a season by an American-born ; Vezina Trophy nomination.

He can now add committing what appears to be grand larceny on the biggest stage of his career to that impressive and ever-expanding list.

Hellebuyck made 47 saves Friday night as the Jets beat the 4-1 to take Game 1 of their second-round playoff series in enemy territory and steal home-ice advantage.

"I just love playoffs. I love the intensity, I love the game in front of me. It’s awesome and a little different. Intense is the right way to put it," Hellebuyck said following the game.

Hellebuyck posted back-to-back shutouts last week to close out the Minnesota Wild, then carried that momentum into this series despite a week-long break between action. He went exactly 163 minutes between goals, a 12-day span that saw him swat away 98 straight pucks in the process.

"He was awesome. They were throwing everything at the net. What we were trying to do in front of him was just get bodies, get sticks, let him see things. You could tell early on if he was seeing the puck he was going to make the stops," said .

Hellebuyck said the week-long break did his body, and mind, some good and there was no worry about rust.

"For me, no. I like the rest. I like getting a little feel on the ice and just getting off. That feeds well into my game. Build the body back up, get the little tweaks out of there and then you’re ready to play," he said.

At the other end of the rink, Winnipeg chased fellow Vezina nominee Pekka Rinne after two periods by scoring three times on just 16 shots.

Buoyed by a raucous hometown crowd, the league’s top regular-season team rode the wave from the opening puck drop by dominating play during the first period. Yet it was Winnipeg that struck first with just over five minutes left in the period. Bryan Little made a nifty play to linemate Brandon Tanev, who patiently slid the puck past Rinne.

With Joel Armia injured, Jets Paul Maurice tweaked his bottom-six for the game. Little skated on the wing with Tanev and centre Adam Lowry, while Andrew Copp centred a trio with Matt Hendricks and rookie .

The shots were 20-4 Nashville through 20 minutes, yet Winnipeg took the lead into the locker room.

"We weren’t at our best, I’ll give you that. We can play better and I think we will as this series goes on. But we pay our goaltender, too," said Maurice.

Winnipeg has now scored the first in 10 straight games dating back to the regular season, including all six playoff contests.

It was much the same story through the bulk of the middle frame, but once again Hellebuyck stood tall. Nashville outshot Winnipeg 16-12 yet found themselves down three goals.

Midway through the second, Nikolaj Ehlers used his speed on the rush and fed , whose shot hit Rinne in the mask. Paul Stastny then buried the rebound.

The Predators came close late in the middle frame as rang a shot off the post on the power play. And just seconds after killing off a Wheeler goalie interference , ripped a wrister past Rinne.

"I guess that’s how hockey goes, right? Hit a post at one end, capitalize at the other. I guess that was the key tonight," said Hellebuyck.

Juuse Saros was in goal to start the third period for the Predators. And Nashville finally got one by Hellebuyck just 1:23 in, as Kevin Fiala buried a rebound.

Scheifele sealed the victory with an empty-net goal in the final minute, his team-leading sixth of the playoffs.

"There’s no steals in playoffs. If you win, you win. It wasn’t pretty. It probably wasn’t how we drew it up. But we got the win and that’s the main focus," said Scheifele. "Obviously Helly played an unbelievable game for us."

Maurice said there was no panic in his troops, either early in the game when they were under siege, or after Nashville cut the deficit to two with nearly the entire third period remaining.

"We have to earn a better game. We have to work a little harder. I don’t feel as overwhelmed as the stats should tell me I should. I’m usually pretty honest about that, I’m not trying to protect the group. It’s their building, they had the jump early. They put an awful lot of pucks to the net from all over the ice. We can handle the net-front scrums a little bit better. I’m not worried about those stats," Maurice said of the lopsided shot totals.

Nashville (117 points) and Winnipeg (114) combined for 231 points in the regular season, making this a historic matchup of sorts. Teams with this many points have never met in the second round of the playoffs.

This is also just the fifth playoff series since 1990 in which the top two teams in the regular season have met.

"We have a better game to play than what we showed. Nashville played a really solid game, put a lot of pucks to the net and (Hellebuyck) made a ton of big saves and his rebound control was excellent. He’s been playing like that all year; nothing fazes him. He’s just able to replicate that night after night so I think we have a little bit better to give in front of him but he was outstanding," said Josh Morrissey.

Game 2 is set for Sunday, 6 p.m. at Bridgestone Arena before the series shifts back to Winnipeg for Games 3 and 4 on Tuesday and Thursday.

"You come in here and it’s a tough building to play in. It definitely gives us confidence but as we’ve seen in the last series, momentum doesn’t seem to carry over from game to game in the playoffs. Sunday night, it’s a whole new game and they’re going to be ready to go. They know how to respond. They’ve played a lot of playoff hockey. It gives us confidence but at the same time, it’ll be a sort of a whole new game on Sunday," said Morrissey. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/call-it-unorthodox-call-it-crazy-but-call-it-a-win- 481130373.html

Call it unorthodox, call it crazy... but call it a win

By: Paul Wiecek

NASHVILLE — We’ll never know what the talked about during their super-duper, top secret practice on Thursday.

But presumably it wasn’t, ‘So guys, here’s the plan: let’s get outhustled, outmuscled and historically outshot in the first game of the biggest series in the history of Jets 2.0."

Because that’d be crazy, right?

Crazy like a fox, as it turns out.

Like a boxer who lets his opponent pound on him at will, reckoning sooner or later the guy’s arms will get tired, the Jets got shellacked Friday night in every aspect of the game except on the scoreboard, authoring one of the most unlikely 4-1 victories you’ll ever see on a night their netminder, Connor Hellebuyck, was under siege from the opening faceoff.

Hellebuyck turned back 47 of 48 shots and the Jets defied long odds — not to mention all conventional current thinking on puck-possession stats and what it takes to win a hockey game — to seize a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series and take home-ice advantage back from the Predators.

The numbers from this night told the story, precisely because these kinds of numbers never go together: outshot 20-4 in the first period — that’s a Predators franchise record for shots in a period during the playoffs — the Jets led 1-0 on a Brandon Tanev goal.

Outshot 34-9 through the first 30 minutes, the Jets took a 2-0 lead on a Paul Stastny goal midway through the second period.

And then with the shots at 35-14 in favour of Nashville, the Jets made it 3-0 near the end of the second period on Mark Scheifele’s first of two goals (the other was an empty-netter).

Nashville made things mildly interesting with a goal early in the third period, but it was both too little and too late in a game that was played in upside-down land on a night the home team outshot the visitors 48-19 but somehow lost by three goals.

Now to be clear, it wasn’t so much that Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne was bad, although he certainly wasn’t great and was lifted after two periods in favour of backup Juuse Saros. It wasn’t even that Hellebuyck was spectacular — he played extremely well, but was also very fortunate on a night defenceman Roman Josi fanned twice at open nets and Preds sniper Filip Forsberg rang the post while staring at the most gaping net he might ever see.

Just chalk this win up to the idea that sometimes in the marathon that is the playoffs, it’s better to be lucky than good, so long as you don’t make a habit of it.

Jets head coach Paul Maurice watches a lot of film, but he’d have been wise to have burned this one at the final horn Friday night and started fresh with a simple message to his team, ‘Starting now, if we do everything the opposite of the way we did it Friday night, we should probably be OK.’

We’ll get to see for ourselves what Maurice’s message is this afternoon when the Jets practise at Bridgestone Arena in preparation for Game 2 Sunday night.

The Jets are trying out something new today — they’re actually following league rules and letting us all know when and where they’re practising.

Unbeknownst to anyone but themselves, the Jets held a secret — and entirely improper — practice on Thursday after telling the media the club was having no availability that day.

The Jets would have probably gotten away with it too, except Freep beat writer Mike McIntyre asked Maurice on Friday following the Jets’ morning skate whether the day off on Thursday might be disruptive to Hellebuyck’s finally honed pre-game routine.

Maurice let slip that, well, actually, Hellebuyck did skate on Thursday — and so did the rest of the Jets.

"I was there," Maurice smiled. "The stands were empty."

Now, closed practices are nothing new in football, where coaches are notoriously paranoid and are allowed to close a certain number of practices every season.

But there is no such thing as a closed practice in hockey — in fact, it is expressly forbidden by league rules to hold one.

The Jets’ explanation to the Professional Hockey Writers Association on Friday was that they never technically closed practice on Thursday; they simply never told anyone when, where or even that they were holding one.

That’s too cute by half, the Jets know it and they will get a fine from the league if they ever do something like that again.

Now, to be clear, I don’t care if I ever cover another practice again. Indeed, when I am on my deathbed, I will reflect on the cumulative weeks of my life I’ve spent watching practice over the decades — and I will wish that I had every single one of those mind-numbing minutes back.

But I raise the whole episode only to illustrate just how paranoid this Jets team has become as these playoffs continue and the stakes continue to rise.

Secrecy has always been the default position of a Jets organization that has been one of the most buttoned-down organizations in the NHL since Day 1, but even the most basic information in these playoffs is now a state secret.

Injury updates — always vague to the of uselessness anyway — have become non- existent with this club. Every player for every game is now a "game-time decision," according to Maurice

And even the identity of the backup goaltender — a man who will never play as long as Hellebuyck has a pulse, and maybe not even then — is now a secret apparently, with Maurice refusing to say on Friday whether was healthy enough to dress Friday night after getting hurt during the game-day skate prior to Game 5 against the Minnesota Wild. (He was.)

If this is how paranoid this team has become one game into the second round of the playoffs, just imagine where we’ll be if they ever get to a Stanley Cup final?

Closed practices? The Jets just might close the games and stage the whole Stanley Cup final in a darkened arena.

It’s all a futile exercise. There’s no keeping secrets — none that matter anyway — when you’re this deep into a playoff run and your team is under the microscope like Winnipeg is since they became the last team in Canada capable of ending a Stanley Cup drought north of the border that will reach an even quarter-century this year if the Jets don’t do something about it.

And who’s kidding who anyway — if the Jets’ secret wasn’t out prior to Friday night, it definitely is now: this Winnipeg Jets team is so good, they even win when they’re awful. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/enstrom-ready-to-go-laine-healthy-as-jets-get-set- for-first-game-against-predators-481085023.html

Enstrom ready to go, Laine healthy as Jets get set for first game against Predators

By: Mike McIntyre

NASHVILLE — He missed the entire first round, but Toby Enstrom is ready to return to the Winnipeg Jets lineup as they kick off their series tonight against the Nashville Predators.

Enstrom hasn't played since re-aggravating a lower-body injured on March 23 but declared himself good to go following the morning skate at Bridgestone Arena. He will return to his usual pairing with Dustin Byfuglien.

"This is exciting times, the time of year you want to play hockey, so I’m just happy to be back," said Enstrom. "I haven’t played in a while, but we’ll see how it goes tonight. I’m ready to go and it’s going to be great."

Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey will continue to be the top shutdown pair for the Jets, while and Ben Chiarot appeared to be the third pairing. That will likely push Joe Morrow to the sidelines tonight as a healthy scratch.

"Joe Morrow and Ben Chiarot have played really important roles for us this year. A different style of player but equally effective. They move the puck simply. Joe has created some offence for us and Ben has been a real important penalty killer and a good physical player on the walls," coach Paul Maurice said following the skate.

Up front, forward Patrik Laine was a full participant in the morning skate after missing Wednesday's practice and leaving a couple others early this week. He told reporters he will play.

"I feel really good. I'm going to play tonight, of course. I just took a couple days off to get some rest and be ready," Laine said when asked what had been ailing him. "Mostly just recovery. I was pretty exhausted after the last series, so just tried to get a little bit of rest. No issues and no concerns. So nice to play again."

The status of Joel Armia isn't as clear, as he did not skate this morning. Armia was hurt in last Friday's series-clinching win over Minnesota and has skated all week in a non-contact jersey. If he can't go, options to replace him include Matt Hendricks, Shawn Matthias and Marko Dano.

Finally, injured forward Matthieu Perreault made an appearance at the end of this morning's skate in a non-contact jersey. He is continuing to work his way back from an injury suffered in Game 1 against Minnesota.

This will be Winnipeg's first game action in a week, while Nashville has been off since disposing of Colorado in their first-round series Sunday.

"It’s different for a group that had a bunch of players not having any playoff experience. To be able to go into Minnesota and get that out of the way. That idea of the first game on the road, in a real loud building in Minnesota, we expect the same (in Nashville). So, there’s not the same kind of newness for our guys. Certainly, there’s been the excitement all week that I’m sure both teams have felt. From about the third practice, they had had enough practice and were ready to get going. So, both teams are really looking forward to puck drop," said Maurice.

Winnipeg went 2-3-0 against Nashville during the regular-season. The Predators and Jets finished as the top two teams in the NHL's regular-season and will have their hands full in trying to make it to the Western Conference finals, where the winner will play against whoever emerges from the Vegas-San Jose series. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/whiteout-party-moves-indoors-for-game-1-of-jets- predators-playoff-series-481121703.html

Whiteout party moves indoors Thousands of fans gather to cheer for Jets on big screens

By: Ryan Thorpe

The whiteout moved from the streets and into the arena Friday night, as Bell MTS Place opened for the first Winnipeg Jets whiteout viewing party.

Thousands of fans waved towels, wore Jets gear and sported faces painted white as they streamed into the arena to watch their team do battle in Game 1 against the Nashville Predators in Round 2 of the NHL’s Western Conference Stanley Cup playoffs.

The lower bowl of the arena, which has a capacity of 8,800, was hardly full. Even if the turnout was a low, the roughly 5,000 fans that showed up were loud and proud.

Fans whipped white towels back and forth in the air and reacted to the game with cheers and boos as loud as if it were unfolding in front of their eyes, rather than being broadcast in on the arena’s big screens from Nashville.

Joe Lesko, a lifelong Jets fan who came out to the game with his son, was asked why, in addition to being fully decked out in Jets gear, he felt the need to paint his face and goatee white.

"Because the whiteout doesn’t stop. Home or away, it doesn’t stop," said Lesko, waiting in line at a concession stand.

"I thought the viewing party was a great idea, honestly. That’s why I’m here. It’s a great way for fans to be able to come together and support our Jets. And I think the team will see the support they’re getting on a continual basis, whether they’re at home or on the road."

When asked to predict a winner, Lesko paused and then said the Jets would be victorious.

"Nashville is going to be tough, but I’m going to give this one to the Jets. I think we’re going to take it, even if it’ll be a tough battle. Maybe it’ll take overtime, but I think we’re going to take this one."

After the doors opened at 6 p.m., fans streamed into the arena, some wearing costumes that looked more suited for Halloween than an NHL game.

A child walked down the corridor with his family dressed as a Star Wars stormtrooper, waving a blue Jets foam finger with each step.

A man stood in line for a beer dressed as the Pope, if only the religious leader’s outfit had the Jets logo. Others could be seen in Jets jerseys and shirts, tuques and hats, with white streamers, towels and wigs.

As shouts of "Get your 50-50 here" rang out, a boy dressed in an oversized Jets jersey trailed behind his father through the halls, a mini stick in his hands, shooting an imaginary puck as he walked.

