Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/seventh-heaven-cant-wait- 482224703.html

Seventh heaven can't wait The Jets-Pred series has been a dead heat statistically. With a do-or-die Game 7 on the line, here are seven keys for a win

By: Jason Bell and Mike McIntyre

NASHVILLE — Most observers figured the playoff matchup of the NHL's top two teams in the regular season would go just pretty much as its transpired — a dead heat.

Just three points separated the Central Division rivals through 82 games during the 2017-18 campaign. The (53-18-11, 117 points) captured the Presidents' Trophy, which is awarded to the league's top regular season team, while the (52-20-10, 114 points) landed just three points back.

The squads went head-to-head five times, with the Jets taking a pair, including one in a shootout, and the Preds prevailing three times.

In their second-round post-season series, neither team has been able to piece together consecutive victories. The Jets got the early jump, earning a 4-1 triumph on the road at , but Nashville tied the series with a dramatic 5-4 double- win. Winnipeg rallied at home for a wild 7-4 victory in Game 3, only to get bottled up 48 hours later in an expertly executed Nashville game plan and a 2-1 decision for the visitors. Winnipeg exploded for a 6-2 win in Music City in Game 5 but was shut down completely at Bell MTS Place to the tune of 4-0 in Game 6.

So, here we are in Game 7, with a spot in the Western Conference final against the on the line.

The Predators will have a loud, boisterous crowd to spur them on, and have experience on their side, advancing all the way to the final a year ago before losing to the . But said Wednesday in Nashville that at this stage it's tough to consider any of those things an edge while offering up no predictions of what this final battle may bring.

"You know, these games have been played so many different ways that I can’t even venture to guess what that would be. There’s probably a long list of things that need to go well to be successful in a game. There’s a list of things, it could be anything. Specialty teams to goaltending to defence to offence, whatever it might be. You don’t know until you play, and especially in this series, I think the games have been so all over the map that you can’t really put a finger on it and just say, ‘If you just do this one thing, you’ll be fine.’ You try to play a complete game, focus in on that," he said.

Jets head coach said Wednesday there's a quiet confidence within his group.

"The message going forward is going to be the one that was delivered all year. There's no big speech or departure from our game. The important one that was delivered all year was enjoy what we do, to have the confidence that you're going to go out there and perform at your best and certainly your best effort. But to enjoy it, the whole part. The nerves before the game, the tension of the game, the excitement of the game. I think it's such an important thing. You can't be on pins and needles. You've got to feel good and be excited about it," Maurice said following practice in Winnipeg.

Maurice was at a loss to explain why the road teams have had so much success in this series, winning four out of six games.

"I think both are emotional buildings, lots of energy. You get a , you get a bit of a lead and sometimes you have an advantage in that. I do think the road team's game has been simpler than maybe the home team. There's not a lot of room for over-passing the puck in this series. It's got to be a pretty direct game," he said.

So it all comes down to this. If the Jets can achieve all or even most of these seven things, they'll likely come out on top:

1. Light the lamp first: Nashville has struck first in four of the six games, going 3-1. Winnipeg is 2-0 when they've been able to draw first blood. Both teams are so strong that falling behind early makes it difficult to come back, with the obvious exception of the wild Game 3 where the Jets trailed 3-0 before rallying to a 7-4 win. The early bird may, indeed, get the worm in Game 7.

Then again, let's not forget these squads can blitz at a moment's notice. The Jets scored three times in under five minutes in the second period of Game 5 Saturday en route to a 6-2 victory. Winnipeg finished second in goals-for (277) during the regular season, while the Preds were seventh (267). While there's reason to anticipate a defensive battle, don't be shocked if the heavy artillery makes some noise.

2. The 'Buyck stops here: Connor Hellebuyck has shown a remarkable calmness in the nets and has looked particularly sharp after a loss. He seems comfortable in Bridgestone Arena, so the Jets will be counting on the candidate to use his big frame to block the net, limit the rebounds and make life difficult for the Predators.

"The National Goaltending League is a little bit like that. Over the course of 82, if you have a guy who has a real good night and a guy who doesn't, you can pretty much predict the winner on that. So when you get to an elimination game... goaltending is everything in almost every game. You had lots of chances but didn't score it? The other was probably pretty good. You think you played really, really well but you had a couple of breakdowns that were in the back of your net? It's all about goaltending anyway. It always has been," Maurice said Wednesday.

3. Halt the Ryan express: Nashville's top line has been tremendous. Ryan Johansen is proving to be a dynamic two-way centre, while the incredible talent of Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson have repeatedly shined, especially in their Game 6 victory in Winnipeg. Winnipeg needs to find a way to keep the big horses in check and have their own top trio of , and Kyle Connor match them every step of the way.

4. Pick apart Pekka: Pekka Rinne bounced back from a nightmarish Game 5 with a rock-solid, 34-save shutout in Game 6. He's been up-and-down all series, including being pulled twice, so the Jets need to find a way to chip away at any confidence he's now feeling. Get traffic in front of him, get shots through from the and yes, an early goal or two would certainly help the cause. If not, it will likely be another long night at the office for Winnipeg.

"It's just the one game, so it's hard. When you think about Game 7, as a team, as an individual, you're just going to give it all and do your best and do it as a team and trust your teammates. I think that's the best formula and focus on your own team," Rinne said Wednesday.

OH, SO CLOSE! The numbers don't lie: Through the first six games of the series between the Jets and the Predators, it's simply too close to call in several categories:

Home wins: Jets 1, Predators 1 Away wins: Jets 2, Predators 2 Goals For: Jets 22, Predators 18 Even-strength shots: Jets 177, Predators 177 Even-strength attempts: Jets 338, Predators 338 Even-strength high-danger chances: Jets 66, Predators 65 PP %: Predators 4-for-15 (26.7%), Jets 4-for-18 (22.2%) PK %: Predators 14-for-18 (77.7%), Jets 11-for-15 (73.3%) Hits: Predators 144, Jets 141 Blocked shots: Jets 97, Predators 97 Faceoffs: Predators 52% (208-192), Jets 48% (192-208) Corsi For (5-on-5): Jets 50.00%, Predators 50.00% Corsi For (All situations): Predators 50.50%, Jets 49.50%

5. Shore up special teams: Winnipeg's power play, a major source of strength all season, was a big letdown in the Game 6 loss. The Jets had three first-period chances and generated little in the way of scoring opportunities. If anything, those six unproductive minutes marked a huge shift in momentum as the Predators got stronger by killing them all off. There may not be a lot of penalties called in Game 7, but the Jets must find a way to win the battle of special teams with cleaner zone entries, better puck possession and retrieval and plenty of shots at Rinne.

6. Go north, young men: At times, Winnipeg appears to have abandoned their typically successful north-sound game in favour of much more high-risk east-west play. Too much dipsy-doodling through the neutral zone, cross-ice passes that are easily intercepted and not enough straight line skating and puck movement. They're making it easy on Nashville to defend. And they have to find a way to get back to the type of game that works best for them.

7. Get a gruff, rough Buff: He was a beast in the first round against the and continued his onslaught in the first three games against Nashville — delivering punishing checks, wisely picking his spots for offensive rushes, policing the front of net and unleashing hard, accurate shots. He's the ultimate wild-card, a true game-changer unlike any other in the NHL who could single-handedly change the game if he's "on." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/ehlers-eager-to-dent-the-twine- 482232853.html

Ehlers eager to dent the twine

By: Mike McIntyre

After scoring 29 goals in the regular season, Winnipeg Jets winger Nikolaj Ehlers has yet to find the back of the net in the .

Patrik Laine wasted no time making his mark in the playoffs, lighting the lamp in each of his first two games against the Minnesota Wild in the first round. Kyle Connor had his big breakout moment earlier this series in leading his team to a big Game 5 victory over the Nashville Predators with a pair of goals and an assist.

Now the spotlight is shining bright on another young Winnipeg Jets star in Nikolaj Ehlers, who has yet to put a puck in the net through 10 post-season games after doing so 29 times during the regular season, which was third-best on the team behind Laine and Connor.

With the season on the line Thursday night in Tennessee, Ehlers is hoping his time is about to arrive.

"It’s all part of the NHL. Every player in here goes through a slump. I’m not calling this a slump, but everybody goes through a phase where you’re not scoring. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad player. It just means that they’re not going in for you right now, but you can still help this team win. And that’s what I’m trying to do," Ehlers said Wednesday following his team's practice before flying to Nashville.

Head coach Paul Maurice has bounced Ehlers around the lineup in recent games, looking to get the 22-year-old going. He was moved off his usual line with Laine and Paul Stastny up to the top unit with Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele for a stint. And he was moved down to a trio with Bryan Little and Joel Armia in Game 6 against the Predators.

"It’s not all about me. You know, coach puts me in where he thinks I can play at my best, with or without scoring. And I go in, I play with every single one of these guys throughout the last three years. So it doesn’t do anything to me. I’m going out there and playing the way I know I can. And try to help this team win. If that’s on the first or the third or the fourth or the second line, I don’t care," said Ehlers, who has chipped in with five assists.

"We’ve scored enough goals. I’m working out there every single day to get better. And that doesn’t mean I only get better by scoring five goals in the next four games. We’ve been scoring enough, I’m trying as hard as I can to help this team win. If it comes, it comes."

Winnipeg could certainly have used his offence in Game 6, when they were blanked 4-0 on home ice to force the winner-take-all showdown in Music City. The Jets went 0-for-4 on the power play, including three first-period chances when they were just down by a goal.

Ehlers said he's been trying to focus on all the other parts of his game during this drought. He scored just once in his final eight regular-season games as well, meaning he's scored once in his past 18 games. He's only taken 15 shots in 10 playoff games, down from his average of nearly three per game during the regular season (231 in 82 games).

"Do everything else right. Skate, play simple, play fast. Play good defensively. Everything. Play our game plan. That’s something, when it’s not going in for you, you can still play great games. But as a team I think we’ve played some really good hockey. And (Thursday) we have to do that again," said Ehlers.

It's worth noting Ehlers did miss Game 5 against Minnesota with either an injury or an ailment that neither the player nor Maurice were willing to talk about beyond calling it "malaise." Perhaps he's still battling something that could be impacting his play.

Maurice was asked Wednesday if Ehlers has more to offer than he's shown so far.

"This is true of all players... at times, yes. We're looking for a real heavy amount of consistency in that (Thursday)," he said, while cautioning it's about much more than hitting the scoresheet.

"The scoring of goals isn't the story of a player's game. So true in the playoffs and the team that wins the Stanley Cup is going to have two months of hockey, high-level hockey. Even just look at our month, the number of different players that have been the story. Connor (Hellebuyck) in games, Kyle Connor's big night, Brandon Tanev. Everybody, to get to where we need to, is going to have to share in writing part of that story," said Maurice.

"He hasn't scored yet. We think he can be a huge contributor to either the line scoring or the team winning. I don't look at that and judge a player's play by it. You know, we've had guys who maybe had off nights put the puck in the net and felt pretty good about themselves after. There's lots he can do to influence the game around scoring a goal, but for the individual, especially young players who are scorers, they come in feeling that's the best thing I can bring to the team, so he's looking for it."

As for moving Ehlers around to various lines, Maurice said it's not strictly performance-based.

"A number of those have nothing to do with him. Either the matchup we're running against or another player looking for a different look on one of your other two lines," he said.

Ehlers has played in elimination games before in junior and during his one pro season in Switzerland and said he's ready for the big challenge ahead.

"Extremely exciting. This is what we’ve worked for the last couple of years, and Game 7 is always exciting. Going out there, playing the way I know I can, do my best and skate as much as I can. We all know what needs to be done," said Ehlers.

"We stick with our game, we stick with our game plan, everyone sticks together. It’s how we need to play. We need to play our game, we need to play the way we have the whole year. If we can do that, we win games. This team is great (Nashville), but we know we can do it. And we’re ready for it." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/hartnell-more-to-preds-than-just-shift- disturber-482228353.html

Hartnell more to Preds than just shift disturber

By: Jason Bell

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The word annoying was used to describe Scott Hartnell following the Nashville Predators practice Wednesday afternoon.

To be clear, that was a totally unsolicited adjective, offered up by the veteran forward himself. Let's safely assume hundreds and hundreds of NHLers — present and past — over the last 18 seasons strongly agree with the assessment, likely with a few other choice words tossed in for colour.

A longtime shift disturber, Hartnell, 36, is expected to dress for his third game of the series Thursday when the Predators host the Winnipeg Jets in Game 7 of the Western Conference semifinal.

He's been held pointless in three games in the post-season but had an impact in Game 4, taking a couple of runs at Jets Dustin Byfuglien in Winnipeg and then flattening speedy Winnipeg winger Kyle Connor late in the second period of Game 6 at Bell MTS Place.

Incidents like those quickly make him a target, and that's exactly the kind of attention he desires.

"I think (being physical) wears on teams. It’s more annoying than anything. If you can make them think for a second that I’m on the ice or other guys that hit are on the ice, hopefully they can make some mistakes," said Hartnell. "When there’s a big hit, it gives your team a boost of energy.

"There’s nothing like giving a hit, a clean bodycheck. That’s part of the game, it’s always been and always will be. I’m sure it’s going to be a heavy, big Game 7 and I’m looking forward to that."

Preds centre Mike Fisher, injured in Game 6 in Winnipeg, is doubtful for the series finale. Hartnell was skating alongside centre Calle Jarnkrok and right-winger Ryan Hartman at practice at Centennial Sportsplex.

Hartnell said he's loving every minute of the intensity of the 2018 and is very familiar with the role he's expected to perform.

"Just play hard, play our hearts out. That’s what it’s all about, and making sure we’re on the right side of pucks defensively. (Jarnkrok) has great puck skills, he’s a smart player and can distribute the puck. And me and (Hartman) will be parking our asses right in front of the net," he said.

Hartnell, who grew up idolizing Bruins power foward , used to drop the gloves with regularity but those days are mostly over. He's directed his physical play to the areas deep in the offensive zone, where he can do the Preds some good without winding up taking needless penalties.

"I was very annoying when I started out. I've calmed down a little bit, I don't know if it's age or what. I just had a talk with (Hartman) making sure we're playing hard but playing smart," he said. "Discipline is probably the word of the day here."

This season has been a homecoming of sorts for Hartnell, who was selected by Nashville general manager in the first round (sixth overall) of the 2000 NHL Draft. That fall, he vaulted right from junior (Prince Albert Raiders) to the Predators lineup and would go on to play six full seasons in Music City, carving out an identity as a gritty agitator with a decent touch around the net.

The 6-2, 215-pound winger totalled 93 goals and 211 points in 436 games in his first stint with Nashville. From there, Hartnell spent seven seasons with the — playing for his current coach Peter Laviolette and scoring a career-high 37 goals in 2011-12. He then played three seasons with the , but had the remaining two years of his six-year, US$28.5-million contract bought out in June 2017.

Hartnell returned to Nashville after 10 seasons away, agreeing to a one-year, US$1-milliion contract offered by the same GM who drafted him.

"It was a no-brainer. I was a big fan of this team (in 2017) during their playoff run, watching the players and what they could do, and I felt I could bring value to that," said Hartnell. "This city has changed so much in the 10 years I've been gone. The passion for hockey, the love of the sport here, has gone through the roof, so I'm really excited about that."

Hartnell has played mostly fourth-line minutes this season and has added some supplementary scoring to a powerful Predators roster, firing 13 goals and adding 11 assists in 62 games during the regular season. He also registered 82 minutes, a testament to the fact the competitive fire still burns inside the Regina product.

Overall, he has 327 goals and 707 points in 1,249 career games, to go with 19 goals and 47 points in 98 playoff games. He also has more than 1,800 penalty minutes, placing him among the top 70 all time.

He came close to having his name carved on hallowed trophy in 2010, however, the Flyers fell in six games to the Blackhawks in the final.

An apprehensive teen when he walked into the Preds locker room for the first time in the fall of 2000, he recalled how teammates such as then- Tom Fitzgerald, Bill Houlder, Greg Johnson and Cliff Ronning made him immediately feel welcomed and helped him learn on the job.

"Those guys were all in their 30s and now 18 years later, it's me. I'm sure some young kids are looking at me, and I want to be that guy working hard every time I'm on the ice or in the gym, so they can learn from me," he said. "You pay it forward a little bit." https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/manitoba-moose/moose-at-risk-of-extinction- 482244093.html

Moose at risk of extinction

By: Mike McIntyre

Manitoba Moose Julian Melchiori battles with Rockford Icehogs Luke Johnson in front of goaltender Eric Comrie during the first period of their second round AHL playoff matchup.

The are on the brink of playoff elimination following a 4-1 loss Wednesday night in Rockford.

Manitoba now trails the best-of-seven second-round series 3-0 and must win four straight games if they wish to advance. Game 4 is set for Friday in Illinois.

Julian Melchiori gave the visitors the lead Wednesday with an early second-period goal, but the IceHogs responded with two in a 67-second span to take the lead into the final intermission.

Rockford made it 3-1 with just over six minutes left in the third, then sealed it with an empty- netter.

Moose goalie Eric Comrie stopped 37 shots in a losing effort.

Manitoba dropped the first two games at home last weekend by scores of 4-2 and 4-1, despite also opening the scoring in those games.

Rockford, the main affiliate of the , is 6-0 in the playoffs.

Moose rookie defenceman Sami Niku played Wednesday despite leaving Game 2 with an apparent upper-body injury following a big hit.

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-franchise-reaches-a-touchstone

FRIESEN: Jets franchise reaches a touchstone

By Paul Friesen

One by one, they strolled through the international departure level, many stopping to shake an eager fan’s hand or pose for a photo.

The odd cheer, the occasional “Go Jets go,” and a common “Good luck” sent them on their way.

The Winnipeg Jets left for Nashville, Wednesday, through Gate 4, Air charter flight 7017 carrying them – and they, in turn, carrying the hopes of a city and province.

The first Game 7 for this new version of the Jets will have ramifications beyond the final horn in Music City, Thursday.

We will talk about what happens in this game next year, for sure. We might even talk about it years from now.

The immediate impact will be enormous for players and coaches, alike.

Continue the chase for the Stanley Cup, or go home. Get ready for Vegas and the Conference Final – Game 1, Saturday night in Winnipeg — or pack up the equipment for the summer and forget about hockey for a while.

Talk about two extremes.

This is a franchise with a thin history, having reached milestones you only need one hand to count.

Selecting Mark Scheifele as its first draft pick was the first.

The draft lottery win that brought the gifts of , another.

That first playoff series win over Minnesota checked off another box that was dearly in need of checking off since the day , David Thomson and Gary Bettman combined to bring the NHL back to Winnipeg, seven years ago this month.

And now this, a touchstone moment, the most pressure-packed pro hockey can produce.

A moment that will begin to define this group of players. For youngsters like Scheifele, Laine, Kyle Connor, Nik Ehlers, Adam Lowry, Jacob Trouba, Josh Morrissey and Connor Hellebuyck, it’s the first chapter of whatever playoff legacy they’ll leave.

Either they’ll begin to build reputations as big-game players, or they won’t.

“If you start to think about that if you don’t win you’re out… you can’t think about that,” Laine said before leaving town. “Then you’re going to be scared on the ice, scared to do a mistake.”

Laine has a history of coolness under pressure, of scoring big goals in big games in international hockey and in the pro league in his native Finland.

He has just one goal in this series, three in 11 playoff games.

“I’m not nervous,” he said. “It’s just a great opportunity. Just try to enjoy this game as much as I can. It’s probably going to be nerve-wracking — well, not for us, but for the fans.”

If there’s some contradiction there, attribute it to the fact this is all new to the 20-year-old. He’s probably not sure how he’ll feel gripping his graphite, Thursday.

This moment can’t feel the same for Laine as it does for long-suffering vets like Blake Wheeler, Bryan Little, and Toby Enstrom. They’re running out of chances to get their names engraved on the Cup.

Perreault doesn’t have a great history in Stanley Cup Playoff Game 7’s, winless in the two he’s played in.

“Hopefully this can turn around,” he said. “This group of guys is probably the best I’ve played with.”

That’s not a light statement to make, as Perreault was part of a team loaded with stars like Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and Braden Holtby, not to mention an team that included Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and even Teemu Selanne.

Head coach Paul Maurice, who drew the most cheers at the airport, has worked longer and harder than any of his players without receiving the ultimate recognition of a job well done.

Like Perreault, Maurice the other day acknowledged this was, by far, the most talented team he’s ever had, and that includes one from Carolina he took to the Stanley Cup Final, a decade and a half ago.

He’s preaching simplicity in Game 7, though.

“The team that can play as close to their game as possible — their identity game — wins,” he said the other day. Faced with this team’s marquee moment, Maurice isn’t expecting to produce a burst of motivation for his players, Thursday.

“There’s no big speech or departure from our game,” the coach said, before his stroll through the airport, Wednesday. “The important one that was delivered all year was enjoy what we do… the whole part. The nerves before the game, the tension of the game, the excitement of the game.

“You can’t be on pins and needles.”

Even if the rest of the province is. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/maurice-predicts-ngl-showdown

Maurice predicts 'NGL' showdown

By Paul Friesen

It was one of the main stories going into the series, and it’ll be again in Game 7: Connor Hellebuyck vs Pekka Rinne.

You can’t always boil a game down to goaltending – but sometimes that’s exactly what it boils down to.