Annette Aquin, who took her young son and his two friends to watch the game, said the viewing party — at $10 a ticket — offered an affordable night out for a family.

She said they’ll consider going again if True North Sports and Entertainment (which owns the Jets and the arena) considers making the viewing parties a regular fixture of the team’s away games for the rest of the playoffs.

"It’s definitely a good opportunity to take the kids out. It’s something fun for them to do, something for them to enjoy," Aquin said, who’s also been attending the whiteout street parties with her family during home games.

Minutes before the puck dropped, as the last of the fans were trickling into their seats, the live broadcast from Nashville cut to a shot of Bell MTS Place.

As the crowd recognized itself on the jumbo screen, a massive cheer ripped through the rink and white towels were twirled in the air.

Another viewing party will take place at the Bell MTS Place for Game 2 of the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators’ best-of-seven series on Sunday. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/country-crooner-has-a-hankering-for-jets- 481115753.html

Country crooner has a hankering for Jets

By: Mike McIntyre

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — It has the makings of a hit country song: small-town prairie girl follows her dreams and strikes it big.

For Leanne Pearson, such an accomplishment remains a work in progress. But one thing is crystal clear — she's brought the Winnipeg Whiteout to Nashville.

Born and raised in Charleswood, Pearson is now pursuing her musical career here in Tennessee. But in between a busy schedule filled with recording sessions, music video shoots and promotional events, Pearson is keeping close tabs on her hometown hockey team.

"I'm a hockey fan through and through," Pearson, 28, told the Free Press this week during a conversation on the famous Broadway strip. "Hockey was engrained in my brain. My parents put a stick in my hand when I was really young."

Clad head-to-toe in white, Pearson watched every Winnipeg Jets first-round game against the Minnesota Wild at a neighbourhood pub. She managed to convince a few friends along the way into rooting for the Jets.

"Seeing those street parties on TV... just insane. I wish I was there," said Pearson.

Now she gets to watch the Jets up close with Games 1 and 2 in her own backyard. Of course, she stands out in a crowd clad inyellow Predators jerseys but doesn't mind the good-natured ribbing that comes with it.

"People are more educated now (about hockey) in this town than they ever have been," said Pearson. "Taking people to their first-ever Preds game is really cool. I get to explain the game to them and hear their questions."

During last year's run to the Stanley Cup finals, Nashville fans really embraced their team and came out in massive numbers for their own one-of-a-kind street parties. A similar wave is happening again this year — complete with their unique tradition of smashing up a car decked out in their opponent's logo. Or, in the case of this series with Winnipeg, a small plane.

"It was a snowball effect, as people began to catch wind of what was going on there was more and more people," said Pearson.

She's been having lots of fun on her Twitter account this week (@LeannePearson) with plenty of discussion with fans on the series, while posting photos of her in Jets garb at various Nashville locales. She even helped paint the Jets logo on the plane that Nashville fans them smashed to pieces before Friday's Game 1.

Pearson made the move south in late 2016 and has enjoyed some musical success to date. She'll return to this summer to play a couple local events in Super-Spike and Dauphin's Countryfest.

"I definitely knew this was where life was going to take me eventually. It was just a matter of when," said Pearson.

Her debut video for I Wanna Be More was released earlier this year, and the song already has more than 150,000 downloads on Spotify. One of her first singles, Get Out Of My Heart, cracked the top 50 on the Canadian country music charts. Her latest song, Rooster, was released last week and is a mix of country, pop and reggae.

"Being down here in Music City, when you're in the right place at the right time, things just happen," said Pearson, who routinely holds acoustic performance and writing sessions with other artists in Nashville to hone her craft.

"I'm just building every day, always learning and always growing," she said.

Now Pearson hopes good things also happen to her beloved Jets during their time in Nashville. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/jets-represent-canadas-stanley-cup-hope- 481119103.html

Jets represent Canada's Stanley Cup hope

By: Mike McIntyre

NASHVILLE — They are Canada's last team standing, the final hope this season to snap a 25- year drought that has seen Lord Stanley take up residence south of the border.

While this fact may be a major source of pride for many Manitobans, members of the Winnipeg Jets say they're not feeling any extra pressure — or even spending much time thinking about it.

It's business as usual, albeit with an entire nation of hockey fans now looking on to see if they will finally be the team.

"Everybody's happy to be here and representing Canada and Winnipeg. So that's something we are going to have to be proud of," Finnish sniper Patrik Laine said following Friday's morning skate. Yeah, there was only two Canadian teams in the playoffs this year, and now it's only one left. So hopefully we can represent Canada and Winnipeg well and get some more wins."

The were the last Canadian club to sip from the Cup back in 1993. While other franchises have come close, they've ultimately fallen short of reaching the promised land.

Jets captain Blake Wheeler said it hasn't been a topic of discussion in the room, even if the Jets bandwagon may have some additional out-of-town passengers these days.

"I play for Winnipeg," he said. ______

Speaking of Laine, he raised some eyebrows earlier this week by leaving a pair of practices early and not skating at the most recent one on Wednesday. Naturally, that led to some concern he was battling an injury or illness of some kind.

Any doubts about his status for Game 1 against Nashville were erased when he was a full participant in Friday's morning skate. Afterwards, Laine explained his poor practice attendance.

"Mostly just recovery. I was pretty exhausted after the last series. So just tried to get a little bit of rest. No issues and no concerns. So nice to play again," said Laine, who scored two goals and added two assists in the first round against the Minnesota Wild.

Laine said there was never any concern about his playing status.

"That's been our plan the whole week, that it doesn't matter if I'm going to take a couple days off, I'm still going to play. Just try to be ready to play every game day. Nothing's changed," he said.

Laine predicted his best hockey is still to come, while admitting the challenges ges even tougher as you go along in the playoffs.

"I'm pretty comfortable in these games. These are the games I enjoy the most. My game is going to be better as soon as the stakes go higher. I'm happy to be here right now and hopefully be good on the ice, and maybe get us a couple of wins," he said.

"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." ______

He was a no-show during the first-round, but Toby Enstrom finally made his 2018 playoff debut on Friday night in Nashville.

And not a moment too soon, according to the veteran Jets defenceman.

"This is exciting times, the time of year you want to play hockey, so I’m just happy to be back," said Enstrom, who returned to his familiar pairing with Dustin Byfuglien.

Enstrom suffered a lower-body injury in practice in late February and has been hampered ever since. He returned to action for a brief period but had been out of the lineup since March 23 as he continued to rehabilitate.

Although he's not the offensive force he once was, Enstrom is still considered a smooth-skating, puck-moving blue-liner.

"It's a big deal. Tobes is a very intelligent hockey player. The little plays he makes, in my opinion, go pretty unappreciated. To have him jump back in, he's going to be a big pickup for us on the back end," said defenceman Tyler Myers.

Enstrom said it was difficult not being a part of the franchise's first-ever playoff series win. He's been with the Atlanta/Winnipeg organization his entire career.

"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. I’m the guy who wants to play every night, so of course it’s hard to stand on the side but the team has been playing really well, so that makes it a lot easier. I’m happy to be back and looking forward to the series," said Enstrom.

His return forced Joe Morrow out of the lineup Friday. Ben Chiarot was partnered with Myers, while Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey were in their usual shutdown role together. ______

In other injury news, forward Joel Armia missed the series opener against Nashville as he continues to recover from an upper-body injury suffered a week ago against Minnesota. He skated this week in a no-contact jersey. Veteran Matt Hendricks took his spot on Friday and skated on the fourth line with Andrew Copp and rookie Jack Roslovic.

Adam Lowry was between Bryan Little (moving to the wing) and Brandon Tanev on the third line.

Forward made an appearance at Friday's morning skate but didn't play. He's continuing to work his way back from an upper-body injury that occurred during Game 1 against the Wild.

The only other player out right now is defenceman Dmitry Kulikov, who has not resumed skating following a lower-body injury in early March. His status for the rest of the playoffs remains a mystery.

Goalie Steve Mason, who injured himself in practice during the Minnesota series, was in the lineup Friday as a backup to Connor Hellebuyck.

Healthy scratches Friday included goalie Michael Hutchinson, Morrow and Tucker Poolman on defence, and forwards Shawn Matthias and Marko Dano.

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/hellebuyck-stands-tall-as-jets-steal- game-1-in-nashville

Hellebuyck stands tall as Jets steal Game 1 in Nashville

By Ken Wiebe

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 with a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night at Bridgestone Arena.

Since giving up six goals on 22 shots on goal in Game 3 of the opening-round series with the Minnesota Wild, Hellebuyck stopped the next 98 shots on goal that he faced, going more than eight periods before allowing a goal.

By making 47 saves, Hellebuyck propelled the Jets to a 1-0 series lead, with Game 2 set for Sunday night at 6 pm CT.

“I was making saves tonight, that’s for sure,” said Hellebuyck, who is 5-1 in these playoffs with a 1.77 goals-against average and .940 save %. “It’s tough to really get into this one because it’s a long series ahead of us and I know they’re a great team over there and they’re going to push back.

“I don’t want to over-step myself and say something I shouldn’t. We’re really looking forward to this series. I don’t want to feed them in any way, but they were good.”

Although the Predators held a decisive edge in shots on goal (48-19) and shot attempts (87-39), the Jets did a good job of keeping the majority of those to the outstanding and limiting the Grade A chances.

“There’s great difficulty in a lot of the saves in finding the puck in those scrums. But he’s built for that,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “He’s a big man that moves well and tracks well in traffic. Especially close traffic. So he’s capable of that kind of game in that kind of environment. It’s what he’s good at.”

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 during 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.

“You need that sometimes. Especially on the road and in a hostile environment, where they came at us early in that first period and the crowd was into it. (Hellebuyck) did a good job of kind of stonewalling,” said Jets centre Paul Stastny, who supplied the game-winning goal at 9:01 of the second period. “Same thing on the penalty kill, he was our best killer. Obviously, we can’t do that every night and we can’t rely on him to be like that. For not playing for so long and for him playing that sound, we’ll take that.”

The Predators pushed hard to try and get the equalizer in the second period, but once again, the Jets were opportunistic and found a way to extend the lead.

Jets 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 Stastny buried the rebound with 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.

“I’m annoyed at the call and I’m happy it didn’t go in the net,” said Jets captain Blake Wheeler when asked what was going through his mind as he was serving a goalie interference minor. “It was a good play and sometimes you need to get lucky. We hit a crossbar in the first, we’re going to need more of those in the series. That was a good break for us.”

Shortly after the penalty 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 replaced Rinne (who gave up three goals on 16 shots on goal) 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.

But instead of allowing the Predators back in the game, the Jets simply buckled down and Hellebuyck took care of the rest.

“He was awesome. They were throwing everything at the net,” said Wheeler. “What we were trying to do in front of him was just get bodies, get sticks, let him see things. You could tell early on if he was seeing the puck he was going to make the stops.

“They had some zone time, they were throwing everything at the net. We feel like as long as our goalie sees it he’s going to make some stops.”

Scheifele sealed it with an empty-netter with 35.6 seconds to go in regulation time, giving him six goals in six playoff games.

And just like that, the Jets stole home ice from a Predators team that captured the Presidents’ Trophy and finished three points ahead of them during the regular season.

It’s only one win, but it allows the Jets to get a little traction in this series between Western Conference powerhouses.

“We have a better game to play than what we showed,” said Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey. “Nashville played a really solid game, put a lot of pucks to the net and (Hellebuyck) made a ton of big saves and his rebound control was excellent.

“He’s been playing like that all year; nothing fazes him. He’s just able to replicate that night after night so I think we have a little bit better to give in front of him, but he was outstanding.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/great-escape-for-jets

Great escape for Jets

By Paul Friesen

NASHVILLE — Outside the arena, a street preacher bellowed his message of damnation as party-goers overflowed the honky tonks on another beer-soaked Friday night in downtown Music City.

Inside, the visiting Winnipeg Jets found salvation.

Behind the near-perfect goaltending of their messiah, Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets stole Game 1 of the second round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, 4-1, using a most unlikely script.

If someone had told you going in the Nashville Predators would out-shoot Winnipeg 20-4 in the first period and 36-16 through two, be honest, you’d have conceded Game 1 and reset your sights on Sunday night.

Yet the Jets scored once in the first and twice in the second to shock the rowdy Smashville crowd and maybe even put a jolt through that preacher on the street corner.

“There’s no steals in playoffs,” Jets centre Mark Schiefele insisted, after scoring twice to up his playoff total to six. “If you win, you win. It wasn’t pretty. It probably wasn’t how we drew it up.”

One thing the Jets would have drawn up was chasing Vezina Trophy favourite Pekka Rinne in the Preds net, who spent the third period watching from the bench.

It was interesting to hear the general post-game reactions from the two rooms.

In the winner’s, the attitude was one of, “We’ll take ‘em any way we can get ‘em.”

Jets boss Paul Maurice wasn’t willing to use the “steal” word, either, or acknowledge his team was over-matched.

“There certainly weren’t a lot of odd-man rushes or things like that of the real high-risk nature,” the coach said. “We weren’t at our best, I’ll give you that. We can play better and we will as this series goes on.

“But we pay our goaltender, too.”

Over in the losing room, Preds D-man P.K. Subban called it his team’s best game of the post- season.

“That’s probably the best I’ve felt after being minus-3 in a game,” Subban said.

“We played the right way. We were fast, we were fast, we cycled the puck, we got pucks to the net. We did a lot of things. We hit, we hit early… bounces are going to happen in a hockey game, that’s just the way it is.

“Let’s do that for the rest of the series, we’re going to be a happy bunch at the end of it.”

They’ll have to figure out Hellebuyck, first.

The 24-year-old, a Vezina finalist himself, did allow one to get past him for the first time in nearly two weeks, ending a shutout streak of more than eight periods of hockey.

And that did make things interesting, coming as it did less than 90 seconds into the third to cut the lead to 3-1.

Going into a fear-filled shell, with the crowd back into it, would have been an easy enough thing to do for the Jets.

Instead, they passed yet another test in a season, and early post-season, laced with them.

Instead of sitting on their heels, they kept attacking when they got the chance, kept pinching when it was the thing to do.

“That’s the way we’ve tried to be all year,” Scheifele said. “We try to stay even-keel. Even after a win like tonight. We’ll see what we can do better, what we did well. And back at ‘er on Sunday.”

For starters, they’ll have to spend way less time in their own end.

But given where the puck was most of the night, the Jets handled the pressure reasonably well.

Defence pair Josh Morrissey and Jacob Trouba, in particular, played that third with precision, blocking shots and clearing rebounds as if their playoff lives depended on it.

Maybe they did.

Not that anybody loses a series in Game 1. Or wins it, for that matter.

“We did a pretty good job of keeping them away from the front of the net,” Morrissey said.

“And they go there. Give them credit. Every time, they have two, three guys in front of the net. And they have some guys up top that can really shoot the puck.”

So do the Jets. Led by Scheifele on this night.

And so the first shot fired in this series is by the underdog.

If a 114-point team can be called that.

By the end of the night, the preacher had gone home.

And the Jets had survived some fire and brimstone of their own. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/the-score-was-upside-down-all-night- long-as-jets-steal-one-in-nashville

The score was upside down all night long as Jets steal one in Nashville

By Ted Wyman

NASHVILLE — You won’t see many games in which a team goes into an incredibly hostile environment, gets thoroughly dominated for 60 minutes by the opposition and still comes away with a victory.

I can’t remember ever seeing one quite like it before.

That was the scenario to the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of their second-round NHL playoff series against the Nashville Predators.

Somehow, someway, the Jets skated away from Bridgestone Arena with a 4-1 despite getting outshot 48-19.

You want to talk offensive zone time? The Predators had 87 shots attempts to the Jets 39.

Winnipeg had almost no sustained offensive zone time, never had a power play and was on its heels all night. The Jets were not the better team — save for goaltender Connor Hellebuyck — but they survived.

“If I’m being honest that’s the best game we’ve probably played in the playoffs,” Predators star P.K. Subban said. “Maybe one of our best of the year. That’s one we’re OK with. We’ll all sleep well tonight.”

THAT’S A HUGE ONE We’d like to tell you when the last time a team called the Winnipeg Jets won a second-round playoff game was, but we can’t, because it never happened before.

Until now.

The Jets slayed another demon — dressed in an Edmonton Oilers jersey circa 1985-1987 — by winning a second round game.

And regardless of how it looked, it’s still a massive victory for the Jets. They’ve stolen home-ice advantage away from the Predators, the only team in the NHL that had more points than them in the regular season.

At very least, the Jets will be going back to Winnipeg from Nashville with a split and will have three of the last five games on home ice.

There’s no way they get another win if they give up that many shots and allow a team as skilled as the Predators to play the whole night in their end.

But they can’t take this one away now.

FIRST BLOOD The first catfish hit the ice moments after the national anthems and the second followed before puck drop. I guess fans hoping for some old-time, Slapshot-style hockey would be happy to see blood on the ice before the opening faceoff … Country star Dierks Bentley and bluegrass legend Del McCoury sang a rendition of the Star Spangled Banner (to mixed reviews) prior to the game as Nashville opened the series with a couple of heavyweights. Over to you, Winnipeg. Perhaps it’s time to dust off Burton Cummings and his keyboard … How big of a sports figure was Subban in Montreal before he was traded from the Canadiens to Nashville? There are seven journalists from Quebec covering this series and none of them are here for “Canada’s Team,” the Winnipeg Jets. It’s all P.K., all the time … The atmosphere inside and out of Bridgestone Arena is outstanding. Nashville is a great place to watch a hockey game. The fans seem to be prompted often by the scoreboard screen and the announcer but you have to admit they’re loud and incredibly enthusiastic … Saw a decent smattering of Jets jerseys in the stands and out on the streets before the game, but judging from the barely audible “True North” during the Canadian anthem, not many fans were able to get their hands on tickets.

TOPSY TURVY The score was upside down all night. When Brandon Tanev scored to make it 1-0, the shots were 15-4 for the Preds. When Paul Stastny scored in the second, the shots were 34-9 and when Mark Scheifele scored his first of two — the other was empty netter — the shots were 36- 16 … It says a lot about the way Connor Hellebuyck has been playing that he had his worst goals against average in three games at 1.00. His shutout streak ended at 163 minutes exactly when Kevin Fiala scored in the third but he still had his best game of the series and stole the win for the Jets … What a terrifying moment when Ben Chiarot’s skate came up and hit Predators’ defenceman in the face, cutting him on the cheek. Just incredible how close guys come to devastating injury in this game with players wearing knives on their feet.

THE POST HELPS Flip Forsberg had the puck on his stick, a wide open net and a chance to cut the Jets lead in half and he hit nothing but post. It was exactly that kind of night for the home team. If Forsberg shoots that 100 times, he scores 97 goals … I’m pretty sure Winnipeg songwriter John K. Samson didn’t write his song “One Great City” to be used as a way to mock his hometown in a faraway hockey arena. The Predators played his song, with the lyric “I hate Winnipeg” during the game and it was a crowd pleaser … Also from the musical notes department — hey it’s Nashville, baby — the between-periods entertainment was provided by a band fronted by Felix Cavaliere of The Rascals, a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, who played hits like “Good Lovin.” That’s taking it up a notch … Also taking it to a higher level, the shrimp gumbo served in between periods in the press box … It was a tough penalty on Jets captain Blake Wheeler with 4:22 left in the second period. It was in the offensive zone and it was goaltender interference for bumping Pekka Rinne in the crease. It was marginal but also a terrible penalty for the Jets to take when leading 2-0 and getting massively outshot. But the Jets kllled it off and Wheeler even got an assist on Mark Scheifele’s goal to make it 3-0 as he came out of the box. It was exactly that kind of night for the visitors. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/laine-shakes-off-malaise-availability- was-never-in-doubt-according-to-jets-winger

Laine shakes off ‘malaise’: Availability was never in doubt according to Jets winger

By Ken Wiebe

NASHVILLE – Patrik Laine still doesn’t know what a malaise is, but it was never going to keep him out of the opening round game of the second-round series between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators.

After skipping or cutting short several workouts this week, the Jets sniper took the morning skate and was back with regular linemates Nikolaj Ehlers and Paul Stastny for Game 1 on Friday night.

“No idea what that means,” said Laine, when asked about the malaise Jets head coach Paul Maurice said he had been dealing with during the past few days. “It doesn’t matter if it would be exhibition or regular season, I would still play. There’s no issues or no concerns.”

So what was the issue for Laine?

“Mostly just recovery,” said Laine, who had two goals and four points in five games against the Minnesota Wild in the opening series of the Stanley Cup playoffs. “I was pretty exhausted after the last series. So just tried to get a little bit of rest. No issues and no concerns. So, nice to play again.

“That’s been our plan the whole week, that it doesn’t matter if I’m going to take a couple days off, I’m still going to play. Just try to be ready to play every game day. Nothing’s changed.”

Laine laughed when asked if he caught the malaise from Ehlers, who sat out Game 5 against the Wild.

“Probably,” said Laine. “I don’t know, but I would think so.”

The Jets were without right-winger Joel Armia (upper body), but Steve Mason dressed as the backup goalie for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury during the pre-game skate on Apr. 17.

Jets forward Mathieu Perreault was back on the ice with his teammates near the end of the morning skate, but he remains “day-to-day” with an upper-body injury he suffered on Apr. 11. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/enstrom-missed-out-on-franchises-first- playoff-win-but-is-happy-to-finally-be-back-in-action

Enstrom missed out on franchise’s first playoff win but is happy to finally be back in action

By Ted Wyman

NASHVILLE — The last time Toby Enstrom played a hockey game, the franchise he has been with for 11 years had never won so much as a playoff game, let alone a whole series.

Fast forward a month to his next appearance, which was Friday night at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, and his long-time team was already into the second round of the NHL playoffs for the first time. And now he got a chance to join in on the fun.

Enstrom, 33, started his career in Atlanta in 2007, moved with the team to Winnipeg in 2011 and has logged 719 games on defence with the organization.

None of those games included a playoff win.

“It’s been great,” Enstrom said Friday morning after the Jets held their game day skate at Bridgestone Arena. “From (Connor) Hellebuyck in the back there, to everyone up front, they’ve been playing great hockey. I’m just happy to be back playing with them though.”

Enstrom was expected to play on a pairing with Dustin Byfuglien, and while the Jets did just fine with Joe Morrow in that spot in a Round 1 win over the Minnesota Wild, head coach Paul Maurice and other Jets player clearly like what an 11-year veteran can bring to the equation against the Predators.

“It’s a big deal,’ defenceman Tyler Myers said. “Tobes is a very intelligent hockey player. The little plays he makes, in my opinion, go pretty unappreciated. To have him jump back in, he’s going to be a big pickup for us on the back end.”

Enstrom, who is in the last year of his contract with the Jets, has played just four playoff games in his career and has one assist, but he’s a terrific puck mover and that should prove important against a great forechecking team like Nashville.

It certainly wasn’t easy for him sit and to watch as the Jets finally tasted the sweet flavour of playoff victory.

“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,” Enstrom said. “I’m the guy who wants to play every night so of course it’s hard to stand on the side but the team has been playing really well so that makes it a lot easier.”

HELPING HENDRICKS Though in the middle of a playoff game. Jets centre Matt Hendricks jumped into action when a fan was injured by a puck at Bell MTS Place.

It was during the Jets 5-0 win over the Minnesota Wild on April 20 and the veteran player saw that help was needed during a stoppage in play.

He skated over to the Jets bench, got a towel and sped back to the glass on the other side of the rink to throw it over to fans helping the woman.

“I was probably just at the right angle where I could see it, see her get hit and see her forehead open up like a watermelon,” Hendricks said. “I knew the smaller white towel (that was handed out to fans) wasn’t going to be enough for them so I wanted to make sure she could take care of herself a little bit before the medics got there.

“You never want anybody to get hurt, that’s for sure.”

He’s a humble guy, but I think it’s safe to say not every player would have been so alert and quick to take action, especially during such an important game.

REMEMBER THE SHARKS Jets coach Paul Maurice was asked Friday how he thought his team handled being away from game action for a week.

“Well,” he said.

“But I’m sure Pete DeBoer felt the same way.”

DeBoer is one of Maurice’s best friends and is also the head coach of the , who lost 7-0 to the on Thursday night in the opener of their second-round series.

Both the Sharks and Golden Knights had more than a week off between games after sweeping their first-round best-of-sevens.

Clearly one team was more ready for the second round than the other.

So, did Maurice touch base with his buddy after that Sharks loss?

“Oh God. No, no,” he said. “There was a kind text sent to each one of us before we started. No, no, you wouldn’t call Pete after a game like that.”

WE ARE WINNIPEG Jets captain Blake Wheeler was asked about being part of “Canada’s Team” the lone representative from north of the border still alive in the playoffs.

“You’d have to ask somebody else,” said Wheeler, who is American.

“I play for Winnipeg.”

DECIDING GAME FOR MOOSE The will play the on Monday in the fifth and deciding game of their first-round AHL playoff series.

The Moose had a chance to clinch the series Thursday night but lost 3-0. They were shut out by backup goalie Jared Coreau, who made 25 saves.

Manitoba won the first and third games of the series, the Griffins the second and fourth and the teams will have three days off before the deciding game.

It will be played at Van Andel Arena in Grand Rapids, Mich., on Monday night. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-fan-jericho-lays-down-challenge-to- predators-supporter-carrie-underwood

Jets fan Jericho lays down challenge to Predators supporter Carrie Underwood

By Scott Billeck

Winnipegger and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho has upped the ante with country music sensation Carrie Underwood.

Jericho challenged Underwood to wager $10,000 on the second round series between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators on a Winnipeg radio station on Friday morning. The series pits Jericho’s hometown team against the team Underwood’s husband Mike Fisher plays for.

The winner would donate the money to their respective favourite charities.

Jericho called Fisher “a fourth line bench warmer” during a segment on CJOB and said if Underwood is a proud fan of the Preds, she should accept his terms.

Jericho said he’d accept any bet Underwood throws his way.

“It’s good for hockey, it’s good for the Predators, it’s good for the Jets, it’s good for charity,” Jericho said. “I think it’s going to be a rude awakening for the Nashville Predators.”

As of Friday afternoon, Underwood had yet to respond to Jericho’s friendly challenge.

Jericho was in Saudi Arabia on Friday with other WWE superstars.

The 47-year-old has made sporadic appearances in both WWE and New Japan Pro Wrestling over the last several months.

Jericho’s band, Fozzy, released their seventh studio album last October entitled Judas.

Jericho was recently in Winnipeg performing at the Winnipeg Comedy Festival, which wrapped up on Apr. 15.

On Tuesday, Jericho called out Underwood on Instagram.

The Tennessean https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2018/04/28/nashville-predators- winnipeg-jets-stanley-cup-playoffs-rexrode-game-1/559792002/

Jets land first shot on Predators with opportunism, better goaltending

By Joe Rexrode, USA TODAY NETWORK

There’s always a “feeling out” stage in the first game of any professional sports seven-game series of note, and Friday’s ended right around the time Nashville’s and Winnipeg’s Jacob Trouba traded pops to the face in front of the Winnipeg net.

That happened eight minutes into the first period of Game 1 of the Western Conference semis between the Predators and Jets. Colton Sissons accelerated the meet-and-greet process by sending Adam Lowry into the boards. Everyone was settled in nicely by the time 260-pound Dustin Byfuglien uprooted 200-pound Sissons and applied him to the glass like a fridge magnet.

The hits came early, and kept coming, Friday at Bridgestone Arena. And Winnipeg eventually landed the ones that matter.

They absorbed 15 minutes of Nashville domination, took advantage of the first Preds mistake, took advantage of a little luck, brushed off the early cobwebs and skated away with a 4-1 win. The Jets owned Broadway and silenced Bridgestone on a Friday night. Not an easy trick. Definitely an impressive one.

It’s one game. I still like this thing to end up right around seven. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t several juicy panic points already. Home ice is gone, like that, and the Predators are going to have to win at least one in an equally imposing arena, Bell MTS Place.

National anthem: Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury sing ahead of Game 1

Austin Watson, who had two “maintenance days” this week and smashed Jets liberally in the first period, did not play the rest of the game. We’re talking about the MVP of the first round against Colorado, a player the Preds need for all he does.

“He’s been driving our team I’d say, in the first series he was arguably our best player," Ryan Johansen said of Watson, whose condition was not updated after the game.

And Nashville is now 2-2 at home in these playoffs, after going 9-2 a year ago and finishing two wins short of the Stanley Cup. For the second straight Friday night, the Preds lost at home in their own building despite controlling much of the action. They were superior in terms of claiming territory and generating chances. They had a whopping 48-19 advantage in shots.

"We feel like we were the better team tonight," Johansen said, "so we keep taking steps forward as a team and then we’ll find a way to win some games.”

Johansen and P.K. Subban compared this effort with the best the Predators have put forth this season, though coach Peter Laviolette had the proper counter.

"Give me two choices on where to be, our game or their win, I’ll take the win," Laviolette said. "It’s about winning hockey games right now."

And Nashville was not the better team where it matters most, in goal. Asked if his team "stole" this game, Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice said: "We pay our goaltender too."

Vezina Trophy finalist Connor Hellebuyck was remarkable in those first 15 minutes, turning back surges with either hand (and getting a break when Roman Josi couldn’t gather a puck with an open net in front of him). It was hard to believe the Jets would be the ones to score first in this game, but they were, after Craig Smith turned it over in the neutral zone, third-pairing defenseman Alexei Emelin fell down and Pekka Rinne gave up a rebound to driving Bryan Little and a goal to Brandon Tanev.

Rinne, who is almost certainly going to win the Vezina, couldn’t be faulted for that one, nor for a Paul Stastny putback of a Patrik Laine shot on a weird scene in front of the net with the puck popping into the air. But he has to stop the unscreened Mark Scheifele shot that got past him to make it 3-0 in the second period.