“The National Goaltending League,” is how Jets head coach Paul Maurice put it. “Over the course of 82 (games), if you have a guy who has a real good night and a guy who doesn’t, you can pretty much predict the winner on that.

So when you get to an elimination game… it’s all about goaltending anyway. It always has been.”

While the Jets’ Hellebuyck had outplayed Nashville’s Rinne through the majority of five games, Rinne stood the Jets on their ears in a Game 6 shutout.

“You had lots of chances but didn’t score? The other goaltender was probably pretty good,” Maurice said.

Rinne, 35, has the edge in experience, while Hellebuyck, 24, has a calm confidence that belies his age.

They’re both Vezina Trophy finalists as the NHL’s best at their position this season.

“Very happy to be in this position,” Rinne told reporters in Nashville, Wednesday. “Obviously, it was a huge win last game so this could happen.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/seven-of-the-most-memorable-game- 7s-in-nhl-history

With Jets and Preds set for showdown we look at seven of the most memorable Game 7s in NHL history

By Ted Wyman

NASHVILLE — It’s a tradition almost as old as the NHL itself.

Game 7 — One game to decide a hard-fought series. The winner goes on, the loser goes home.

It’s a game in which heroes and goats are made, reputations are earned and magical moments are created.

There have been 170 Game 7s played in the NHL since the very first in 1939 and so many of them stand out in the memory banks of Canadian fans.

Who doesn’t love a Game 7?

Well, maybe fans of the Winnipeg Jets don’t love this particular one. They certainly would have preferred to avoid it after having a chance to clinch their series against the Nashville Predators Monday night at Bell MTS Place.

But these are still the most fun games to watch, and a seventh game almost seems appropriate in this back-and-forth series between the two top regular-season teams in the NHL.

In honour of this momentous occasion — this is the first Game 7 in Jets 2.0 franchise history and the first involving a Winnipeg team since 1993 — we look back at seven of the most memorable Game 7s in the history of the NHL.

April 18, 1987, semifinal — 3, Washington Capitals 2 (4 OT) The last time a team from Winnipeg was in the second round of the playoffs was 31 years ago and in that same year the Islanders and Caps staged the longest Game 7 in history. The teams were tied for a total of 99 minutes until Pat LaFontaine finally scored on Capitals goalie Bob Mason in the fourth overtime. The goal came at 1:57 a.m., more than seven hours after the game began. Islanders goalie , a familiar face for Jets fans on ’s 2018 playoff coverage, made 73 saves for the Islanders.

May 13, 2013, Eastern Conference quarter-final — Boston 5, 4 (OT) Undoubtedly this is the most painful memory for a generation of Maple Leafs fans. Toronto led the game 4-1 with just over 10 minutes left in the third period, but the Bruins stormed back, scoring twice in the final two minutes to tie the score. Then Patrice Bergeron put the dagger in the hearts of the Leafs and their fans by scoring in overtime.

June 1, 2014, Western Conference final — 5, Chicago Blackhawks 4 (OT) In a game between the two teams which had won three of the last four Stanley Cups, defenceman Alec Martinez provided the most memorable moment. The Kings came from behind twice to tie the game and the two teams staged an epic battle late in the third period and into overtime. After five-plus minutes of breakneck action, Martinez scored to send the Kings into the Stanley Cup final, where they would sweep the .

May 10, 1979, Eastern Conference final — Canadiens 5, 4 (OT) Long before he was known for his flamboyant suits and strong opinions on Coach’s Corner, was best remembered for a too many men on the ice penalty that cost his team a chance to get to the Stanley Cup final. The Bruins were leading the Habs 4-3 late in the third period when they were handed a bench minor and Guy Lafleur scored on the power play to tie the game with 1:14 left. That set the stage for some heroics from Yvon Lambert, who scored at 9:33 of overtime to end it propel the Habs on their way to another Stanley Cup.

April 30, 1986, final — Flames 3, Oilers 2 Who can forget Steve Smith falling to the ice and burying his face in his gloves after scoring on his own goal and giving the Flames a lead they would not relinquish. It was the kind of a play a young player never lives down, a Bill Buckner moment that happened in the same year as the famous gaffe by the Boston Red Sox first baseman. The Oilers were the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions and were in the middle of a dynastic run when Smith shot the puck off Grant Fuhr’s leg and into his own net. The Flames went on to lose the Stanley Cup final to Montreal.

May 27, 1994, Wales Conference final, New York Rangers 2, 1 (2OT) Matteau! Matteau! That was the call as the Rangers took that memorable Game 7 on their way to winning their first Stanley Cup in 54 years. Stephane Matteau’s goal helped back up a famous guarantee by Rangers captain , who promised his team would win Game 6 in New Jersey just to force the Game 7. Messier had a hat trick in Game 6. The Rangers went on to beat the Canucks in the Stanley Cup Final in — you guessed it — seven games.

April 16, 1954, Stanley Cup Final, Red Wings 2, 1 (OT) Imagine a final between the two teams that had combined to win 13 of the last 14 Stanley Cups and it goes to seven games and then to overtime after that. The Canadiens came back from a 3-1 deficit to tie the series and the teams continued their battle into the extra period. That’s when one of the strangest overtime goals in history ended it. ’s floating shot from centre ice glanced off Canadiens defenceman and found its way into the net behind George McNeil 4:29 into overtime to give the Red Wings the championship. To this day it remains the last Stanley Cup Final Game 7 to be decided in overtime. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/we-could-be-heroes-those-likely-and- unlikely-to-make-game-7-statement

We could be heroes: Jets and Preds who are likely to make Game 7 statement

By Ted Wyman

NASHVILLE — In the long history of Game 7s in the NHL there have been many heroes and many who simply crumbled under the pressure of the situation.

Who will step up when the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators do battle one last time this post-season, with a berth in the Western Conference final on the line?

Will it be one of the many big names in a star-studded series, or will be it be one of the lesser lights?

Who will be squeezing the sticks too tight as the enormity of the one-game playoff weighs on his shoulders?

Here’s a look at the likely and unlikely heroes for Game 7, Thursday night at Bridgestone Arena.

THE LIKELY HEROES WINNIPEG JETS MARK SCHEIFELE It would be hard not to pick centre Mark Scheifele, who has scored five goals in the series and has nine in the playoffs. With Jets captain Blake Wheeler setting him up, Scheifele has been the trigger man for the Jets and if he has a strong performance in Game 7, both offensively and defensively in going up against Nashville’s top line, there’s a good chance Winnipeg comes out on top.

PATRIK LAINE He hasn’t had an incredible series or post-season but the 20-year-old winger can change games on a dime with his lightning-quick shot release. He had 44 goals in the regular season but has just three in the playoffs and only one in this series. He can get hot at any time and Game 7 would be just the right moment for the Jets.

CONNOR HELLEBUYCK The Jets goaltender was brilliant in two of the three previous games in Nashville, particularly in the first period. In Game 1 he stopped 20 shots in the first period and in Game 5 he stopped 15 as the Jets went on to 4-1 and 6-2 victories. He’s likely going to need to do something similar in Game 7 and if he can outplay Nashville’s Pekka Rinne, the Jets just might be moving on to the next round.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS FILIP FORSBERG The Martin Erat trade from 2013 just keeps paying dividends for the Predators. Forsberg is a strong, physical skilled winger who put his full talents on display in Game 6, scoring a pair of highlight reel goals. Forsberg is a difference-maker and his line with Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson has given the Jets fits all series.

P.K. SUBBAN He already has three goals in the series and leads the Predators in ice time, so you have to figure Subban will figure prominently in Game 7 as well. The physical defenceman can make a difference at both ends of the ice and played a key role in the Preds’ 4-0 shutout win over the Jets in Game 6. Subban has also been victimized by the Jets forwards a few times in the series but if he’s on his game, he can control the whole thing from the back end.

PEKKA RINNE It’s been an up and down series for the Vezina Trophy candidate, who was pulled in Game 1 and Game 5, but was excellent in Games 4 and 6. The question of which version of Rinne shows up for Game 7 will go a long way toward determining which team hosts the Golden Knights Saturday night.

THE UNLIKELY HEROES WINNIPEG JETS ADAM LOWRY He hasn’t scored a goal since Dec. 29, 2017, and Lowry is clearly due. What better time to break out than in a Game 7?

NIKOLAJ EHLERS He’s been moved from line to line as coach Paul Maurice tries to find some way to get him going in the playoffs. Ehlers had 29 regular-season goals but simply can’t find the net in the playoffs. It’s do-or-die time Thursday.

NASHVILLE PREDATORS NICK BONINO The Predators centre doesn’t have a point in the series, but he has a ton of big game experience, having won the last two Stanley Cups with the Pittsburgh Penguins and has played in five Game 7s in his career. These kinds of moments are why the Preds signed him.

SCOTT HARTNELL The 36-year-old rugged winger has provided a spark for the Predators already in this series. He was a healthy scratch for Games 1-3, helped them win Game 4, was scratched again for a Game 5 loss and was back in the lineup for a Game 6 shutout of the Jets. He has played four Game 7s in his career and has a goal and an assist and could play a surprisingly big role in this one. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/ehlers-staying-positivemaurice-not- preparing-a-big-speechfisher-questionable-for-game-7

Ehlers staying positive…Maurice not preparing a big speech…Fisher questionable for Game 7

By Ken Wiebe

NASHVILLE – Nikolaj Ehlers is running out of time for his prediction to come true.

Earlier this series, the Winnipeg Jets winger was in a joking mood when the topic of his goal- scoring drought was tabled during a scrum around his locker.

The affable Dane quickly interjected by saying he was saving for when it mattered most.

Well, that time has arrived, with a Game 7 against the Nashville Predators on the docket on Thursday at 7 p.m.

After producing a career-high 29 goals and 60 points during the regular season, Ehlers has gone 12 games without scoring – including all 11 in the post-season.

There have been the usual flashes of brilliant and speed bursts, but Ehlers hasn’t been as dangerous offensively, which prompted Jets head coach Paul Maurice to bump him down to the fourth line with Bryan Little and Joel Armia.

Jets captain Blake Wheeler said after Game 5 that the young guys on the roster have done a good job of staying positive when things weren’t coming easily offensively, that if they keep working hard, their chance to shine would come.

Much like Kyle Connor before him, Ehlers isn’t letting the slump get him down.

“It’s all part of the NHL. Every player in here goes through a slump,” said Ehlers. “I’m not calling this a slump, but everybody goes through a phase where you’re not scoring. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad player. It just means that they’re going in for you right now, but you can still help this team win. And that’s what I’m trying to do.

“We’ve scored enough goals. I’m working out there every single day to get better. And that doesn’t mean I only get better by scoring five goals in the next four games. We’ve been scoring enough, I’m trying as hard as I can to help this team win. If it comes, it comes. When it’s not going in for you, you can still play great games”

Ehlers showed a bit of frustration late in Monday’s 4-0 loss, throwing a big hit and getting involved in a skirmish with Predators defenceman P.K. Subban.