By then the Predators’ early control had faded and the Jets were buzzing. The building was muted, bordering on morose. They had watched their team play exactly the way it wants to play — the way it played in Game 6 to close out Colorado, after the Avalanche stole Game 5 with two late scores and goaltender Andrew “Hamburglar” Hammond.

They had watched their team stay out of the penalty box, for the third straight game. Yet they were watching the other team have a good old time at their expense. That’s the Jets for you. They were outplayed for much of the night, but they were undeterred, and they’re always opportunistic.

This looked like the best team in the Stanley Cup playoffs in the first round, waxing the shorthanded Minnesota Wild. Now the Jets have the edge in the series involving the two best teams in the regular season. And they can play better than this.

But then, the Preds can finish much better than this. The biggest Nashville positive from Game 1 was the play of its second line, Kyle Turris and Kevin Fiala determined to atone for their play in the first round. Turris found Fiala with a beautiful pass early in the third to make it 3-1.

"They were much better," Laviolette said of that line.

The Predators, with Juuse Saros in goal for Rinne, kept pushing from there to try to get it closer. Hellebuyck and the Jets held strong and found an empty net. But it was good, desperate hockey from Nashville, effective practice for Sunday’s Game 2. When you lose that first one at home, “feeling out” turns to feeling heat in a flash. https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2018/04/27/predators-vs-jets-score- game-1-round-2-nhl-stanley-cup-playoffs-nashville-winnipeg-hellebuyck/548180002/

Predators encouraged by their 'best game' of playoffs despite loss to Jets in opener

By Adam Vingan, USA TODAY NETWORK

The Predators’ dressing room was more upbeat Friday than you might have expected after a playoff loss.

Sure, they trail their second-round series with the Winnipeg Jets, the result of a 4-1 defeat that wrested home-ice advantage from them. But they also felt encouraged by how they performed despite the result.

“If I’m being honest, that’s the best game we’ve probably played in the playoffs,” Predators defenseman P.K. Subban said. “Maybe one of our best of the year.”

In an ideal world, the Predators and Jets wouldn’t be meeting in the second round. This isn’t the proper setting for such a compelling matchup between the NHL's two best teams.

We shouldn't let the league's odd playoff format ruin our good time. But if you're partial to the Predators, that's exactly what the Jets did Friday.

“It sucks to lose that first one," Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis said. "But I think we can take the fact that we played a really good game.”

More: Predators national anthem singer: Dierks Bentley, Del McCoury sing ahead of Game 1

Unless you have an aversion to heart-stopping, high-event hockey, Predators-Jets games this season have been appointment viewing. Game 1 on Friday didn't disappoint.

The Predators pelted Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck with 20 first-period shots, a playoff franchise record, and 48 total, the most in a regulation playoff game in team history. But they relied too heavily on long-range attempts and struggled to impede Hellebuyck's vision.

Predators forward Kevin Fiala's tap-in during the third period snapped Hellebuyck's shutout streak, which dated to the first round, at 163 minutes.

"You always hope for more chances, but I thought we did a pretty good job of just shooting the puck," Predators captain Roman Josi said. "We had a lot of zone time trying to create chances. They played well. They have some big (defense) and big players. They protect the net pretty good."

When the Jets possessed the puck, they were opportunistic on offense. Forwards Brandon Tanev and Paul Stastny each were the beneficiaries of rebounds in the first and second periods, respectively.

Center Mark Scheifele whipped a wrist shot late in the second period past Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne, whom coach Peter Laviolette replaced with Juuse Saros to start the third period. Rinne wasn't at fault for Winnipeg's first two goals, but needed to stop Scheifele's at a critical moment of the game.

“We’ve got to win hockey games," Laviolette said. "I think you can hang your hat on (effort) sometimes in the regular season when you’re talking about a process and a long haul and a big picture.

"But right now, if you give me two choices on where to be, our game or their win, I’d take the win. It’s about winning hockey games right now.”

CBC.ca http://www.cbc.ca/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets-nashville-predators-game1-wharnsby- 1.4639520

Jets get contributions from everywhere in Game 1 win over Nashville Tanev-Little-Lowry line sets an early tone in Winnipeg's victory on Friday

By Tim Wharnsby · CBC Sports

There was a lot to like about the Winnipeg Jets' 4-1 victory in their second-round series opener against the Presidents' Trophy-winning Nashville Predators on the road on Friday evening.

You could single out the play of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck. He had his shutout streak snapped at 163 minutes, but made 47 saves and was particularly good in the first and third periods.

Veteran defenceman Dustin Byfuglien was super, too. He was like a fourth forward out there at times. He was pleased to have back his old reliable partner Toby Enstrom, who returned from an ankle ailment that had kept him out of the lineup since Mar. 23.

Mark Scheifele also was good again with a key second-period goal to push the Jets out in front to a 3-0 lead, after killing off a Blake Wheeler goalie-interference penalty. Nashville's Filip Forsberg hit the post with a half-open net. Then Wheeler jumped out of the box, backed off the Predators defence, dropped a pass back to Scheifele for a very important goal.

Scheifele added an empty-netter late in the third period.

Nikolaj Ehlers had a nifty rush that led to the Paul Stastny goal midway through the second period.

But where would the Jets be without the effort of third-line centre Bryan Little in this one? The 30-year-old Edmonton-born, Cambridge, Ont.-raised Little has been a bit of forgotten man on Canada's team.

When Jets general manager made his astute move at the trade deadline to acquire Stastny from the St. Louis Blues, Little had to swallow his pride. His ice time was reduced as he moved down to his new position on the third line.

Well, there was Little, one of only four players remaining from the franchise's days as the — Byfuglien, Enstrom and Wheeler are the others — stepping up with a massive manoeuvre to give the Jets a lead.

The old Cambridge Winter Hawk always has been a team player. He never blinked when he had to give up his sweater No. 10 he wore with Atlanta and switch to 18 because No. 10 will forever be attached to the great Dale Hawerchuk in Winnipeg.

After back-to-back shutouts to close out the first-round, five-game win against the Minnesota Wild, Hellebuyck continued his outstanding play and kept his team in early as the Predators swarmed the Jets.

But then Little put together a timely individual effort to take the puck to the Nashville net that resulted in a Brandon Tanev goal from in close to give the Jets a 1-0 lead late in the first period. All of a sudden, the momentum changed in the Jets' favour and they were off and running.

Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice put together the makeshift line of Little between Tanev and Adam Lowry because of the upper-body injury to Joel Armia. The new trio worked out and gave the Jets an important series-opening goal.

The third line was one area the Predators were supposed to have a huge edge in this series with Nick Bonino, Austin Watson and Colton Sissons. The threesome enjoyed a fantastic first round with a combined nine goals and 19 points in the six-game win against the Colorado Avalanche.

But Watson played only four minutes and nine seconds in the first period and didn't return because of an undisclosed injury. Little's line came up big.

It's difficult to ignore the stats in this one. The Predators outshot the Jets 48-19 and had way more attempts (shots, shots blocked, missed shots) at 87-39. Nashville also won 35 of 53 faceoffs.

But because of opportunistic plays like the one from Little, the Jets persevered and now have home ice advantage. Something that should come in handy for the best home team in the land. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-nashville-head-to-head-1.4633940

Hot chicken and high water: How Winnipeg and Nashville match up, off the ice An unscientific ranking of Manitoba and Tennessee capitals reveals a shared history of flooding, cholesterol

By Bartley Kives · CBC News

On the ice, you practically need a picometre-precision microscope to separate the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets when it comes to talent.

The top two teams in the face off in Tennessee on Friday in Game 1 of a second-round playoff series that has the potential to be the most entertaining matchup of the post-season.

The Jets and Preds are both blessed with oodles of offence, solid defenders and Vezina- nominated goalies. Both teams can roll with four lines who can score. Both teams displayed flashes of dominance when they played each other during the regular season.

But when you get away from the ice, the only thing Nashville and Winnipeg have in common is the central time zone, summer thunderstorms and the occasional tornado warning.

Here's how the two cities match up, using measures that have absolutely nothing to do with hockey. You're so amped up about this series, you're going to read this anyway.

The Soggy Bottom Index Every few years, Winnipeggers justifiably wonder why their city was built in the middle of a flood plain. Some years, the Red River engorges itself to the size of a lake. In other years, the Assiniboine swells up like Brandon Tanev's ankle after a penalty-killing shift.

An enormous trench wraps around our eastern flank just to avert floodwaters. To live in Winnipeg is to live with the constant threat of flooding in some form, although mostly that just involves basement seepage.

Nashville is also a city full of waterways. The Cumberland River, the largest in the Tennessee capital, flooded so severely in 2010, the floodwaters damaged Bridgestone Arena, where the Predators play.

Nashville has struggled with the idea of building a flood wall to protect its downtown. The $125- million US price tag is a major obstacle, the Tennessean newspaper says.

Advantage: Winnipeg, thanks to the Red River Floodway. The only flood to reach Bell MTS Place was defender Mark Flood, who played for both the Jets and the Manitoba Moose.

The name game Nashville takes its name from Francis Nash, an American general who was killed in 1777 as a result of severe injuries sustained during the Battle of Germantown in Philadelphia.

During the battle, a two-kilogram cannonball sailed over George Washington's head, killed Maj. James Witherspoon and then mortally injured Nashville's namesake.

"The ball struck Nash's horse in the neck and crushed Nash's thigh. Both fell to the ground, with the brigadier-general pinned under the dead horse," Vanderbilt Magazine says.

The origin of Winnipeg's name has a murkier history — literally and figuratively. The conventional wisdom is Winnipeg is Cree for muddy or fetid water, which is an apt description for both the Red River and Lake Winnipeg.

But the name Winnipeg may not have had anything with Manitoba, originally. The first settler use of the term "Ouinipeg" applied to an entirely different body of water, 1,000 kilometres southeast of Lake Winnipeg.

That would be Green Bay, a narrow portion of Lake Michigan that juts into Wisconsin.

Advantage: No one. Philadelphia might as well be playing Green Bay.

Battle of the bands Winnipeg loves to pride itself on a music scene that spawned the likes of the Guess Who, Crash Test Dummies, Chantal Kreviazuk, the Weakerthans and Propagandhi.

Neil Young also spent four teenage years in the Manitoba capital, an experience he recalls ever-so-fondly in Don't Be Denied.

"When we got to Winnipeg, I checked in to school. I wore white bucks on my feet, when I learned the golden rule," he sang in the 1973 love letter to his hometown. "The punches came fast and hard, lying on my back in the school yard."

Nashville, on the other hand, is home to thousands of recording artists, not all of whom assemble burrito bowls at Chipotle's.

Carrie Underwood, one of the more successful Nashville musicians, is married to a Predator, quasi-retired fourth-line-centre Mike Fisher.

Brad Paisley, Rascal Flatts, Faith Hill, Luke Bryan, Dierks Bentley, Martina McBride, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban and Kelly Clarkson — none of whom work at Chipotle's — have all sang national anthems or have otherwise performed at Preds games.

Winnipeg has the Burton Cummings Theatre for the Performing Arts, formerly known as the Walker Theatre, as well as the Odeon Theatre.

Nashville has the Grand Ole Opry, which was flooded during the same 2010 deluge that damaged Bridgestone Arena.

Advantage: Nashville, by about 7,000 guitars. When it comes to music, it's not even close.

Whose cuisine reigns supreme? The most famous food in the Tennessee capital is Nashville hot chicken. A cut of bird is breaded, fried and coated with cayenne or chili, then served on white bread with pickles.

Nashville is also famous for more widespread southern dishes such as country ham, fried catfish, cornbread and all manner of low-and-slow barbecue.

Winnipeg, meanwhile, is home to the fat boy, a well-done burger slathered in mayo and topped with pickle spears, lettuce, onions, tomato and a greasy liquid condiment known as chili, which bears little similarity to chili sauces anywhere else on Earth.

We can also take pride in smoked goldeye, though few of us eat it often, not to mention bannock, fried pickerel, vinarterta and honey dill sauce; the latter must be fed to all newborns intravenously in order to ensure they grow into proper Manitobans.

Advantage: Cardiologists on both sides of the border. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/jets-shoot-businesses-score-small-100000382.html

Jets shoot, businesses score: Small businesses booming with playoff fever hitting downtown

By CBC

As a small fish in a big pond, Bruce Smedts relies on word of mouth to attract customers into his retro diner in downtown Winnipeg.

Lately, it would seem a lot of people have been talking about the family-run business.

Last Friday was the busiest day in the White Star Diner's nine years in business, thanks in no small part to Winnipeg Jets fans, Smedts says.

"I've never had sales like that before," he said Thursday.

Smedts isn't the only business owner benefitting from the team's success.

Jets fans flooded the downtown during the first round of the NHL playoffs, as Winnipeg faced off against the Minnesota Wild. That series, which the Jets took 4-1, included outdoor street parties for the three home games, which organizers estimate were attended by 35,000 people.

The parties cost about $394,000, Economic Development Winnipeg said Thursday.

More parties are planned for the second round of the playoffs, as the Jets face the Nashville Predators, including whiteout viewing parties at Bell MTS Place for away games during the series.

Smedts expects to see fans back for Round 2. He said some have even started a superstition which involves going to his Kennedy Street diner to have a burger and drink before going to a game.

Business is also booming across the street from the diner, at Uptown Sports inside Portage Place Shopping Centre.

"It's been crazy. Whiteout crazy," said owner Rick Lefort.

'Our second Christmas' Lefort said sales are up in his store about 200 per cent over where they'd normally be, and everything in his store that's Jets related is a hot item right now.

"Everything is flying off the shelves, so anything white," he said.

"This is certainly our second Christmas. For us, basically, it's December again."

Because of the Jets craze downtown, some businesses — like coffee shop Thom Bargen, which opened two years ago on Kennedy — are staying open later during whiteout parties.

"It was great. You just saw so many more people downtown, and just with the door open, people just wandering in on their way there," said Alice Zador, a manager at the coffee shop.

And it's not just restaurants and retail businesses in the downtown core that have been bustling.

Many fans are parking on the outskirts of downtown at The Forks or in St. Boniface, and walking to see games or attend the whiteout parties, said Stefano Grande, the CEO of the Downtown Winnipeg BIZ.

"Clearly when you have 20,000 people on a street party in the core of our downtown, particularly the crowd that is sports-related, the crowd will come early, they will be entertained, they will go to the restaurants," he said.

"That's the whole rationale of our community pursuing an entertainment complex in our downtown. It just brings that energy to the core of our city and we're seeing that wisdom really paying off in spades this month."

Game 1 of the Jets-Predators series begins Friday night at 7 p.m. CT. The game at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena will be televised on CBC.

Canadian Press https://www.chrisd.ca/2018/04/27/winnipeg-jets-nashville-predators-game-1-win/

Hellebuyck Has 47 Saves as Jets Top Predators 4-1 in Game 1 of 2nd-Round Series

By Jim Diamond, The Canadian Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – It wasn’t their best, but thanks to Connor Hellebuyck, the Winnipeg Jets took the early series lead.

Hellebuyck made 47 saves to lead the Jets to a 4-1 victory over the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of their Western Conference semifinal matchup on Friday night. Nashville was the only team that finished ahead of the Jets in the standings in the regular season and Friday’s win shifts the home ice advantage to Winnipeg.

Despite putting 48 shots on Hellebuyck, Kevin Fiala’s third-period goal was the only one that eluded the Vezina Trophy finalist.

“We weren’t at our best, I’ll give you that,” Jets coach Paul Maurice said. “I think we can play better and I think we will as this series goes on, but we pay our goaltender too.”

Maurice and Hellebuyck both noted that many of Nashville’s chances came from outside the high-danger scoring areas.

“I thought the guys in front of me were allowing me to see shots,” Hellebuyck said. “They were blocking the ones they needed to block and our details were right. It’s just a product of how hard we’ve been working.”

Mark Scheifele scored twice for Winnipeg, while Brandon Tanev and Paul Stastny added goals as well.

The Predators know they need to convert in order to get back in the series.

“Yeah, I thought we played well,” said captain Roman Josi. “I thought we started well. We had a good first period and kind of followed it up. Like I said, we had a lot of shots, a lot of zone time. Now pucks have just got to go in.”

After shutting out Minnesota in the final two games in the first round, Hellebuyck’s shutout streak ended after 163 minutes.

Tanev scored the game’s first goal at 14:51 of the opening period.

After withstanding a strong Nashville push to begin the game, Bryan Little forced a turnover in the neutral zone and outbattled Predators defenceman Alexei Emelin in the right circle before sending a backhand pass toward Tanev at the left goal-post. The puck hit the stick of Nashville goaltender Pekka Rinne and Tanev tapped the rebound in for his second goal of the post- season.

Rinne is also a Vezina finalist.

Tanev’s goal was Winnipeg’s fourth and final shot in the first. Nashville put 20 shots on Hellebuyck in the period.

The Predators did not take any satisfaction from their dominance on the shot clock.

“Yeah, but we got to win hockey games,” said Predators coach Peter Laviolette. “I think you can hang your hat on that sometimes in the regular season when you’re talking about a process and the long haul and the big picture. But right now, you give me two choices on where to be, our game or their win, I’d take the win. It’s about winning hockey games right now. But like I said we’ll look at it and try to get better.”

Stastny doubled the Jets lead at 9:01 of the second.

Patrik Laine’s shot from the slot rang off of the mask of Rinne, a fellow Finn, and the rebound landed on Stastny’s tape outside the crease, where he put it by the fallen goaltender.

At 17:51 of the second, Scheifele made it 3-0.

Blake Wheeler was whistled for goaltender interference at 15:38, and late in that Nashville power play, Filip Forsberg had an opportunity to cut the Winnipeg lead in half with a one-timer from the left circle, but his shot rang off of the left post. Soon after, Wheeler led a rush into the Nashville zone and dropped a pass for Scheifele in the high slot, where he snapped a wrist shot by Rinne on the stick side.

“That’s always nice,” Hellebuyck said. “I guess that’s how hockey goes. You get a lucky bounce at one end and capitalize at the other. I guess that was the key tonight.”

Juuse Saros replaced Rinne at the start of the third period.

Fiala got Nashville on the scoreboard at 1:23 of the third.

From the right point, Ryan Ellis sent a pass to Kyle Turris at the right of the Winnipeg net and he made a one-touch pass to an unchecked Fiala in front for an easy tap in for his second playoff goal.

Ellis left the game on his next shift after getting cut when Ben Chiarot’s skate clipped him in the face near his left eye. After going to the dressing room for repairs, the defenceman returned midway through the period.

Scheifele added an empty-net goal in the final minute of the game. He has five goals in his past three games.

“It’s a game of inches sometimes, and we’re happy with the win,” Scheifele said. “We knew they were going to come out firing. We knew the fans were going to be loud, but it was an exciting game to be a part of, exciting game to listen to that crowd.”

NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/predators-not-worried-by-game-1-loss-to-jets/c-298307966

Predators not worried about Game 1 loss to Jets Outshot Winnipeg 48-19, felt they played 'one of our best' games of season by Dave Stubbs @Dave_Stubbs / NHL.com Columnist

NASHVILLE -- There was no worry in the Nashville Predators dressing room Friday, no matter the 4-1 loss to the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round.

"That's probably the best I've felt after being minus-3 in a game," defenseman P.K. Subban said. "I'll take it and move forward."

Across the room, center Ryan Johansen already had plans for Saturday that didn't include stewing about a home-ice loss, despite the Predators having outshot the Jets 48-19.

"I'm looking forward to hanging out with my dogs (on a) nice day, maybe take them to the park, then get back to work," Johansen said.

Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is here Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS).

This was a record-breaking night for each team.

The Predators' fourth shot of the third period was their 39th of the game, the most ever surrendered by the Jets in a 60-minute playoff game. Nashville's 20 first-period shots established its high for one period in the postseason.

Everyone in the Predators room after the game was talking about a performance that showed them dominant in shots, face-offs (66 percent won) and hits (29-22). No one was stressed about being on the short end of the only statistic that truly mattered.

"We're an upbeat group in here," said Subban, who played a game-high 28:24 and had five of the 48 shots on Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck. "If I'm being honest, that's the best game we've played probably of the playoffs and maybe one of our best of the year. The bounces didn't go our way. That's one we're OK (with). We'll all sleep well tonight and we'll be ready to go back at it on Sunday. There's no question how well we played tonight."

The loss wasn't a case, Subban said, of the Predators failing to take advantage of their opportunities.

"It's not even about being opportunistic. I don't think that's how you win championships in professional sports," he said. "You play the right way, and I think we played the right way tonight. We were fast, we were strong, we cycled the puck, we got pucks to the net. We did a lot of things. We hit, we hit early, I think we were first on a lot of pucks.

"For us right now, there's a few things we have to clean up, a couple of mistakes cost us, but bounces are going to happen in a hockey game, that's just the way it is. We'll be ready to go on Sunday. Let's do that for the rest of the series, we're going to be a happy bunch at the end of it."

Predators captain Roman Josi said they "did a pretty good job of shooting the puck. We had a lot of zone time trying to create chances."

Indeed, the Predators directed 87 pucks at Hellebuyck, with 26 blocked and another 13 missing the target.

"They played well," Josi said. "They have some big (defensemen), some big players. They protect the net pretty good … they played well defensively, and the goalie played well. I thought we started well, we had a good first period and kind of followed it up. The pucks just have to go in."

Johansen, already having shrugged off the result, said the Predators "can't let frustration creep in. You've just got to focus on your next shift. There's a lot of things that go on in a best-of-7 series. We'll look at the positives, the things we can do better, and move on from here. ... We have a smart group. We know how to handle situations, especially this one."

Forward Austin Watson, whose seven points (four goals, three assists) lead the Predators, was in the lineup after having missed Nashville's two practices before Game 1 with an undisclosed injury, but he played 4:09 in the first period before leaving for the night. His status should be updated Saturday.

Defenseman Ryan Ellis had a scare in the third period, nicked in the face by Winnipeg defenseman Ben Chiarot's skate. He left the ice bleeding but returned to the game soon after, appearing in the dressing room afterward with stitches in his left cheek.

Predators coach Peter Laviolette took just a little comfort from the confidence flowing from his players about a splendid performance that, at night's end, simply hadn't been rewarded.

"I think you can hang your hat on that sometimes in the regular season when you're talking about a process and a long haul and a big picture," he said. "But right now, if you give me two choices on where to be -- our game or their win -- I'd take the win. It's about winning hockey games right now. We'll look at it and try to get better." https://www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-nashville-predators-game-1-recap/c- 298305498?tid=297171692

Hellebuyck makes 47 saves, Jets top Predators in Game 1 Scheifele scores two goals for Winnipeg; Rinne pulled after second by Robby Stanley / NHL.com Correspondent

NASHVILLE -- Connor Hellebuyck made 47 saves for the Winnipeg Jets in a 4-1 win against the Nashville Predators in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round at Bridgestone Arena on Friday.

"I thought it was good," Hellebuyck said. "I thought the guys in front of me were allowing me to see shots. They were blocking ones they needed to block and our details were right. It's just a product of how hard we've been working."

Mark Scheifele had two goals, Blake Wheeler had two assists, and Brandon Tanev and Paul Stastny each scored for Winnipeg.

Kevin Fiala scored, and Pekka Rinne made 13 saves for Nashville.

"Yeah, I thought we played well," Predators defenseman Roman Josi said. "I thought we started well. We had a good first period and kind of followed it up. Like I said, we had a lot of shots, a lot of zone time. Now pucks have just got to go in."

Game 2 of the best-of-7 series is here Sunday.

Tanev gave the Jets a 1-0 lead at 14:51 of the first period, scoring on a rebound at the left post off an initial shot by Bryan Little.

Stastny made it 2-0 at 9:01 of the second period. After a scramble in front, Patrik Laine collected the loose puck and shot from the left circle, and Stastny got the rebound and scored into an open net.

"Opportunistic, for sure," Stastny said. "When you get your chances, you've got to score. We didn't get any power plays. Sometimes, when you get power plays, you feel the puck and you get more chances. When you don't, we had different lines kind of step up and make plays.

"But our goals were more simple plays. When we didn't make the simple plays and were trying to do too much, trying to feather on 2-on-1s or 3-on-2s or over passing a little bit, then we got in trouble. If you look at the ways we scored, we just went to the net and from there, created everything."

Scheifele extended the lead to 3-0 at 17:51 on a rush, taking a drop pass from Wheeler and beating Rinne blocker side from the high slot.

Juuse Saros replaced Rinne to start the third period and made two saves.

Fiala scored to cut it to 3-1 at 1:23 of the third period. It was the first goal Hellebuyck had allowed since Marcus Foligno scored for the Minnesota Wild at 18:23 of the second period in Game 3 of the first round (163:00).

Scheifele scored an empty-net goal with 36 seconds remaining to make it 4-1.

"We're an upbeat group in here," Nashville defenseman P.K. Subban said. "If I'm being honest, that's the best game we've played probably of the playoffs and maybe one of our best of the year. The bounces didn't go our way. That's one that we're OK (with). We'll all sleep well tonight and we'll be ready to go back at it on Sunday."

Goal of the game Scheifele's goal at 17:51 of the second period.

Save of the game Hellebuyck's save on at 16:17 of the third period.

Highlight of the game Stastny's goal at 9:01 of the second period.

They said it "Most of what was at our net was a heavy scrum, lots of plays within two or three feet of the net, which we'd like to clean up. But there certainly weren't a lot of odd-man rushes or things like that of a real high-risk nature. We weren't at our best, I'll give you that. We can play better, and I think we will as this series goes on. But we pay our goaltender, too." -- Jets coach Paul Maurice

"I think you can hang your hat on that sometimes in the regular season when you're talking about a process and a long haul and a big picture. But right now, if you give me two choices on where to be -- our game or their win -- I'd take the win. It's about winning hockey games right now. We'll look at it and try to get better." -- Predators coach Peter Laviolette on if they played their best game of the playoffs

Need to know Winnipeg won despite being outshot by 29 (48-19), the most since the defeated the in Game 5 of the 2016 Eastern Conference First Round (44- 11). … Hellebuyck set a Jets/Atlanta Thrashers record for most saves in a playoff game, passing Johan Hedberg (Game 2 of 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals) and Ondrej Pavelec (Game 2 of 2015 first round), who each made 37. … Jets defenseman Toby Enstrom (lower body) played his first game since March 23 and had two blocked shots in 18:05. … Predators forward Austin Watson left after the first period with an undisclosed injury. There was no update following the game.

What's next Game 2 of Western Conference Second Round at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS) https://www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-ride-connor-hellebuyck-to-game-1-win/c- 298308554?tid=297171692

Jets outshot, outplayed by Predators, ride Hellebuyck to Game 1 win Sets franchise record for most saves in playoff game with 47 by Tim Campbell @TimNHL / NHL.com Staff Writer

NASHVILLE -- Analysis will show how the Nashville Predators outshot, outchanced and outplayed the Winnipeg Jets in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round on Friday.

But in its 4-1 win, Winnipeg's trump card mattered more.

Connor Hellebuyck set a franchise playoff record with 47 saves, and the Jets struck first in the best-of-7 series that continues with Game 2 here Sunday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS).

Hellebuyck broke the record of 37, set by Johan Hedberg with the Thrashers in Game 2 of the 2007 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the , and matched by Ondrej Pavelec with the Jets in Game 2 of the 2015 Western First Round against the .

The Jets were winners despite being outshot 48-19. Nashville more than doubled Winnipeg in shot attempts, 87-39.

Jets defenseman Josh Morrissey said Game 1 was simply the way Hellebuyck has been all season (44-11-9, 2.36 goals-against average, .924 save percentage), when he set the NHL record for most wins by a United States-born goalie.

"His rebound control was excellent," Morrissey said. "He's been playing like that all year; nothing fazes him. He's just able to replicate that night after night so I think we have a little bit better to give in front of him, but he was outstanding."

Coach Paul Maurice said there was no question a better game will be required from the Jets in this series, but the Game 1 statistics didn't trouble him.

"We have to work a little harder," Maurice said. "I don't feel as overwhelmed as the stats should tell me I should. I'm usually pretty honest about that, I'm not trying to protect the group. It's their building, they had the jump early. They put an awful lot of pucks to the net from all over the ice. We can handle the net-front scrums a little bit better. I'm not worried about those stats."

Maurice said he didn't consider the game stolen by Hellebuyck.

"They put a lot of pucks to the net," he said. "But there certainly weren't a lot of odd-man rushes or things like that of the real high-risk nature. We weren't at our best, I'll give you that. We can play better and I think we will as this series goes on.

"But we pay our goaltender, too."

His goaltender, a Vezina Trophy finalist this season, was staked to a 1-0 lead thanks to a rebound goal by Brandon Tanev at 14:51 of the first period, when the Predators outshot the Jets 20-4.

Winnipeg had a 2-0 lead 9:01 into the second period on Paul Stastny's rebound goal. The shots at that point were 31-9.

Hellebuyck had one key second-chance save, on forward Miikka Salomaki at 16:17 of the third period, but even though the workload was high, the difficulty didn't match.

"We were playing right in our own end," Hellebuyck said. "I thought the guys were keeping them outside and allowing me to see shots. It goes a long way."

The Jets were the first team to be outshot by 29 shots or more and win a Stanley Cup Playoff game since the Philadelphia Flyers defeated the Washington Capitals in Game 5 of the 2016 Eastern Conference First Round (44-11).

Winnipeg forward Mark Scheifele, who scored two goals, the second into an empty net with 36 seconds remaining to make it 4-1 in the third period, also said he didn't consider the game stolen.

"There's no steals in playoffs," said Scheifele, who has six goals in six games this postseason. "If you win, you win. It wasn't pretty. It probably wasn't how we drew it up. But we got the win and that's the main focus.