In order to get going offensively, Ehlers knows he needs to use his speed to generate opportunities for himself and others.

That’s his bread and butter.

Although he’s managed to chip in five assists, Ehlers has only 15 shots on goal in 10 playoff games, so getting a few more pucks on net would certainly help his cause.

Ehlers has played on three different lines this series, but bouncing around hasn’t been a reason for the dry spell.

“It’s not all about me,” said Ehlers. “You know, coach puts me in where he thinks I can play at my best – with or without scoring. I’ve played with every single one of these guys throughout the last three years. So it doesn’t do anything to me. I’m going out there and playing the way I know I can. And try to help this team win. If that’s on the first or the third or the fourth or the second line, I don’t care.”

Maurice was quick to jump to the defence of Ehlers when asked about his offensive struggles.

“Everybody, to get to where we need to, is going to have to share in writing part of that story,” said Maurice. “(Ehlers) hasn’t scored yet. We think he can be a huge contributor to either the line scoring or the team winning. I don’t look at that and judge a player’s play by it.

“We’ve had guys who maybe had off nights put the puck in the net and felt pretty good about themselves after. There’s lots he can do to influence the game around scoring a goal, but for the individual, especially young players who are scorers, they come in feeling that’s the best thing I can bring to the team, so he’s looking for it.”

MAURICE DOWNPLAYS PERFECT RECORD During his session with the media on Wednesday, Maurice was taking no solace in his 2-0 lifetime record in Game 7s during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

“None of those in this decade, I’ll point out,” said Maurice, who was also asked about motivational speeches prior to puck drop in moments like this one. “The game brings its own motivation. You’re not looking for anything out of the ordinary from your players. So you want to make sure you’re not necessarily out of the ordinary. You’ve got to know your team at this point. I’ve got a pretty good idea I know what I’m saying. That’ll be secondary to a certain kind of emotional level I’m trying to set in. It’s still an hour and a half before the puck drops so it won’t be … I haven’t been saving it, if that makes any sense. We’re not looking for that. As a matter of fact, most of these games don’t turn on extra emotion, they turn on simplicity to your own game.”

FIRST THINGS FIRST The Jets have scored first twice in this series and won both of those games and they’ve gone 1- 3 when allowing the first goal.

So, how would you measure the importance of scoring first in Game 7?

“I don’t know the answer to that because my take on it was in the games that you’ve won or you’ve lost, I think I got the chances 105-100 through the games,” said Maurice. “At the end of the day, being up a goal wasn’t enough to win you the game. There were some really good saves by both goalies, some missed opportunities by both teams. In any one of those games, you can stack up your offence and say we could have won that game.

“Clearly, one goal is all you need to win a game. But there’s been too much for both teams around the net to say that one is going to write the story.”

It might not write the story, but it figures to be an important part of it – since 75% of the teams that score first go on to win Game 7.

“We’ve played pretty good in the first period. Some of it has resulted in a lead, some of it hasn’t,” said Predators head coach Peter Laviolette. “You would rather have the lead, it allows you to play a different game. But some games we’ve come out and been able to get that goal, others we’ve played real well in the first and haven’t been able to.

“You’re always working toward that. Trying to score, trying to get it going in the first period, get a goal early.”

LINEUP QUESTIONS? The Jets aren’t expected to make any lineup changes for Game 7, but the Predators might be forced to if centre Mike Fisher can’t play.

Fisher left Monday’s game late in the first period and didn’t return, which means Ryan Hartman might draw back in after being a healthy scratch in Game 6.

The Predators are 2-0 in the series with Scott Hartnell in the lineup, so he’ll remain in the lineup.

If Fisher can’t play, Calle Jarnkrok would slide over to centre from the wing.\

ESPN.com http://www.espn.com/nhl/story/_/id/23460220/2018-stanley-cup-playoffs-nashville-predators- winnipeg-jets-x-factors-picks-experts-nhl

X factors, picks for Predators-Jets Game 7

By ESPN.com

Just one series in the conference semi-final round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs went to a Game 7; but, it's the series we all wanted to go seven games. To help get you prepared for what's set to transpire in Nashville on Thursday night, we convened our panel of writers for their thoughts on the game.

Who will be the X factor for Game 7 between the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets? Who will win the game?

Greg Wyshynski, senior NHL writer: My eyes are squarely on Mark Scheifele here. The Jets center is their leading playoff scorer (9-5-14 in 11 games), but there are a couple of trends that make him the X factor. When he scores, the Jets generally win: He has three goals and three assists in their three wins in the series. But in losses in Games 4 and 6 to Nashville, Scheifele didn't tally a point. He's also been gangbusters in Nashville during this series: five goals and two assists in three games. He's had at least a point in his last six games in Nashville, including the regular season.

However, my pick was Nashville before the series, and I'm sticking to it: Nash Vegas vs. Las Vegas in the Western Conference Final.

Emily Kaplan, national NHL reporter: Pekka Rinne is my X factor. The 35-year-old had a terrific regular season (he's the Vezina Trophy front-runner) but has been inconsistent these playoffs -- especially at home. In his last five games at Bridgestone Arena, Rinne is 2-3 with a 3.93 goals-against average and .872 save percentage. Rinne is, however, coming off his best game of the series with a 34-save shutout Game 6 win in Winnipeg. Neither team has been able to win more than one game in a row in this series, so if the Predators are going to buck that trend, they'll need Rinne to come up huge. And, by the way, I have faith he'll get it done. My prediction is the Predators, and I have a hunch this one is decided in overtime.

Chris Peters, hockey prospects writer: When Filip Forsberg is playing at the top of his game, nobody can stop him. Coming off of his incredible three-point performance that included his filthy between-the-legs goal, Forsberg is tied with Alex Ovechkin for top scorer in the playoffs among teams still alive, with 15 points. Nine of those points have come in this series. He has to have another big game in him to either put some goals on the board or free up some better matchups for others on the Preds. The bigger the threat Forsberg is, the more likely it is the Preds will win.

I'm picking the Predators for the win, though I expect a tight game. I think the home-ice advantage will finally come through, as the Nashville faithful should be good and riled up for the first ever Game 7 in Bridgestone Arena history. Additionally, I think that the 4-0 win in Winnipeg in Game 6 helped stabilize the reeling Preds after that crushing 6-2 loss in Game 5. They looked more themselves and now they have the chance to dictate some matchups more.

Ben Arledge, Insider NHL editor: How about ? The offensive catalyst has been quiet from the point throughout the playoffs so far, posting just five assists. He had six goals in last year's playoff run, and had 53 points this season. He had two points in Game 6, so he could feed off that in the final game of the series. It's time for the blueliner to get involved. From the other bench, I'd point to Patrik Laine to play X factor. He had 44 goals during the season, but has just three through 11 games during playoff action. I wouldn't be surprised to see the young Finn find the score sheet multiple times Thursday night.

As for the winner, I'm sticking with Winnipeg, even on the road. I think you'll see an offensive onslaught from the Jets, and I expect a good game from Connor Hellebuyck in net.

Sachin Chandan, ESPN the Magazine researcher: The X factor for me is Winnipeg's top pair of Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey. The Trouba-Morrissey pair has been called on to play heavy minutes and they've controlled play with a 58.4 Corsi for percentage at even strength. To put this into perspective, that's the best mark for a defensive pair since the Cup-winning -Brent Seabrook duo in 2015 (minimum 100 minutes of time on ice). The Jets don't back off the throttle either, as an unbelievable 65.8 percent of scoring chances are for the Jets when Trouba-Morrissey are defending a lead. Trouba-Morrissey have played crucial parts in each of Winnipeg's wins this series, and if they can do it again, I'm picking the Jets to continue this playoff run.

CBC.ca http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-jets-game-7-1.4655472

What will it take for Jets to thrash Predators? 3 retired hockey stars reflect on pressure of Game 7 Joe Daley, Laurie Boschman, Jennifer Botterill says Jets need to calm nerves, channel energy in must-win game

Austin Grabish · CBC News

The Winnipeg Jets will need to calm their nerves and channel their energy when they hit the ice in Nashville Thursday night, according to a trio of expert fans who have each felt the pressure of a must-win game.

"The coach can't say much more at this stage of this season than what he's said all season," said retired goaltender Joe Daley, who played for the Jets from 1972-1979.

"It's not going to be a pep talk or a rally. The players know the importance of the game."

It's a must-win game for the Jets, who are tied 3-3 in their second-round playoff series with the Nashville Predators. The winner of Thursday's game goes on to the Western Conference finals, while the season ends for the losing team.

Daley remembers how he felt in 1977 going into Game 7 in for the 's Avco Cup championship, which the Jets lost.

"Obviously you're nervous because you don't have a chance to recover if you lose."

The first goal in Game 7 will be the most important, he said.

'So many factors' in 7th game Laurie Boschman remembers the tremendous feeling coming out of the tunnel before a winner- takes-all game and the barrage of white he saw going out onto the ice.

"It's pretty outstanding," said Boschman, who played centre for the Jets from 1983-1990. "There's so many factors that can happen."

Looking back on his career and the series-ending games in which he played, Boschman said not much changes for players on the ice even though the stakes are high for fans.

"Our focus is pretty much on what brought you success and what brought you to this point, and there may be a tweak or two to the game plan but as a player, you're focused on just what you bring to your team in order to gain some success in order to win."

Channel nerves: Botterill For Jennifer Botterill, a retired three-time Olympic gold medallist with the Canadian women's hockey team, learning to channel nervousness into something productive is one of the things she credits with helping her thrive.

"I think back when myself and my team performed really well, it was sort of having a bit of that smile on your face even though it's super intense, it's super competitive," said Botterill, who is now a motivational speaker.

"I don't think at this stage of the season either a fan or a player is going to sit back and say, 'Aw, this is nothing.'"

That's a sentiment Daley agreed with.

"This is the greatest thing that's happening to them and certainly as a fan in Winnipeg, we're all very anxious and very nervous for the game, but we're probably more nervous than the players to be honest with you," he said.

The Winnipeg Jets take on the Nashville Predators for Game 7 at 7 p.m.CT Thursday. CBC TV will broadcast the final game in the second-round Western Conference series. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/jets-practice-game-7-predators-1.4655877

'So much on the line': Jets try to stay calm, enjoy the ride ahead of Game 7 against Preds Winnipeg's Ehlers, Laine look forward to what promises to be exciting bout in front of Nashville crowd

By Bryce Hoye · CBC

The Jets laced up the skates in Winnipeg on Wednesday in what they hope is just the final practice of their second-round playoff series — and not the season — as they head to Tennessee for Game 7 against the Predators.

The team is doing its best to remain calm ahead of the big bout in Nashville Thursday night, said Jets rookie winger and scoring machine Patrik Laine.

"I'm not nervous. It's just a great opportunity and just try to enjoy this game as much as I can," the 19-year-old told reporters after Wednesday's practice. "It's probably going to be nerve- racking for the fans."

The Jets were shut out 4-0 at home Monday in front of a sellout crowd at Bell MTS Place. Another 21,000 fans watched the game outside at the whiteout street party in downtown Winnipeg.

If the Jets win the second-round series, they'll have a shot at the first conference final in the city's history in the league.

But before that happens, Laine said he's focused on treating Game 7 like any other.

"It's just another game for all of us. If you start to think about 'if you don't win you're out' — you can't think about that, or else you're going to be scared on the ice and scared if you do a mistake.… You just have got to be confident and play without fears," he said calmly, though admitting the Jets are preparing for a fight from the Preds.

"So much on the line. It's going to be a tight one."

The Jets finished the regular season with the most home wins (32) in the league, while the Predators had a league-leading 25 wins on the road.

The Jets and Predators have each won twice on the road during the second round, with each taking a couple games by three or four goal leads. Game 1 saw the Jets soar to a 4-1 win in Nashville.

But Jets head coach Paul Maurice predicts fans on both sides can expect a closer game Thursday.

"My expectation is that tomorrow's game will look much more like Game 2," he said. The Predators won that game 5-4 in overtime.

Despite the pressure, it's "extremely exciting" to get to play in such a big game, said Jets left winger Nikolaj Ehlers, 22.

"This is what we've worked on the last couple years," he said. "It's going to be fun.

"We need to play our game, we need to play the way we have all year, and when we can do that we win games," he added. "I think we've played some really good hockey and tomorrow we've got to do that again."

Maurice said it's no secret both arenas are "emotional" and hard to play in for the away team, though he says he thinks the road team has had it "simpler than maybe the home team" during this round.

He said the final practice of the series Wednesday was about having fun — something he tried to instill long before the Jets' playoff run.

"The important [message] that was delivered all year is to enjoy what we do," he said.

"Enjoy it, the whole part: the nerves before the game, the tension of the game, the excitement of the game. It's such an important thing — you can't be on pins and needles, you've got to feel good."

The team was expected to catch a plane to Nashville Wednesday after practice and will face off against the Predators Thursday at 7 p.m. CT in Bridgestone Arena. The game will be broadcast on CBC TV.

Associated Press http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/bruins/2018/05/preds_jets_lean_heavily_on_rinne_hellebuy ck_in_game_7

Preds, Jets lean heavily on Rinne, Hellebuyck in Game 7

By Associated Press

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Predators goalie Pekka Rinne has years of postseason experience, including a couple Game 7s and a Stanley Cup Final.

Connor Hellebuyck has the Winnipeg Jets on the verge of their first Western Conference final in his first playoff appearance, and the best comparison he can make to the looming Game 7 in Nashville is playing for Hockey East championships back in college.

"I have yet to be scored on in one, so I like those odds," Hellebuyck said. "This has nothing to do with that. This is whole new level and you've just got to get into the game as much as you can."

Nobody has reflected the roller-coaster ride of this thrilling Western Conference semifinal between the NHL's top two teams in the regular season than their Vezina Trophy finalists. Rinne has been pulled from not one but two games — both on his own ice — before staving off elimination in Game 6 with his second shutout this postseason.

"When you think about Game 7, as a team, as an individual, you're just going to give it all and do your best and do it as a team and trust your teammates," Rinne said Wednesday. "I think that's the best formula and focus on your own team."

Hellebuyck's stats include a 2-1 record in Nashville in this series, which ends Thursday night (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN) in the only Game 7 of the second round this postseason. Hellebuyck gave up three goals in a 4-0 home loss Monday night , turning this into a winner-take-all game for the right to play Vegas in the conference final.

"We know it's all on the line, and nothing in the past is going to bother us," Hellebuyck said. "We can't let it. This is going to be the most fun game we're going to play and I think a lot of us are going to enjoy ourselves."

RESTED RINNE A Justin Timberlake concert Wednesday night pushed Game 7 to Thursday night, giving the 35- year-old Rinne two days of rest. During the regular season, the Predators goalie went 11-3 with a 1.99 goals-against average and .936 save percentage during the season when he got two days to rest between games. "It's nice to have that extra day," Rinne said.

EDGE IN EXPERIENCE The eventual Stanley Cup champion in each of the past five seasons has won a Game 7 along the way. This is the Predators' third Game 7. The Jets will become the 29th active NHL franchise to play a Game 7 on Thursday night. Nashville is among both the 14 teams to win their first Game 7 and the 10 who did that on the road, beating Anaheim in 2016 to clinch a first- round series.

Nashville coach Peter Laviolette, 5-2 in Game 7s, is one of only four NHL coaches to win a Game 7 in each of four different playoff rounds (, and ). He also has 20 Predators who have at least one Game 7 on their resume. Jets coach Paul Maurice is 2-0 himself, though only eight of his Jets have played in a Game 7.

RAZOR-THIN SERIES Nashville finished only three points (117) ahead of Winnipeg (114) for the Presidents' Trophy, and this series has been about as close as possible. The Jets have more goals (22-18), while Nashville has more shots on goal (217-213). But even-strength shot attempts are 338 apiece with each team blocking 97 shots. The Predators have only three more hits (144-141).

TOP LINE MATTERS Nashville's JOFA line of Ryan Johansen, Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson combined for eight points in keeping the Predators alive with a 4-0 win in Game 6. Winnipeg's top line of Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor and Mark Scheifele had eight points in Game 5.

"It's the final game for one team," Jets coach Paul Maurice said. "So, there's lot of emotion, lots of excitement. But there's definitely a calmness to it. There's a finality coming. It brings out the best I think."

THE DREAM GAME "Ever since I started playing hockey, I was five years old, you put yourself in that position where you play a Game 7 in the playoffs," Jets forward Mathieu Perrault said. "This is what we play for. So this should be the most fun we've had all year."

Canadian Press https://www.chrisd.ca/2018/05/09/jets-maurice-a-calmness-to-game-7s-as-winnipeg-prepares- to-face-nashville/

Jets’ Maurice: ‘A Calmness’ to Game 7s as Winnipeg Prepares to Face Nashville

By Joshua Clipperton, The Canadian Press

Anticipation, excitement and a fair amount of nerves are to be expected ahead of a Game 7.

That’s the easy part. Or least the predictable part.

But for Winnipeg Jets head coach Paul Maurice, something else lingers ahead of two opponents preparing to decide which will move on and which will head home.

“There’s absolutely a different feel,” he said. “It’s the final game for one team.

“There’s definitely a calmness to it. There’s a finality coming. It brings out the best.”

After a back-and-forth slugfest of a second-round series with the Nashville Predators where neither club has imposed its will for longer than a period or two, the Jets are looking to get back to their best, or close to it, on the road in Game 7 at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night.

“Simplicity,” Maurice added when asked what will finally decide the razor-thin margin. “The team that can play as close to their game as possible — their identity game — wins.”

That winner will take on the expansion Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference final, while the loser of the matchup featuring the NHL’s No. 1 and No. 2 teams this season will be left to pick up the pieces.

Winnipeg had an opportunity to clinch in Monday’s Game 6 only to fall 4-0 on home ice and send things back to Nashville all tied up.

The pressure has now swung back to the veteran Predators, who won the Presidents’ Trophy with 117 points and made last spring’s Stanley Cup final. The Jets were just three points back in the overall standings.

Both sides have failed to win consecutive games, and the two powerful home teams during the regular schedule own a middling 2-4 record through six second-round games.

The speedy, youthful Jets have looked unstoppable at times only to be brought back to earth by the battle-tested Predators each time they’ve nosed in front.

Winnipeg will need one more push to get to the city’s first conference final.

“We’ve been prepared well and done a good job of fixing the things we have to fix in a loss and throwing it away and starting fresh,” said centre Paul Stastny, the Jets’ most experienced Game 7 participant with three under his belt. “No one likes to lose, no one likes to be around guys when you’re losing.

“We’ve done a good job of not getting too high or too low after games and always focusing on the next one.”

Nashville comes in with far more pedigree in Game 7s after playing two in the 2016 playoffs. Predators centre Nick Bonino has suited up in five throughout his career, while defenceman P.K Subban and veteran forward Mike Fisher — a question mark after getting hurt in Game 6 — have taken part in four apiece.

This will be the first Game 7 for the Jets/ Thrashers, who moved to Winnipeg in 2011. The old Jets last played a Game 7 in 1992, losing to Vancouver before bolting for Phoenix to become the Coyotes four years later.

Only four players expected see action on Thursday for Winnipeg have played in a Game 7, while Nashville could have 16 or more.

“I’m glad our guys have some experience, I’m glad they’ve got some scars on them,” said Predators head coach Peter Laviolette, who has 5-2 record in Game 7s. “Scars make you a little bit tougher.

“But at the end of the day it still comes down to those 60 minutes”

For the Jets to come out on top, it would be helpful if one or more of their young guns showed up.

Patrik Laine, Kyle Connor and Nikolaj Ehlers have combined for three goals and nine assists in the series, but have all faded in and out of the action at various points.

The lightning-quick Ehlers has struggled to get through a congested neutral zone, while Laine and Connor have probably deserved passing grades for their performances.

“(Ehlers has) got to get back to relaxing in terms of his expectations of every time he touches the puck something’s going to happen,” Maurice said. “In playoffs that rarely happens.”

Maurice is a perfect 2-0 in Game 7s — both came on the road if Jets fans are looking for a good omen — but he also knows these winner-take-all affairs will test both coach and player.

“Game 7 is a different animal,” he said. “Everything is focused on that.

“They’re the most fun.”

The Tennessean https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2018/05/09/nashville-predators- winnipeg-jets-game-7-rexrode-preview-laviolette/592932002/

For Predators and Jets, everything in one unpredictable night

By Joe Rexrode, USA TODAY NETWORK

A rematch of last year’s Stanley Cup Final was officially ruled out Monday night, though not in the way many expected – it was the Pittsburgh Penguins eliminated at home by the Washington Capitals while the Predators kept their season alive with a win at Winnipeg.

And then it was Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice invoking those two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Penguins after his Jets lost 4-0 to the Predators in Game 6 of the Western Conference semifinals. His point is a good one to keep in mind as Nashville prepares to host a Game 7 for the first time because there is no information available that can hint reliably at Thursday’s outcome in Bridgestone Arena.

“They’ve learned all those lessons you’re supposed to learn — killer instinct — all those words that come out today that we didn’t get,” Maurice said of the Penguins. “And they lost. It’s playoff hockey.”