"We knew they were going to come out hot ... they were going to have possession and [be] roaming around our [offensive] zone. But we did a good job of keeping them to the perimeter and [Hellebuyck] made a lot of big saves for us."

Kevin Fiala had Nashville's only goal 1:23 into the third period, ending Hellebuyck's playoff shutout streak at 163:00, dating to the second period of Game 3 of the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild.

Fiala's goal was the first allowed by the Jets in 183:00.

Jets captain Blake Wheeler said adjustments will be made for Game 2.

"We'll watch the tape," he said. "We can play better than that. We know that. We'll try to make some of those adjustments tomorrow and get a good night's rest tonight. Not every win is going to be exactly how you want it. We're happy to get the win and just look to improve every game."

SI.com https://www.si.com/nhl/2018/04/27/nhl-playoffs-jets-win-game-1-connor-hellebuyck

Connor Hellebuyck Stifles Predators, Jets Take Game 1

By TYLER HORKA

Nashville had almost everything in its favor Friday night. Home ice in front of a rowdy crowd and a sizable edge in shots on goal, but the Predators still let Game 1 of the Western Conference semifinals slip away to the visiting Winnipeg Jets, 4-1.

The Preds came out firing and held a 20-4 advantage in shots on net through 20 minutes. But they took a 1-0 deficit into the locker room after Brandon Tanev scored his second goal of the playoffs. Connor Hellebuyck, the Jets’ third-year netminder, stood on his head in the first frame—and he wouldn’t stop there. Nashville threw 16 more shots at Hellebuyck in the second, and he once again stopped them all.

Though the Jets only accumulated 16 shots in the first two periods, they tacked on two more goals in the middle frame. Like Tanev, Paul Stastny scored his second of the playoffs to give the Jets a 2-0 lead. Mark Scheifele netted his fifth late in the period to give Hellebuyck some breathing room entering the second intermission. He needed it.

The Predators continued to pepper Hellebuyck in the third, and they finally broke through early in the period on a beautiful display of passing. Kevin Fiala polished off the play with a slam dunk to bring the home team within two. That’s as close as it would get. Nashville’s momentum was thwarted a minute later when Ryan Ellis took a skate blade to the face in the attacking zone. An eerie echo came over the arena as Ellis grimaced on all fours and later headed straight to the locker room. He returned later in the period.

When Ellis got back into the game, the rink was still heavily tilted in Nashville’s favor. But the Preds simply couldn’t get anything by Hellebuyck. They pulled Juuse Saros, who replaced Pekka Rinne in the third, with around three minutes remaining and still couldn’t find twine. Scheifele raced down the ice to prevent an icing call against the Jets and rewarded himself with his second goal of the game, officially sealing a huge win at Bridgestone Arena.

Nashville finished with 48 shots on goal, more than doubling Winnipeg’s 19. Hellebuyck took over and did so in emphatic fashion, resulting in a stolen victory for the Jets and a 1-0 series lead. The two teams face off again in Nashville on Sunday. If Nashville brings similar energy, they should have better fortunes—unless Hellebuyck has anything to say about it, again.

WPG leads series 1-0 | Box Score | Full Recap

HIGHLIGHT OF THE NIGHT The Preds finally got on the board in a big way. Ryan Ellis, Kyle Turris, Kevin Fiala: Tic, Tac, Toe. A thing of beauty.

THREE STARS 1. Connor Hellebuyck, WPG — If a player could take all three stars of the game, Hellebuyck would deserve it. His 47 saves were the difference in this tilt. 2. Mark Scheifele, WPG — His empty-net goal dissipated any hope Nashville had at a miracle comeback. Scheifele's goal at the end of the second to give the Jets an insurmountable 3-0 lead was gigantic, too. 3. Dustin Byfuglien, WPG — Byfuglien led the Jets in ice time with 25:36 minutes played. He also paced his team with six hits, all while keeping a positive plus/minus.

Sportsnet.ca https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/jets-get-greasy-win-game-1-despite-predators-dominance/

Jets get greasy win in Game 1 despite Predators dominance

By Mark Spector

NASHVILLE — OK. So here’s Plan B.

Give ‘em the perimeter, protect the house, and score on the precious few chances we get. Then, later on, we’ll figure out how to play Game 2 without giving up another 48 shots on goal.

"It was," Winnipeg veteran Matt Hendricks surmised, "a greasy road win if ever there was one."

Greasy? You could fry a chicken in what happened here in Game 1 of this Central Division Final, as the Jets skulked out of Bridgestone Arena with a 4-1 win after being statistically bludgeoned for almost the entire 60 minutes.

Winnipeg won just 34 per cent of the faceoffs. They were outshot 48-19.

The shot attempts favoured Nashville 87-39. Over at the Corsica site, they had the Corsi 5×5 at 73 per cent for Nashville. The other 37 per cent of the time, the Jets were tossing the puck out of the zone and heading for a change.

Paul Maurice?

"I don’t feel as overwhelmed as the stats should tell me I should," said the Jets coach. "I’m usually pretty honest about that — I’m not trying to protect the group. They put an awful lot of pucks to the net from all over the ice.

"I’m not worried about those stats."

You know who might be? The Predators, who, you may recall, lost Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final last spring, allowing five Pittsburgh goals on just 12 shots. This had better not be a trend.

They say that a series doesn’t truly begin until the road team wins a game. Well, the other thing that begins only after such a win is the spin, which was flowing in the Nashville dressing room like draught beer on Broadway.

"If I’m being honest," began P.K. Subban, "that’s the best game we’ve probably played in the playoffs. Maybe one of our best of the year."

(Note: He said "If" he was being honest.)

"The bounces didn’t go our way and that’s one we’re OK (with). We’ll all sleep well tonight and we’ll be ready to go back at it on Sunday. There’s no question how well we played tonight."

And, this gem: "That’s probably the best I’ve felt after being minus-3 in a game."

The shots on goal were 20-4 when fourth-line winger Brandon Tanev tucked home a Bryan Little feed for a 1-0 Jets lead. The shots read 31-7 when Pekka Rinne robbed Patrik Laine on a loose puck chance, only to watch the rebound fall right on Paul Stastny’s tape for the 2-0 goal.

Nashville defenceman Roman Josi watched a couple of passes hop over his stick that would have been open-net chances. At 2-0, the Preds’ Filip Forsberg stared down a power play chance that he buries 19 times out of 20. He got all of a one-timer with the Jets net completely vacant, and the puck rang off the post.

Seconds later Mark Scheifele made it 3-0 for the Jets.

"A couple bounces here and there and this game definitely could have gone the other way," lamented Forsberg.

So, what REALLY happened here? How does Winnipeg win a road game in this building without having the puck even one-third of the game?

Well, give the Jets credit for having a solid Plan B. If they couldn’t control the puck, they said, "Fine, we’ll control the slot."

Winnipeg allowed a passel of shots from range, but almost zero second opportunities, tips, or shots through screens. They trusted Connor Hellebuyck to make every first save, and he trusted them to: A) Make sure he could see those shots; and B) clear the rebound.

"They’re a volume shooting team," Hendricks said. "They get a lot of pucks to the net and they have guys who find the dirty rebounds."

Nashville was allowed to execute the first half of that Hendricks quote, and denied the second half. And don’t think for a second the Predators don’t realize what happened here. They’ve been around. They know.

And the Jets? They also know that wins like this one have a shelf life.

At 3-1, Hellebuyck made a save with the shaft of his stick above his blocker, an age old sign of a goalie with a horseshoe stashed in an uncomfortable place. He lost a personal scoreless streak of 163 minutes early in the third period — 183 minutes for the Jets as a team (the backup played a period) — but no one is going to count on Forsberg to hit that post again in Game 2.

Those pucks will settle on Josi’s stick sooner than later, and 19 shots on net wins a playoff game, what, every ninth or tenth time?

Nashville coach Peter Laviolette knows all of that. But, alas it is little solace.

"Right now you give me two choices on where to be, our game or their win," he said. "I’d take the win." https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/patience-paying-off-winnipeg-jets/ (VIDEO LINK)

PATIENCE PAYING OFF WITH WINNIPEG JETS

Kevin Cheveldayoff’s plan was to build from within in hopes of building a Stanley Cup contender in Winnipeg. After missing the playoffs ownership extended both he and head coach Paul Maurice and it appears that patience has paid off. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/hellebuyck-playing-off-atmosphere-embracing- grind/ (VIDEO LINK)

HELLEBUYCK PLAYING OFF ATMOSPHERE, EMBRACING THE GRIND

Winnipeg Jets' Connor Hellebuyck chats with Scott Oake following his 47-save performance in game one against the Nashville Predators https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/scheifele-happy-win-jets-still-things-work/ (VIDEO LINK)

SCHEIFELE HAPPY WITH WIN BUT JETS STILL HAVE THINGS TO WORK ON

Mark Scheifele talked about COnnor Hellebuyck and the Jets overall in their win over the Predators to take Game 1 of their second round series.

TSN.ca https://www.tsn.ca/how-the-jets-grew-to-be-stanley-cup-contenders-1.1069834

How the Jets grew to be Stanley Cup contenders

By Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter

WINNIPEG — Kevin Cheveldayoff calls himself a farmer’s son.

Alex Cheveldayoff proudly harvested wheat and canola on the family farm in Blaine Lake, Sask., until his death in 1987.

Some 30 years later, Kevin is still growing something on the prairies as GM of the Winnipeg Jets.

The seeds were planted for the Jets to sprout into a Stanley Cup contender this very week four seasons ago when they were bounced from the first round of the 2015 playoffs by Anaheim.

The Jets experienced the first Winnipeg Whiteout in nearly two decades that spring, but Cheveldayoff was faced with a decision after being swept: double down and hope for more success or prune/chop it down and start over?

The answer, Cheveldayoff said, was clear.

“That was the tipping point. We could’ve gone either direction,” Cheveldayoff said. “It was crystal clear to me at that point in time, that [team] wasn’t going to be our path to try and win a Cup. We’d get older faster than we think and I didn’t think that’s the way the game was going.”

That choice – to get younger – required a series of difficult conversations.

First up was , the Jets’ chairman and part-owner, who was onboard. Next was coach Paul Maurice, who had only been on the job for a little over a season.

“We were actually pretty good in that series against Anaheim,” Maurice said. “We were tied or ahead something like 69 per cent of the time. But the day before I took the job, [Cheveldayoff] laid out these four years exactly. He said if this is something you want to do, we’re going to need to get real young, real fast. We’re going to live through it and build that way. He never wavered.”

There are few jobs more difficult than being a development coach in a results-oriented league.

“It was going to be painful,” Maurice says. “Nobody likes losing in Canada. People in the United States will say they don’t like to lose either, but it is different. Look at the scrutiny that the five teams had that didn’t make the playoffs this year.”

Maurice told Cheveldayoff he was all-in.

“I figured I’m 18 seasons into this now,” said Maurice, an NHL head coach since 1995. “I’d coached mainly the same kind of team. I don’t mind two years of this. [Bleep], I just went through 18 of them. I was aware I might not be around to see it through, but I was pretty confident. If you can survive it, you’d have a chance.”

There was no long-standing relationship between Cheveldayoff and Maurice then, no history beyond a few mutual friends around the league. Nonetheless, a partnership was born in 2015, a mutual trust rooted in a shared vision.

“My dad planted seeds in the ground,” Cheveldayoff says. “You know, sometimes you get more rain and sometimes you get more sun. But you have to have faith in what you do.”

****

Cheveldayoff’s faith was validated last week as the Jets saluted their raucous fans after the franchise’s first-ever playoff series win.

An unequaled 16 of the 22 players the Jets used to knock off the Minnesota Wild in five games were homegrown – either drafted by Cheveldayoff, signed as an undrafted college free agent, or inherited in the move from Atlanta.

That means only six of those players were acquired from other teams via trade or free agency: , , , , and .

No other team still standing in these Stanley Cup playoffs has fewer than nine players acquired from outside their organization. Even the Chicago Blackhawks, a team Cheveldayoff helped build as an assistant GM, brought in 11 players on the roster that first hoisted the Cup in 2010.

It might seem obvious that a patient approach through drafting and development is in vogue in today’s NHL, but it’s easy to forget that just a few years ago, hockey’s GMs were still spending like drunken sailors in free agency and dealing away draft picks like candy.

Those days are gone, with the NHL a decade behind the other major pro sports leagues’ trend of a greater emphasis on building from within.

Nonetheless, Cheveldayoff has been loudly criticized – particularly because he made only four trades over the four years before acquiring Stastny on deadline day this February.

“The noise is just noise,” Cheveldayoff says. “It's gotten easier over the years. You want to do well. I’m the biggest fan probably in Winnipeg. But you can’t think like a fan.

“Absolute support from ownership is critical. Because if you’re panicked and you are trying to save your job, there could be times you’re going to trade a young player for a veteran player that gives you instant gratification and you’re sitting there saying ‘What do I have to show for it?’”

That isn’t to say all of the chatter and pressure rolls off Cheveldayoff’s back.

When asked how he’s handled that noise, Cheveldayoff guided a reporter around the hallways of the Jets’ offices in the bowels of the arena to look at the photos on the walls of his first round draft picks since 2011.

There is Mark Scheifele, Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey, Nikolaj Ehlers, Kyle Connor and Patrik Laine in succession – all contributors on this playoff run.

Elite centre Scheifele and minute-eater Trouba came on in 2013-14. Ehlers burst on to the scene as a 19-year-old in 2015-16. Laine landed in Winnipeg in 2016-17 alongside newfound shutdown defenceman Morrissey. Connor joined the team this season and led NHL rookies in goals.

“You get a little lucky when you win the lottery and you get a special player like Laine,” says Cheveldayoff, whose Jets moved from No. 6 to No. 2 in the 2016 draft. “But then you have to play him, and Ehlers, and , and then with one year of pro. Oh, and by the way, we’re going to take and say, ‘Okay, you’re going to play.’”

Maurice met with Winnipeg’s veterans – including , , and , all of whom were transplanted from Atlanta – at the start of last season and explained that Hellebuyck would take the reins.

“He said, ‘Guys, I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do know we will be better the following year if we go down this path,’” Cheveldayoff recalled. “If you really look at the chronology of how this has all lined up, I firmly believe if we did not give Hellebuyck that opportunity last year he would not be the Hellebuyck of this year. If is our fourth-line centre for those two years instead of going back to junior, does he turn out the same way?

“You can’t just discount what happened prior.”

What happened prior is why the captain, Wheeler, was the critical sell in the process, according to Maurice.

Wheeler, now 31, re-signed with Winnipeg in 2013 on a six-year deal with a different path in mind. He envisioned future playoff success alongside teammates , , , and - all of whom would be heading out the door.

“I bought into that core group,” Wheeler says. “I believed that group was going to get us into the playoffs.”

Wheeler wasn’t sure he was ready to go the other direction and start all over again. Maurice said the Jets told Wheeler in 2015: “We really believe this is the fastest way to get you what you want.”