And Game 7 is the pinnacle of Stanley Cup playoff hockey, a gift to all who love sports and, in this series especially, a great unknown. We know the winner of Thursday’s game will go on to play the Vegas Golden Knights in the conference finals for the right to represent the West in the Stanley Cup Final. We know the loser will fall well short of a realistic goal of winning it all, and that a playoff system that has the top two teams in the regular season meeting in the second round will be rued in one of these two cities while the other celebrates.

We just don’t know how this thing will go on the ice. Experience is in the Predators’ favor. The core of this team won the first Game 7 in franchise history, two years ago in the first round at Anaheim, then lost Game 7 at San Jose in the next round. This is new territory for the Jets’ nucleus of young stars. Nineteen Predators have Game 7 experience, a combined total of 44 games of it. For the Jets, it’s five players, 10 games.

But as Maurice pointed out in downplaying intangibles after Winnipeg’s Game 6 failure, it’s playoff hockey. No prior experience guarantees any result. The fact that Maurice is 2-0 all-time as a head coach in Game 7s is not going to win a puck battle in the corner or finally help star forward Patrik Laine solve Pekka Rinne. The fact that Predators coach Peter Laviolette is 5-2 all-time in Game 7s will not spring center Kyle Turris to a breakout game or prevent a weird bounce off the boards.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” Laviolette said of his team’s postseason wisdom edge. “The team that plays the best probably will have the best chance of being successful. I’m glad our guys have some experience. I’m glad they’ve got some scars on them. I think scars make you a little bit tougher. But at the end of the day it still comes down to those 60 minutes.”

And for as hard as the Predators fought all season for the Presidents’ Trophy and home-ice advantage in a situation just like this, it’s less of a comfort now that they’ve split six home games in these playoffs.

The Jets have outscored the Predators 14-8 at Bridgestone and blasted them 6-2 in Saturday’s Game 5 surprise twist to set up another one Monday. These teams play in perhaps the two best and most imposing buildings in the league, yet in this series they’ve often played aggressive and free on the road, tight and tense at home.

Now Nashville must deliver a second straight outstanding performance – for the first time in this postseason – to advance. Simple and sound are the ways to be.

And the Predators must handle emotion. They were all over the Jets for the first 25 minutes Saturday but couldn’t get the puck past Connor Hellebuyck, and when the Jets finally opened the scoring it was like the Predators lost their heads and forgot their structure and discipline. It got out of hand fast.

There was some talk of that Wednesday after the Predators’ practice at Centennial Sportsplex, with center Ryan Johansen saying of the need to keep it together at Bridgestone: “It’s hard to stay level and keep your emotions in check – you’ve got some famous singer doing the anthem and you’ve got all this hype, and you want to go out there and score a goal. You want to play offense. But you’ve got to make sure you’re doing all the right things away from the puck and on the defensive side. I think that might be a reason we haven’t played as strongly at home.” https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2018/05/09/predators-vs-jets-game-7- western-conference-finals-pekka-rinne-mike-fisher/591909002/

Predators vs. Jets: 5 questions heading into Game 7

By David Ammenheuser, USA TODAY NETWORK

The Predators host the Winnipeg Jets in the seventh and deciding game of their NHL Western Conference semifinal playoff series on Thursday at Bridgestone Arena. Here are five questions that will be answered in the game:

A first for the Predators? Thursday's game marks the first time in the Predators' 20-year franchise history that they've hosted a seventh and deciding game of a playoff series.

This is the Predators' 18th playoff series. Only two previous series went the full seven games — a Nashville opening-round series win against Anaheim in 2016 that was won on the Ducks' home ice and then their next series, a seventh-game loss at San Jose.

Will the visiting streak end? The visiting teams have won the past three games in this series and four of the six games played. Winnipeg won Game 1 (4-1) and Game 5 (6-2) at Bridgestone Arena, while the Predators won Games 4 (2-1) and 6 (4-0) in Manitoba.

Which Pekka Rinne performs? Goaltender Pekka Rinne has been consistently inconsistent in the six games against the Jets. He has a 1.46 goals-against average in the three Predators wins; he has a 5.80-goals against average in the three Predators' losses.

Will Mike Fisher play? Center Mike Fisher suffered an undisclosed injury in the opening minutes of Game 6 on Monday. We might not know until game time if he's available.

Lone survivor? The Predators have the opportunity to be the only NHL team to advance to the conference finals in 2017 and 2018. A year ago, Nashville beat Anaheim in the Western Conference finals, while Pittsburgh ousted in the Eastern Conference. This year, the Predators-Jets winner will face the Vegas Golden Knights for the Western title, while Washington and Tampa Bay meet for the Eastern Conference title. https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2018/05/09/predators-vs-jets-game-7- nhl-playoffs-nashville-winnipeg-mike-fisher-injury-roman-josi/589509002/

Predators vs. Jets: 3 things to watch in Game 7 of NHL second-round playoff series

By Adam Vingan, USA TODAY NETWORK

Here are three things to watch as the Predators prepare for Game 7 of their second-round playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday (7 p.m., NBC SN/102.5-FM):

It all comes down to this This series was destined for seven games. The Predators and Jets have alternated victories, neither team able to wrest control from the other. As a result, Bridgestone Arena will host its first Game 7 on Thursday.

There have been 170 previous Game 7s in Stanley Cup playoff history. The home team has won 100 times, but home-ice advantage has meant little to the Predators and Jets. Winnipeg has outscored Nashville 14-8 in winning two of three at Bridgestone Arena, highlighting the unpredictability of this series.

"The games have been played so many different ways that I can't even venture to guess what (Game 7) might be," Predators coach Peter Laviolette said.

The Predators, unlike the Jets, have been here before. They split two Game 7s in 2016, though they're not resting on that experience.

"I'm glad our guys have some experience," Laviolette said. "I'm glad they've got some scars on them. I think scars make you a little bit tougher. But at the end of the day, it still comes down to those 60 minutes."

Score first, then clamp down Through six games, shots (177-177) and attempts (338-338) are deadlocked at even strength, with the Jets holding the slightest edge in high-danger attempts (66-65) according to naturalstattrick.com.

What else did you expect from the NHL's best two teams?

"It's a really tight series," Predators captain Roman Josi said. "Even the games where the score doesn't really show it, they're all tight games. They could've gone either way."

The Predators need to reproduce their efforts from Games 4 and 6, when their stifling defense frustrated the Jets.

That requires them to score first and play with a lead, which they haven’t done much at home. In three games at Nashville, the Jets have held a lead for 52.5 percent of the total game time compared to the Predators’ 15.6 percent.

"You look at all our wins, it's more of us executing our game plan and playing more of a complete game," Predators defenseman Ryan Ellis said. "It's hard to do. The other team's a really good team. But for us to be successful, we're going to have to do that."

Will Mike Fisher play? Predators center Mike Fisher, who took five shifts Monday before exiting the team's Game 6 win, didn't practice Wednesday. The Predators did not provide an update on his status.

Calle Jarnkrok centered the fourth forward line in Fisher's place with Scott Hartnell and Ryan Hartman on his wings. They shared the ice at even strength for 19 seconds during the regular season, but Jarnkrok and Hartnell previously found success as linemates.

"(Jarnkrok's) got great puck skills," Hartnell said. "He's a very smart player. He can distribute the puck. Me and (Hartman) will be parking our (butts) in front of the net. Hopefully we can contribute, and we're looking to."

The Hockey News http://www.thehockeynews.com/news/article/under-maurice-s-guidance-jets-approaching-game- 7-as-if-it-was-any-other-outing

UNDER MAURICE’S GUIDANCE, JETS APPROACHING GAME 7 AS IF IT WAS ANY OTHER OUTING

By: Jared Clinton

Paul Maurice has been here before. Not with this team, mind you, but he’s seen Game 7.

Back during the 2008-09 campaign, Maurice stood watch over a young club, albeit one a touch older than his current Winnipeg Jets group, and led them to Game 7 victories in the first round over the uber-experienced New Jersey Devils before dispatching of the Bruins in Game 7 of the second round, this two seasons before many from that same Boston group went on to win the Stanley Cup. But the thing about those two winner-take-all post-season victories, as Maurice wittily noted just hours before the Jets boarded a plane and headed to Nashville for a series- and potentially season-deciding contest against the Predators, is they come with a qualifier.

“None of those (wins) in this decade,” Maurice said of his perfect Game 7 record in the NHL.

He will, of course, have an opportunity to coach a team to a Game 7 victory for the first time in nine years when his Jets square off against the Predators on Thursday evening. Doing so, however, is going to require Winnipeg to play a more straightforward game, one that’s more about doing what’s effective than it is making it look pretty.

As we’ve seen throughout the back-and-forth six-game series, the game’s opening goal has been crucial, particularly when it’s been scored by a Nashville team that has appeared content to fluster and frustrate their younger opponents by clogging the neutral zone and buying into playing as a five-man defensive unit. Oddly enough, though, in a series between two teams with 60 combined wins on home ice, it’s been the road team who has often been able to remove the flash from their game and emerge victorious. Winnipeg has taken Games 1 and 5 at the Bridgestone Arena, while Nashville won Games 4 and 6 at Bell MTS Place.

“Both are emotional buildings, lots of energy,” Maurice said. “You get a goal or you get a little bit of a lead and sometimes you have the advantage in that I do think that the road team’s game has been simpler than maybe the home team. There’s not a lot of room for over-passing the puck in this series. It has to be a pretty direct game.”

The trading of road wins is only one of the patterns in this series, however. Also of note is how razor-thin the overall separation between the two teams has been, as well as the fact no team has been able win consecutive games in this series. After Winnipeg stole the aforementioned series opener on the road, the Predators and Jets traded victories on through Game 6, which has us arriving at the seventh game. Playing a part in that is that both clubs have been quick to forget their stumbles — Pekka Rinne has twice shrugged off being pulled, while the Jets managed to shake off an overtime defeat and broke through one near-shutout with a six-goal outburst.

“It’s really gone back and forth throughout the whole series with teams forgetting the last game,” Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba said. “That’s something we talked before the playoffs even started, how momentum doesn’t really carry forward between games. It’s a fresh game, new slate.”

And it seems that’s exactly how the Jets, who have a combined 12 games of Game 7 experience on the roster, are approaching the win-or-go-home affair. Asked about Game 7, Nikolaj Ehlers called the opportunity exciting. Trouba added that it’s not a situation everyone gets to experience during their career. And Patrik Laine said the approach, as it has been throughout the playoffs, is that of any other game, even if this one might mean a whole lot more when it comes to the fate of the Jets this season.

“It’s just another game for all of us,” Laine said. “It is something to think about, that if you don’t win you’re out. But you can’t think about that because then you’re going to be scared on the ice, scared if you make a mistake or something like that. You have to be confident and play without fear.”