“You only have one career and you don’t know how many chances you’re going to get,” Wheeler says. “Even if I believe I’m going to play until I’m 40, the clock is ticking.

“The constant losing and watching the playoffs at home, that wears you out after a while. The last two years were really tough. But after last year, I was hopeful with the amount of talent we had. I felt like we were knocking on the door to being a really good team.”

Winnipeg’s average age dropped from 27 to 25 since their last playoff berth in 2015, but Wheeler personally shouldered a lot of the infusion of youth. He was the face of the veterans who had to answer the media during the bumpy transition as the Jets finished seventh and fifth in the Central Division.

“It was complete buy-in,” Maurice said of Wheeler. “We gave him a 22-year-old centre [in Scheifele] and a guy who could be in junior on his left wing [in Ehlers]. He’s a driver, he’s intense, he’s wired. He was able to flip a switch, talk to them differently. He hugged them when he needed to and he barked at them when he needed to. He was the guy for me that bridged the gap between the organization that knows what it needs to do and the veterans.”

The Jets’ most important player is glad he stayed. Traded by Peter Chiarelli four months before the Bruins ended a 39-year drought and lifted Lord Stanley, Wheeler has another shot now.

“It’s rewarding,” Wheeler says.

“For me,” Cheveldayoff says, “it’s about being able to look Wheeler, [Dustin] Byfuglien, [Bryan] Little, [Toby] Enstrom, those guys, in the eye and say ‘Hey, you believed in what we’re doing here. Look, it’s starting to come together.”

****

For a 114-point team, the 2017-18 season wasn’t as smooth for the Jets as the standings might suggest. The Jets lost Scheifele for 22 games, Trouba for 27, Enstrom for 39 and played the first-round against Minnesota without half of its top six defencemen.

“You’d think there would be a lot of backslapping, party hats and sticking it on cruise control,” Cheveldayoff says. “I honestly don’t think there’s been a time when I sat there and said, ‘Ooooh, this is good.’ It’s just so hard.”

Strangely enough, Cheveldayoff said one turning point came on the opening night of the regular season in the form of a 7-2 trouncing on home ice at the hands of the . Winnipeg was down five goals before they could muster a response.

“We got slapped right away,” Cheveldayoff said. “It was a humbling experience. I think that was a pretty clear indication it’s not going to be easy. It was a reminder, Game one or 82, you've got to earn it. The quicker you understand that, the better off you’ll be. The guys have stayed focused.”

That focus and consistency has been incredible for a team with 13 players under the age of 25 that faces a playoff-tested Nashville Predators team.

There will be those that say the Jets won’t be able to overcome Nashville’s significant edge in experience. This Predators core played 44 playoff games since the Jets last made the dance in 2015, including six on the biggest stage last spring in the Stanley Cup Final.

Win or lose against the Predators, the scary part for Nashville and the rest of the NHL is now that the Jets have blossomed into a true contender, their window to win is only just cracking open.

“We banged out 51 wins, but I’m not going to put a ceiling on our team,” Maurice said. “We’re still in the early part of this curve.”

Still a prairie boy at his roots, Cheveldayoff’s patience is finally paying off.

“I always think of a bamboo plant,” Cheveldayoff said. “They may not grow for a long, long period of time, but when they do they can literally grow feet overnight. You don’t see it grow, but it’s doing what it needs. A team is like that. It’s not like you can fertilize it more. It grows at its own rate.”

He’s bet the farm on it. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/the-panel-hellebuyck-jets-gut-out-game-1-road-win~1382064

The Panel: Hellebuyck, Jets gut out Game 1 road win

While they were outplayed in many parts of the game, the Jets were able to gut out a tough one on the road. The TSN Hockey panel has more on what Winnipeg did right, and how much Connor Hellebuyck's play helped push them to the victory. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/the-panel-first-goal-set-tone-for-jets~1382062

The Panel: First goal set tone for Jets

The Jets scored the first goal in their sixth straight playoff game. How important has it been for Winnipeg? Are the Preds maybe too overconfident? The TSN Hockey panel share their thoughts on that and more. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/mclennan-hellebuyck-was-the-best-player-on-the-ice~1382060

McLennan: Hellebuyck was the best player on the ice

Connor Hellebuyck made 47 saves in Game 1 against the Predators for the win. Jamie McLennan examines his performance, and explains what the Jets need to do to improve in Game 2.

The Athletic https://theathletic.com/333410/2018/04/28/lebrun-jets-role-players-step-up-again-this-time-in-a- matchup-that-could-be-key-to-knocking-off-predators/?redirected=1

LeBrun: Jets role players step up again, this time in a matchup that could be key to knocking off Predators

By Pierre LeBrun

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — As omens go, Brandon Tanev scoring the opening goal of the series Friday night could be quite a good one for the Winnipeg Jets.

With Nashville’s elite top four deployed as expected against Winnipeg’s top two lines, an area for the Jets to exploit in this delicious second-round series is whether their bottom two forward lines can produce some offence when the Predators’ third-pairing of Alexei Emelin and Matt Irwin are the ice.

In fact, I had tweeted just that mere minutes before Tanev opened the scoring 14:51 into the first period, and indeed it came with the Emelin-Irwin duo on the ice for Nashville.

Now, let me be clear, I’m not suggesting this is a bad defensive pairing. Not at all. But it’s just in comparison to the star-studded top four of Mattias Ekholm, P.K. Subban, Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis, the drop-off is noticeable.

If the Jets do end up winning this series, I really do think Winnipeg’s ability to get goals from its bottom six forwards overall but also specifically on Nashville’s third defence pair will be a relevant storyline.

And it will shine a light on guys like Tanev and Adam Lowry, players that Jets fan know all too well have been dynamite all season long, but now on the bigger national stage will open some eyes for new onlookers.

“I think we have a lot of guys that are able to step up and play that role that maybe gets underappreciated on a quick glance when you’re not maybe watching this team all the time,” top pairing blueliner Josh Morrissey said after Friday night’s 4-1 Game 1 victory. “Tanny is a guy who built for playoff hockey. He’s wiry, he’s got a ton of energy every shift. He gives energy to our team. He’ll dive in front of a shot with his face. I mean, he just plays with a real urgency to his game. He played great again tonight. Huge to get that goal. That’s him going to the net and getting his nose in there.”

Now, the fact the Jets didn’t get a single power-play opportunity on this night impacts the following, but it’s still worth pointing out that Lowry, Tanev and a very effective Bryan Little got more ice time than second-liners Nikolaj Ehlers, Paul Stastny and Patrik Laine.

The point is, on any given night, this team gets contributions from all over the place, not just the big names you see on the highlight reel.

“Well, it’s been our team all year, it’s what has given us success,” Jets captain Blake Wheeler said after the game. “It hasn’t just been Scheife’s line or even Stastny’s line now. We’ve really had a four-line attack all year. What’s great about that is the nights when maybe you don’t have it, pucks aren’t bouncing your way or what have you, Tanev scores a big goal or Lowry scores a big goal. You can go up and down the lineup.

“When you have that kind of depth, it takes so much pressure off your team. You can focus on your job and it’s not a burden you have to carry through every game.’”

Tanev and Lowry have embraced the challenge all year of playing against some of the league’s top forwards. Tanev totally endorsed the narrative that his line in this series can certainly make an impact and alleviate some of the offensive burden on the big boys.

“Absolutely. Our game starts in the defensive zone first, being trusted and confident in our own zone and doing the job against their top forward lines,” Tanev said after Friday’s game. “But at the same time, we know we’re good players who can help offensively and that just starts with having confidence in the offensive zone to hold onto the puck and make plays and capitalize on your chances.”

Lowry and Tanev have their third different linemate of the playoffs. They started with Andrew Copp (now centering the fourth line), then got Joel Armia (injured in Game 5 against Minnesota), and on this night got Little, normally a centre who shifted to right wing. I thought Little blended well with the Tanev/Lowry pairing.

Why the switch?

“A bunch of things,” said Jets head coach Paul Maurice. “Brandon’s played exceptionally well. It gives us left and right hand centremen in a line that has a bit of a shutdown role. I like the way they played, Bryan’s been an incredibly strong player in the playoffs for us. He’s played two or three different lines at centre. That was part of the idea, I wanted to give him the minutes. It just gives us a better chance to win.”

The acquisition of Stastny at the deadline bumped Little from a second-line centre role; Lowry’s shutdown line continues to ascend from what was once a fourth line but now clearly is a third unit. I like what Maurice has done here because he’s making sure Little doesn’t get lost in the shuffle and gets a role on a prominent trio.

There’s lots to shore up in their game, as being outshot 48-19 in Game 1 would attest, netminder Connor Hellebuyck outstanding yet again.

But that Tanev goal bodes awfully well perhaps for a Jets team looking to knock out the Presidents’ Trophy winners. https://theathletic.com/331322/2018/04/28/the-numbers-dont-tell-the-story-predators-didnt-lose- game-1-because-of-bad-luck/

The numbers don’t tell the story — Predators didn’t lose Game 1 because of bad luck

By Scott Burnside

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Let’s start with deconstructing the myth of Game 1 of this highly anticipated second-round playoff series between the NHL’s two top teams, the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets.

The Jets did not “steal” Game 1.

They did not “hang on” for a 4-1 win.

This was not a case of the Predators just not getting enough puck luck – although they certainly didn’t have much of that.

Yes, the stats seemed to support this narrative, supported the notion that this was a game the Predators could have just as easily won. Heck, some of the Preds players said they felt they played well enough to win, implying that they were somehow victimized by misfortune as opposed to losing to a team that was hungrier, more opportunistic and benefitted from superior goaltending.

The Predators out-shot Winnipeg 48-19 on Friday night. They had three power play opportunities and didn’t allow the Jets a single chance with the man advantage – a pretty remarkable feat given that only Philadelphia was assessed more minor penalties through the first round of the playoffs than the often undisciplined Predators.

In terms of shot attempts, Nashville likewise held a wide margin 87-39.

All of those stats were presented to Winnipeg head coach Paul Maurice as he was asked whether he felt the Jets stole this game.

Maurice paused.

He is a thoughtful man. Not prone to being argumentative or quarrelsome.

But, nope, he wasn’t buying it either.

“I don’t feel as overwhelmed as the stats tell me I should,” Maurice said. “I’m usually pretty honest about that, I’m not trying to protect the group. It’s their building, they had the jump early. They put an awful lot of pucks to the net from all over the ice. We can handle the net-front scrums a little better. I’m not worried about those stats.”

And why should Maurice be worried about the stats?

The only one that matters is the goals that the Jets scored, the first three coming on the fourth, ninth and 14th shots on net for Winnipeg.

When the third period started, Nashville starter and Vezina Trophy finalist Pekka Rinne was on the bench in favor of Juuse Saros. It marked the second time in seven games this spring that Rinne, who is expected to win his first Vezina in June, has been lifted.

“It was just to change it up, to go in a different direction, to send the game in a different direction,” Predators coach Peter Laviolette said.

That’s not the kind of move you make if you feel you’re running the other team off the ice but just not getting lucky.

The Predators did score early in the third period to make it 3-1 but couldn’t find another, so now, just 60-minutes into this one, the pressure builds on Nashville to even things up Sunday night before the series shifts to Winnipeg.

This series doesn’t just feature the top two teams during the regular season, it features two of the hardest barns for opposing teams to play in anywhere in the NHL.

The Predators, who went 28-9-4 at home during the regular season, have already lost two games at Bridgestone Arena this spring and are 2-2. By losing Game 1, they have ceded home ice advantage to Winnipeg, meaning, if they want to move on to a second straight Western Conference final, they’ll have to win at least once in Winnipeg, where the Jets won more home games than any other NHL team during the regular season (32).

They are 3-0 at home already this spring.

After earning their first-ever Presidents’ Trophy this season, the Predators have not moved seamlessly into playoff mode. They did enough at the right times to take a 2-0 series lead against Colorado and then, after being pushed to by the pesky Avs, produced their finest effort in a resounding Game 6 triumph in Denver.

And with the attendant hype that preceded Game 1 against Winnipeg, the Predators delivered a strong performance but one that lacked the necessary grease to produce goals — specifically, goals at critical times.

Brandon Tanev scores against Pekka Rinne in the first period of Game 1. (Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel/USA TODAY Sports) They out-shot Winnipeg 20-4 in the first period but trailed 1-0 after the first inning on a Brandon Tanev goal off a neutral zone turnover by Nashville.

And yes, Connor Hellebuyck was solid in turning aside 47 of 48 shots, but he saw most of what came his way.

There was little in the way of secondary chances for Nashville, as Winnipeg did a masterful job of clearing those chances away. Too often Nashville shots came from well out and without the attendant traffic that is necessary at this time of year for offensive success.

As Laviolette noted, coaches always want more traffic at this point of the season. That’s a given.

But not unlike Maurice, Laviolette didn’t subscribe to the notion that somehow his team was robbed of a victory on this night in spite of what might have been indicated on the final stats sheet.

“I think you can hang your hat on that sometimes in the regular season when you’re talking about a process and a long haul and a big picture. But right now, if you give me two choices on where to be, our game or their win, I’d take the win,” Laviolette said. “It’s about winning hockey games right now.”

One NHL executive noted that there were too many shifts for Nashville where nothing was happening and that is a big benefit to the road team. That’s especially true against an explosive team like Nashville. This executive also felt the big Winnipeg defense was able to handle the smaller Nashville forwards.

Dustin Byfuglien was a force on this night, clearing pucks and people away from Hellebuyck and the Winnipeg net in his own inimitable fashion.

“Nashville will have to get greasier than this if they expect to score,” he added.

Indeed that was the general consensus amongst Nashville players that this was simply about scoring, as if that is ever a simple thing at playoff time.

Few players saw this as an opportunity lost.

“I think you feel like that every time you lose a game in the playoffs it doesn’t really matter if you get out-shot or you out-shot the other team,” offered Filip Forsberg, who led all players with six shots on goal and was tied with Byfuglien with six hits.

Forsberg had a golden chance to make it 2-1 late in the second period but his one-timer from the left circle rang off the goal post. The Jets then carried the puck down the ice and Mark Scheifele beat Rinne stick side to make it 3-0 and effectively put the game away.

P.K. Subban, who led all players with 28:24 in ice time and was minus-3, put us in mind of Kevin Bacon in Animal House — all is well, all is well – in his postgame comments.

“We’re an upbeat group in here, if I’m being honest, that’s the best game we’ve probably played in the playoffs,” Subban said. “Maybe one of our best of the year. The bounces didn’t go our way and that’s one we’re OK (with). We’ll all sleep well tonight and we’ll be ready to go back at it on Sunday.”

The exuberant Nashville defender, who also had five shots on goal and nine shot attempts overall, insisted that, if they keep doing more of what they did Friday, everything will turn out OK.

“Let’s do that for the rest of the series, we’re going to be a happy bunch at the end of it,” Subban said.

The problem is that the Jets could say exactly the same thing and they’re already one-quarter of the way home. https://theathletic.com/325747/2018/04/27/ryan-johansen-is-no-stranger-to-questions-about-his- ability-to-be-the-man-finds-a-hockey-home-in-nashville/

Predators’ Ryan Johansen is no stranger to questions about his ability to be ‘the man’

By Scott Burnside

NASHVILLE – Take a picture of this, and think about it in the coming days.

Nashville center Ryan Johansen literally bonking heads with former Frank J. Selke Trophy winner Ryan Kesler in the face-off circle in the Western Conference final last year. The hockey equivalent of two full-grown mountain goats trying to buck each other off a snowcapped mountain peak.

At the end of the day, it was Johansen and the Predators who got the better of the Ducks, advancing to their first-ever Stanley Cup final after a particularly nasty six-game conference final.

For the Predators, it was another in a spring of firsts, of knocking other opponents from the mountaintop, of banishing long-present demons.

On a very personal level, the same can be said for Johansen.

The native, who grew up following the hometown Canucks and idolizing big center , would leave the series against the Ducks after Game 4, undergoing emergency surgery for acute compartment syndrome in his left thigh. The freak injury ended his season, and he watched on crutches as the Predators closed out Anaheim and then were bested in six games by Pittsburgh.

In a final series that was decided on a late Patric Hornqvist goal in Game 6 at Bridgestone Arena, would Johansen’s presence have altered the outcome, changed history? A moot point to be sure. But given Johansen’s inspired play in the postseason, it’s hard to imagine that, if he’s in the lineup, things don’t end exactly the same way.

Not that Johansen, just 25, thinks much about it.

“For me, you’ll never find out. You’ll never know. Nothing you can do. The only thing you can do is move forward and take all the positives you can from the playoffs,” Johansen told The Athletic on the eve of the Predators’ highly anticipated second-round series against the Winnipeg Jets, a series featuring the two top point-producing teams during the regular season.

“There were a lot of positive things that happened,” he said. “And just move forward and learn from it, and now we’re able to sit here and talk about starting the second round in next year’s playoffs. It’s a very eager time and anxious time for me to do what I can to try and get us back in that situation.”

Mike Johnston coached Johansen for Portland of the . Scouts would come to watch the lanky center, and Johnston would tell them not to look at the kid they saw losing the puck battles but to imagine him fully grown down the road. Indeed, by the time the 2010 draft rolled around, Johansen had gone from projecting as a late second to early third- round prospect to the fourth overall pick in the draft, selected by the .

It wasn’t just that his body hadn’t filled out that took scouts a while to come around but also that Johansen suffered from the same kind of skepticism that has dogged big centers for years in the National Hockey League. That they sometimes don’t look like they’re doing all that much.

“Those big guys, they have that look about them. Big lanky guys that jump into holes at the right time play a smart game, but they get that criticism,” Johnston noted.

It happened to Frank Mahovlich, Mario Lemieux, Thornton, too. Go down the list.

The skepticism was there for Johansen, too. It’s still there in some circles.

During the first round this spring as Nashville was pushed to six games by plucky Colorado, one NHL executive told The Athletic he had questions about the Predators’ depth down the middle and specifically if Johansen and Kyle Turris were up to the task of carrying them deep into the playoffs.

Another longtime NHLer and pro scout said Johansen has such a high skill set that he sometimes leaving you wanting more: “Can be dominant player when he chooses. Can be very effective in most situations yet his effort comes and goes,” the scout said. “If plays like a C1 (No. 1 center) in the playoffs then most teams (except Pittsburgh) will be hard pressed to match up with Nashville centers.”

Johansen doesn’t mind the questions. He’s heard them before, and he admits he’s had them himself.

In many ways, they were answered, or were at least beginning to be answered, not just in his literal head-to-head matchup against Kesler but in the first round against heavily-favored Chicago, whom the Predators swept. And then against St. Louis as the Predators advanced beyond the second round for the first time in franchise history.

“I guess looking back at it now, I felt like I took a big step as a player,” he said. “To me, that was my opportunity last year to … it was going to be the answer if I was the guy that could help get this team past the second round, if I was going to be that guy that could outplay [Jonathan] Toews and get past Chicago. So, there was a lot of question marks going into the playoffs if I could get that done.

“There’s going to be questions anytime you’ve never been in that situation. And for me it was, ‘Okay the Preds haven’t got passed the Blackhawks. And three-time Stanley Cup champ Jonathan Toews and Johansen are the two first-line centers. Who’s going to come out?’ And every single person in the hockey world said Chicago’s going to win that series. For me, that was a huge challenge. I took it head-on and just gave it my all. Now, as an individual and as a team, we surprised a lot of people, and we proved to everyone that we’re legit, and we’re here. And then you go on to the second round, and then it’s a team that’s never made it past the second round. Okay, was that one good series? ‘Can they keep going? Can he keep going?’ Then you close out that one, and we outplayed them for the most part, and then, obviously, in the Western finals, I got injured, but this team just had a mindset, and nothing was stopping us.”

Johnston likewise felt last spring was a statement time for Johansen. In fact, early in the Anaheim series, he sent Johansen a note praising him for having elevated his game at such an important time of the year.

His two-way game is very strong, Johnston said.

“He slows the game down to a degree at times,” not unlike Thornton, he added. “Their hockey IQ is very high. They read things, and they’re constantly thinking and reading.”

Johnston figures Johansen could shoot more, but that’s often a complaint of top playmakers.

“I think his pace has picked up over the years, which is good,” he said. “He’s matured a lot over the years.”

To understand the impact Johansen has had on the Predators, one first has to understand that the path from celebrated prospect to celebrated NHLer is a complicated one, sometimes filled with all kinds of detours and washed-out bridges.

After a couple of less-than-inspiring seasons to start his NHL career in Columbus, Johansen racked up 33 goals and 30 assists in 2013-14 to help the Blue Jackets to a rare playoff appearance. He followed up with 26 goals and 45 assists the following season, but things went off the rails in Columbus the following season. He had six goals and 20 assists in his first 38 games for the disappointing Blue Jackets.

I happened to be in Arizona in December 2015, when head coach John Tortorella made Johansen a healthy scratch, signaling at least publicly the beginning of the end for the man who was supposed to help lead the Blue Jackets out of the wilderness.

Even then, Johansen was gracious and polite in answering questions from the handful of reporters who waited for him after a long, post-practice skate that day in Glendale, Arizona.

He answered questions about the rumors of his possible move from Columbus and insisted he wanted to make it work in Ohio, to be part of the answer to the problems that plagued the franchise.

Less than three weeks later, Johansen was on his way to Nashville in an eye-popping deal that saw another fourth-overall pick, , go to Columbus. The two physically crossed paths as they traveled to their new homes; Jones ended up renting the apartment Johansen had rented in downtown Columbus.

Whatever questions dogged Johansen in his time in Columbus, about whether he was up to the task of being a No. 1 one center in the NHL, Nashville GM David Poile is unequivocal about Johansen’s importance to what the Predators have accomplished and what they might yet accomplish in the coming days.

“I think it’s like a lot of younger players; they all mature at different times. They get their consistency at different levels. I’ve seen tremendous growth in Ryan from the time that he’s been here both on and off the ice,” Poile told The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun in a conversation Thursday. “Again, could he or any player be a little bit more consistent? I guess the answer is yes. But in the two years we’ve had him, starting his third year with him in the playoffs, I’d have to give him an A-plus for how he’s played. I mean, the matchups are critical. All those things that go into winning a playoff series. I can’t imagine that we would have had anywhere near the success we had if we didn’t have Ryan Johansen. That’s with all due respect to who we traded. It’s just positionally we needed this so bad. And I just think Ryan is getting better and better and more consistent. So, we’re happy with what we got, and let’s see how it plays out this year.”

How happy? In late July, in spite of the thigh injury, Poile inked Johansen to an eight-year, $64 million contract extension.

Jody Shelley was a longtime NHLer who has evolved into an astute analyst covering the Blue Jackets. At the time, what the Blue Jackets needed from Johansen – a game-breaking top center who could turn the fortune of a game on his own and, by extension, turn the fortunes of a long-suffering franchise – wasn’t who Johansen was. Or, more to the point, it wasn’t who he was at that point in his career.

In Nashville, though, surrounded by top talent and big personalities like Roman Josi, P.K. Subban, Pekka Rinne and Filip Forsberg, Johansen might be in the perfect place to showcase his skills, Shelley said.

“He’s so skilled. He’s so talented,” Shelley said. “He’s so big, and he’s smart, and he’s got it all.

“The thing about him, he’s got the potential to lead the league, I think. He’s that guy. He’s got the potential to put up those numbers that are top five in the National Hockey League. Offensively, he sees things two steps ahead of everyone else.”

Coming off surgery and the signing of the big new deal, Johansen was part of a Predators team that rebounded from a trip to the final by winning the team’s first-ever Presidents’ Trophy. Johansen had a rather pedestrian 54-point campaign but picked up five points in six games in the first round of the playoffs.

Overall, he’s collected 32 points in 40 postseason games in his career.

The challenge, and perhaps the questions about meeting that challenge, will be even more pronounced in this series against the Jets. He is likely to square off against either Mark Scheifele or veteran Paul Stastny on the deep, physical Jets.

Not that Johansen shrinks from either the challenge or the questions.

“And now, I think looking back at last playoffs, I was definitely really happy with my game and knowing that I answered the bell, that there was a lot of questions surrounding if I was going to be able to achieve that,” he said. “For me, going through last year’s experience and stuff, now in the back of my mind, I have the confidence knowing that I’m able to go out there and outplay some of the best players in the world. For me just looking back to last year, I can use that as confidence moving forward in this year’s playoffs.”

The owner of two beloved English bulldogs, Doug and Dozer, and preparing for a wedding in a little over a year, Johansen has the feel of a player who has found his own personal comfort zone, has found a hockey home.

“Hundred percent. Just speaking for all the guys in this room, we feel so comfortable with each other and comfortable in our game plan and our system,” Johansen said. “I think it shows every time we take the ice as a team because we’re all when we’re successful we’re in sync. We’re all contributing. Everybody brings something to the table. I think I’m so lucky to be here with just this team we have right now and how the organization has put everyone together here. We feel like we got a team that’s going to have a lot of fun for many years. You can’t take these times for granted right now.”

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/wiebe-hellebuyck-will-have-to-outplay-rinne-for-jets-to- win-1.1070371

Wiebe: Hellebuyck will have to outplay Rinne for Jets to win

Ken Wiebe of the Winnipeg Sun joined Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph on the Afternoon Ride for a final preview of the second round series between the Jets and Predators. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/hellebuyck-stands-tall-as-jets-earn-game-1-win-over-preds/c- 298307158

Hellebuyck stands tall as Jets earn Game 1 win over Preds Jets lead best-of-seven series 1-0 by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - On many nights in the Music City, one doesn't have to go far to see stars perform.

On Friday night at Bridgestone Arena, Winnipeg Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck was that star.

The 24-year-old Vezina Trophy finalist made 47 saves to help the Jets secure a 4-1 win over the Nashville Predators in Game One of their Second Round Series.

"There's great difficulty in a lot of the saves, and finding the puck in those scrums, but he's built for that," said head coach Paul Maurice.

"He's a big man that moves well, and tracks well in traffic - especially close traffic. He's capable of that kind of game in that kind of environment. It's what he's good at."

Mark Scheifele scored twice (his fifth and sixth of the postseason), while Paul Stastny and Brandon Tanev added singles of their own.

Blake Wheeler - recently named a finalist for the Mark Messier Award - had two assists in the victory as well.

"We were prepared for a fast start out of them in their building," said Wheeler. "Early on you could tell they were going to fire everything at the net, from the point, even on the walls. Anything they got, any time and space, they were going to throw it at the net.

"(It) just made it important to stay on our guys, get a body between them and the net, and our goalie was swallowing most of those (rebounds) up."

Hellebuyck was on top of his game right from puck drop, as he stopped all 20 shots he faced in the opening period, another 16 in the second, and 11 more in the third.

His team was out shot in every period, but the NHL All-Star was appreciative of the work his team did in front of him, especially when it came to clearing second chance opportunities.

"I thought the guys in front of me were allowing me to see shots," said Hellebuyck. "They were blocking the ones they needed to block. Our details were right. It's a product of how hard we've been working.

"I was making saves tonight, that's for sure. It's tough to really get into this one because it's a long series ahead of us, and I know they're a great team over there and I know they're going to push back."

A workhorse shift from Bryan Little in the neutral zone helped move the puck into the Nashville zone. Little regained possession just inside the Predators blue line, and drove to the front of the net, holding off Alexei Emelin. When Little's backhander didn't beat Rinne, Tanev was at the side of the crease, and pounced on the rebound to put the Jets up 1-0.

Maurice liked what he saw from the Tanev, Little, and Adam Lowry line - especially with Joel Armia and Mathieu Perreault out of the line-up.

"Brandon has played exceptionally well," said Maurice. "It gives us left and right hand centremen on a line that has a bit of a shut down role. They came out of the game even.

"I liked the way they played. Bryan has been an incredibly strong player in the playoffs for us. I've moved him and he's played two or three different lines at centre. He continued that."

Near the midway point of the second, the Jets would increase the lead, and it would start 200 feet from the Nashville net.

Nikolaj Ehlers took the puck behind the Jets goal line, and flew up the ice, gaining the zone with possession, before stopping up near the bottom of the right wing circle. He sent a pass in front that found its way to Patrik Laine, whose initial shot was stopped by Rinne, but Stastny was there to bang home the rebound to make it 2-0 Jets.

Wheeler would be called for goaltender interference with 4:22 to go in the second, but the Jets captain would come out of the box with a vengeance following a strong penalty killing effort from his team.

Hopping out of the box, Wheeler took a short pass from Kyle Connor in the Jets zone, and flew up the ice in the Nashville zone. Wheeler dropped a pass for Scheifele in the high slot, and number 55 ripped it home, giving the Jets a 3-0 lead going into the third.

The goal came shortly after Nashville's Filip Forsberg ringed one off the post.

"That's what playoffs (are). It's a game of inches sometimes," said Scheifele. "It was big. Especially the first game in Nashville's building. We knew they were going to come out firing. We knew the fans were going to be loud. It was an exciting game to be part of, an exciting game to listen to that crowd. We're happy we got the win out of it."

Juuse Saros led the Predators out to start the third period, relieving Rinne, who had allowed three goals on 16 shots.

That gave Nashville a bit of jump to start the final frame. Kevin Fiala would get the home side on the scoreboard 1:23 into the period, when he tapped home a centring pass from Kyle Turris.

It was the first goal Hellebuyck had allowed since the second period of Game Three against the Minnesota Wild - a span of exactly 163 minutes.

But that's as close as the Predators would get, as Hellebuyck shut the door the rest of the way, and Scheifele added an empty net goal with less than a minute to go, finishing off the 4-1 win, and a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

"It's a good start. We've got more to give than that. We can play better, they're probably going to say the same thing," said Wheeler.

"We're looking for Game Two to be a little bit of a better game. Not every win is going to be how you draw it up. You just take them as they come, and try to get better every game."