So, with that said, as Maurice and his Jets ride into the third Game 7 of the coach’s NHL career, what’s the big message? Well, to hear Maurice tell it, there is none, and the attitude of approaching it with excitement — the same excitement they’ve had going into every single playoff game thus far — goes right up to the top.

“There’s no big speech or departure from our game,” Maurice said. “The important one that was delivered all year was to enjoy what we do, have the confidence that you’re going to go out, perform at your best and certainly (give) your best effort. But to enjoy it. The whole part. The nerves before the game, tension of the game, excitement of the game. I think it’s such an important thing. You can’t be on pins and needles. You have to feel good and be excited about it.”

NBC Sports https://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/05/09/home-ice-hasnt-been-huge-advantage-for-predators-jets/

Home ice hasn’t been huge advantage for Predators, Jets

By James O'Brien

NHL teams grind through an 82-game season to make the playoffs, but also to try to gain home- ice advantage, particularly if a Game 7 is needed.

Sometimes playing in front of a roaring crowd, getting that home cooking and the final change (plus a friendly call or two, depending upon who you ask) makes a big difference. Through six games of Jets – Predators, the edge has instead seemed negligible. So far, each team is 1-2 at home during this series.

We’ll find out on Thursday if that will remain the same when the two teams battle in Game 7 in Nashville.

(Game 7 airs at 8 p.m. ET on NBCSN Thursday.)

Here are a few considerations going into that Game 7, from home-road stats to hypotheses.

Louder than a jet engine Going into this series, much has been made about how loud things could get between spirited fans in Winnipeg and Nashville. Sometimes it came down to splitting hairs and counting decibels. also made an offer for a friendly wager with .

High decibel levels could create some positive energy for the Predators, who’ve really benefited from scoring early goals in this series (erm, aside from that squandered 3-0 lead). Then again, such energy could also help the Jets stay aggressive, which would be to their advantage as it seems like they’ve thrived when the action is faster and more end-to-end.

But, yeah, it could be really loud. There also will probably be catfish and maybe a wild offensive lineman or two.

Good Pekka/bad Pekka During the Predators’ run to the 2017 Stanley Cup Final, Rinne was all-world in Nashville and closer to a backup on the road:

Rinne in 11 games at home during 2017 run: 9-2 record, ridiculous .951 save percentage even without a shutout. Rinne in 11 road games during 2017 run: 5-6 record, .905 save percentage despite two shutouts.

(Excuse Predators fans if they’re having bad flashbacks of some of those championship round struggles in Pittsburgh.)

Anyway, that home-road disparity has strangely flipped in 2017-18. Rinne was quite good at home during the regular season (25-6-2, .919 save percentage, three shutouts), yet was astounding on the road (17-7-2, .937 save percentage, five shutouts). While it’s naturally a smaller sample size through two rounds of the postseason, that pattern’s only become more pronounced during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs:

Rinne in six home games during this current run: 3-3, Scott Darling-like .881 save percentage, no shutouts. Rinne in six road games during current run: 4-2, .933 save percentage, two shutouts.

Steady as Hellebuyck While there’s been quite a difference between Home Rinne and Road Rinne, Connor Hellebuyck‘s been surprisingly steady. The American-born netminder’s home save percentage is .922 and his road mark is .923 so far in the postseason. There’s not much of a difference in home/road play during the larger sample size of the regular season, either.

Maybe the stakes will break Hellebuyck’s steady, sometimes creepy-looking focus, yet so far he’s been as reliable as a modern goalie can be (and he could really make himself some cash with a strong Game 7, considering his pending RFA status).

*shudder*

Human nature In some ways, the Jets theoretically enjoyed a great officiating advantage, subjectively, in Game 6 for a simple reason: refs will sometimes feel pressured to “let them play” in a Game 7 situation. Whether mistakes were made or not, the Jets received four power-play opportunities in Game 6 while Nashville only enjoyed one. It’s difficult to imagine so many calls being made with both teams’ seasons on the line.

If you ask me, there’s nothing really nefarious about the way thousands of loud fans might affect officials, even if it’s on more of an unconscious level. That human-nature edge could very well be nullified by officials leaning toward not making calls.

But, much like how an early goal one way or another might affect the noise levels at Bridgestone Arena, early calls may signal what kind of night will be in store. If officials are being pretty objective about calling infractions when they see them, then home ice could be that little edge that moves the needle for Nashville.

***

Great players or even mere clutch performances can silence a crowd in a hurry or bring them to their feet.

Game 7 between the Predators and Jets would be fun anywhere, whether it happened at a neutral site or an outdoor frozen pond. It’s actually taking place in Nashville, which should make for a fun atmosphere and also another interesting narrative: will “Smashville” help the Predators break through to the 2018 Western Conference Final?

NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/nashville-ready-for-game-7-between-predators-jets/c- 298545158?tid=297171692

Nashville ready for Game 7 between Predators, Jets City abuzz with trip to Western Conference Final on the line by Mike Zeisberger @zeisberger / NHL.com Staff Writer

NASHVILLE -- Though it was 30 hours before puck drop, workers already were installing extra barriers around Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday in anticipation of the thousands of fans who will clog Broadway to watch Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators on big screens.

In the souvenir trucks on the adjoining plaza, merchants eagerly awaited the arrival of new T- shirts with "PRINCE FILIP OF FORSBERG" on the front. Near the arena entrance, a small plane sporting Jets and logos is a dented and crumpled mess, the result of having been constantly crushed with a lead mallet by Predators fans throughout the Western Conference Second Round.

Everywhere you look, Nashville is doing what Nashville does best: getting ready to hold a party of epic proportions.

For the first time in their history, the Predators will host a Game 7 when they play the Jets on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS). Home-ice advantage is Nashville's reward for winning the Presidents' Trophy with 117 points (53-18-11), three more than Winnipeg (52-20- 10).

It hasn't been much of an advantage in this series so far though. The road team is 4-2. The Jets have won twice in Nashville, including 6-2 in Game 5.

"I think it's just two good teams that have won on the road," Predators defenseman P.K. Subban said. "Being on the road is a different mentality. We have to look at it like it's a road game. We can't let our emotions get too high off our crowd and just focus on what we need to do: take care of the puck, take care of our own zone, play solid defense."

No team has won consecutive games, an indication of just what a fierce, tight battle the series has been.

There is little to separate the Predators and Jets. At 5-on-5, for example, there is a one-goal difference between the two (Predators 12-11). In shots on goal through six games, the margin is four (Predators 217-213).

When it comes to the two coaches, the difference is marginal as well. Nashville's Peter Laviolette is 5-2 in Game 7s in his NHL career; Winnipeg's Paul Maurice is 2-0.

Laviolette is one of four coaches in NHL history who has won a Game 7 in each of the four rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs (Pat Burns, Mike Keenan and John Tortorella are the others). His most memorable victory came as coach of the Carolina Hurricanes on June 19, 2006, when they defeated the 3-1 in Game 7 of the Final to win the Stanley Cup.

Even with such a playoff pedigree, Laviolette feels neither team has an edge this time around. Nor does he know what to expect.

"These games have been played so many different ways that I can't even venture to guess what that would be," Laviolette said. "There's probably a long list of things that need to go well to be successful in a game. There's a list of things, it could be anything. Specialty teams to goaltending to defense to offense, whatever it might be.

"You don't know until you play, and especially in this series, I think the games have been so all over the map that you can't really put a finger on it and just say, 'If you just do this one thing, you'll be fine.' You try to play a complete game, focus in on that."

Laviolette has the last change Thursday, but he isn't one to constantly fret about matchups.

Nashville's top line of Ryan Johansen (three goals, five assists), Filip Forsberg (three goals, six assists) and Viktor Arvidsson (three goals, three assists) has combined for 23 points in the series. That hasn't stopped Laviolette from using them in a defensive role at times against some of Winnipeg's best players, like Mark Scheifele and Patrik Laine.

"I'm comfortable in using them in almost any situation that comes up," Laviolette said.

If the Predators defeat the Jets, workers said the street barriers will stay up for Game 1 of the Western Conference Final against the Vegas Golden Knights on Saturday.

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves though," one of them said as he was maneuvering one of the steel fences into place.

Indeed, in a series that's been too close to call, it's better to assume nothing. https://www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-goalie-connor-hellebuyck-ready-for-game-7/c- 298544080?tid=297171692

Hellebuyck calm entering Game 7 for Jets against Predators Goalie focused with trip to Western Conference Final on line by Tim Campbell @TimNHL / NHL.com Staff Writer

WINNIPEG -- Connor Hellebuyck will play the biggest game of his NHL career Thursday, but he is unfazed by the moment. As a matter of fact, he can't wait for it to arrive.

"Calm before the storm," the Winnipeg Jets goalie said Wednesday about Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS). "You can tell everyone's excited and we're all just waiting, patiently waiting for it."

Calm might be the perfect word to describe what Hellebuyck has brought all season and what the Jets will need in the first Game 7 in Winnipeg/Atlanta Thrashers history.

"He's done a great job with that all year," Jets defenseman Jacob Trouba said. "It seems like every good goalie has that kind of mentality, to let things roll off your shoulders when it's not going their way, and when they're on, it's not too exciting, just kind of another day. He's got that great attitude and a great mentality and I'm sure he's going to be great tomorrow."

Hellebuyck would certainly like to turn the page on a 4-0 loss at home in Game 6 on Monday. With a chance to eliminate the Predators, Hellebuyck allowed three goals on 28 shots, including one by Viktor Arvidsson 1:02 into the game.

The series has featured bounce-back performances, including between Vezina Trophy finalists Hellebuyck and Predators goalie Pekka Rinne. Neither team has won consecutive games, and for Hellebuyck, playing in his second Stanley Cup Playoff series, dealing with the momentum changes within games and from game to game has been his biggest challenge.

"We have a good group in here, one that realizes there are going to be some momentum swings" Hellebuyck said. "We got down by three in one game (a 7-4 win in Game 3) and we weren't fazed. We just continued to play our game and all of a sudden it was going our way. The momentum swings can be big and it's who can handle it the best."

Jets coach Paul Maurice said Hellebuyck and Rinne will likely decide which team advances to play the Vegas Golden Knights in the Western Conference Final.

"The National Goaltending League is a little bit like that," Maurice said. "Over the course of 82 (games), if you have a guy who has a real good night and a guy who doesn't, you can pretty much predict the winner on that.

"So when you get to an elimination game ... goaltending is everything in almost every game. You had lots of chances but didn't score it? The other goaltender was probably pretty good. You think you played really, really well but you had a couple of breakdowns that were in the back of your net? It's all about goaltending anyway. It always has been."

In the Jets' three wins, Hellebuyck has stopped 111 of 118 shots, including 47 saves in a 4-1 win in Game 1. Rinne has made 112 saves on 117 shots in Nashville's three wins, including a 34-save shutout in Game 6.

"It's No. 1 and No. 2 in the League for a reason," Hellebuyck said. "We both bring so much to the table. You have to bring your A-plus effort every night or the other team will take over."

The 24-year-old from Commerce, Michigan, set an NHL record for most wins by a United States-born goalie in the regular season, going 44-11-9 with a 2.36 goals against average and .924 save percentage.

He's 7-4 in the playoffs with a 2.36 GAA and .922 save percentage. So whether he's had a superb night or one with odd goals or shots that have gone through him, the body of work is a reflection on his steady routine, mostly with goalie coach Wade Flaherty, Hellebuyck said.

"We're definitely doing the same work, but it's a little different because I'm feeling good about my game and we don't want to come off it, we don't want the mindset to come off at all," Hellebuyck said. "So it's more maintaining and the same thing on the ice, working on the eyes and the little things that make a difference. I'm feeling good on the ice and I don't want to change any of that. There's nothing to change right now, so you go out and work on the small details that lead to the bigger game."

As for Game 7 in what will certainly be a loud Bridgestone Arena, Hellebuyck said he is ready for it.

"It's not a whole lot than I didn't already know," he said. "It was more that the intensity is awesome and the crowd is incredible. Just every game, you have to bring it. You have to do whatever it takes to bring it. You've got to put it all in one game but everyone already knows that. It's so cliche, but it's true." https://www.nhl.com/news/nashville-defense-ready-for-game-7-against-winnipeg/c- 298542278?tid=297171692

Predators focus on defense for Game 7 against Jets Johansen says stopping Winnipeg attack key to reaching Western Final by Robby Stanley / NHL.com Correspondent

NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators have a blueprint of what their ideal defensive game looks like for Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Winnipeg Jets at home Thursday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS, SN).

That plan is being fast and tenacious in the defensive zone, suffocating in the neutral zone, and trying to keep the puck in the offensive zone.

"Defense is what wins you championships," Nashville forward Ryan Johansen said. "You look at every team that's ever been successful in any sport, it hasn't just been offense. Defense needs to step up. It showed in Game 4 and Game 6. When we played great defense, we were very successful. We need to defend really hard, and then when it's time to go, it's time to go."

Nashville's two best defensive games of the series were a 2-1 win in Game 4 and a 4-0 win in Game 6. Each of those were in Winnipeg at Bell MTS Place.

The Predators must figure out how to transfer those efforts to Bridgestone Arena, which can be challenging with the emotion that comes with playing in front of a home crowd in a must-win scenario.

"I think it's a different mindset," Johansen said. "I think as a Predator and playing at Bridgestone, you come to the arena and the atmosphere and the energy is remarkable. It's hard to stay level and keep your emotions in check because you've got some famous singer doing the anthem and you've got all this hype and you want to go out there and score a goal and you want to play offense.

"But you've got to make sure you're doing all the right things away from the puck and on the defensive side as well. I think that might be a reason we haven't played as strongly at home or whatever, but we just need to focus on our game [Thursday] and not worry about all the distractions from all those things."

The Jets have shown the ability to have a quick-strike attack in the series. The Predators believe if they try a run-and-gun style of hockey, it will play into the strength of the Jets.

"It's a defense-first mentality," Nashville defenseman Ryan Ellis said. "I think if you look at the wins we've had, it's about the team playing really solid [defense]. It's not about run-and-gun with them. I think it's a dangerous game when you get to play run-and-gun with that team. For us, it's about being great defensively."

The Predators have performed well in high-pressure situations and played arguably their best game of the series when facing elimination in Game 6.

"I think it's partly experience, what we went through last year, what we've been really going through in the last couple years of playoffs and fighting for our lives at times," Ellis said. "I think it comes back to the experience that we've gained over those last couple years just allowing us to be comfortable in those settings." https://www.nhl.com/news/winnipeg-jets-have-super-fan-in-burton-cummings/c- 298548646?tid=297171692

Jets have super fan in Canadian rock star The Guess Who frontman Cummings pulling for hometown team in Game 7 against Predators by Dave Stubbs @Dave_Stubbs / NHL.com Columnist

Burton Cummings was on the phone from Los Angeles on Wednesday, walking his Jack Russell terrier. "It's very hot, about 97 degrees," the Canadian music legend said.

It will likely be hotter, at least on the fan thermometer, in Cummings' hometown of Winnipeg on Thursday, and in Nashville, where Game 7 of Western Conference Second Round will be played (8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, CBC, SN, TVAS).

Should the Winnipeg Jets defeat the Nashville Predators and reach the Western Conference Final, Cummings expects he'll be flying north to Winnipeg to perform the national anthems at some point during the series against the Vegas Golden Knights, which would begin at Bell MTS Place on Saturday.

"That's pretty well a given," he says with a laugh. "My manager and I know some of the Jets ownership and the people behind the arena."

From the late 1960s into the mid-1970s, Cummings fronted The Guess Who, a Winnipeg-based band that would hit the big time, scoring a No. 1 hit on the U.S. Billboard chart in 1970 with "American Woman," six top 10 hits, including "No Time" and "These Eyes," and three albums that would hit platinum status (1 million copies sold). He has since won virtually every recording award that exists in Canada, been honored with the Order of Canada and the Governor General's Performing Arts Award and been enshrined by a handful of halls of fame for his remarkable body of work.

Cummings embarked on a successful solo career after The Guess Who disbanded and tours today, entertaining his loyal fans and a new generation who enjoy his thick songbook.

On Monday, Rogers Sportsnet produced a video with Cummings for an introduction to Game 6 of the second round, the singer sharing his thoughts on camera about hockey in Winnipeg and his love of the Jets.

Living in Los Angeles and spending generous time in , one province west of his native Manitoba, Cummings has never lost the profound love of hockey that took root in his youth during the NHL's era.

"Like many kids in the 1950s in Canada, I had dreams of playing in the NHL," he says.

Once a goaltender, he waxes poetic in conversation about the heroes of his boyhood: Hall of Fame goalies , Glenn Hall, , and . He also speaks with great affection of forwards and Stan Mikita, and lesser lights like forward Eddie Litzenberger, center Red Sullivan and goaltender Don Simmons.

"I remember Montreal Canadiens defenseman Doug Harvey, one of the greatest defensemen ever," Cummings says. "And Rocket Richard was my ultimate hero. I think he was the greatest who ever played.

"That's not to take anything away from or Guy Lafleur or Wayne Gretzky or Sidney Crosby or some of those later guys. But if the Rocket got the puck inside the opposing team's blue line, it was pretty much a given it would wind up inside their net."

During the early days of the Jets franchise, first in the WHA and later the NHL, Cummings sang the national anthems many times at Winnipeg Arena.

Cummings cherishes the time he spent as one of the boys with the Jets, featured as Winnipeg's honorary captain in a 1991-92 hockey card set in full uniform with a C on his jersey. A dozen years earlier, for a CBC TV special called "Portage and Main," the intersection of Winnipeg's two iconic downtown streets, he played goal and faced Jets superstar forward . Both wore Valley Garden jerseys, a local team Cummings sponsored.

"The segment was a spoof, like a 'Saturday Night Live' skit," he recalls. "Bobby came in at a thousand miles an hour and blasted a slap shot at me. Of course, the camera cut away, then viewers saw me and the net about six rows up into the crowd but with me screaming at the camera, 'I got it! I got it!' with the puck in my glove and Bobby saying, 'I never could score on that Cummings.' It was a great experience being with the Golden Jet."

In the early 1970s, Cummings bought his first big house in Winnipeg, "a great, big rock 'n' roll house.

"I had a lot of the Jets over after some of the home games. I got particularly friendly with Joe Daley, the goalie at the time. We drank beers many, many nights. In later years, Joe had a sports memorabilia store in Winnipeg (which he still does) and I bought a lot of cards from him."

As part of his honorary captaincy in the early 1990s, Cummings was allowed to practice with the Jets. He vividly remembers forward Ed Olczyk roaring full speed toward him then slamming on the brakes, covering him in ice shavings.

"It scared the [heck] out of me, but all the guys had a big laugh about it," he says.

Cummings will be watching the Jets-Predators game Thursday, his hometown team's logo figuratively tattooed on his heart.

"If I could choose one of my songs to be the Jets' anthem, the easy choice would be 'Stand Tall,' " he says. "It's a ballad about heartbreak and lost love but really, the title would sum it up. 'Stand Tall.' Let's go, guys. I'm making the big tall wish for Thursday in Nashville that the Jets come through."

Sportsnet.ca https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/jets-predators-close-call-going-tight-one/

Stats through six games suggest Jets vs. Predators too close to call

By Rory Boylen

In a perfect world, the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets would be playing in the Stanley Cup Final. On one hand, it’s a shame the top two regular-season teams have to meet so early in the playoffs but, on the other, the two titans have treated us to a close, nail-biting series in a second-round that has lacked those characteristics.

Out of 12 series to this point, Winnipeg and Nashville are giving us just the second Game 7.

“Excited and just waiting for the puck to drop,” Patrik Laine said the day before the series- deciding game. “So much on the line, it’s going to be a tight one.”

The Jets sniper couldn’t be any more accurate. Whoever moves on between these two will be the instant favourite to win the Stanley Cup, though the Vegas Golden Knights won’t be a slouch in the conference final. But it’s hard to imagine any other series being as close as this Jets- Predators showdown.

As Andrew Berkshire wrote earlier on in this series, Nashville and Winnipeg excel at shutting down each others’ strengths. This has resulted in fewer chances from the high-danger areas in front of each net, but the shot attempts overall are off the charts.

Nashville, of course, has the highest-scoring blue line in the game and runs a lot of its offence from its defence. Winnipeg, meanwhile, is lauded for its superior collection of forwards but that’s only allowed the many different skill sets along its blue line to fly under the radar.

If you’re trying to analyze who has the edge heading into Game 7, there isn’t much to choose between either team. Connor Hellebuyck has the advantage in net by the numbers, with a .921 save percentage this series out-duelling Pekka Rinne’s .906, but you could argue with the wins in Games 4 and 6 that Rinne has done more to steal games late in the series.

Just one win and three standings points separated these teams in the regular season. And the tightness of this best-of-seven isn’t surprising when you see how the teams fared against each another in their five regular-season matchups.

JETS PREDATORS RECORD 2-3-0 23-1-1 GOALS SCORED 19 22 PP% 31.6 31.3 PK% 68.7 68.4

And, apart from goals and shot attempts, this series has been razor thin in many other areas between the two rivals.

JETS PREDATORS HITS 141 144 BLOCKED SHOTS 97 97 PIMs 41 47 TOTAL SHOTS 213 217 PP% 22.2 26.7

Thursday’s game will be the first Game 7 in the history of Bridgestone Arena, where Winnipeg has been the better team. Rinne has been much better on the road these playoffs (2.23, .933) than at home (3.60, .881) where he got a mercy pull in Game 5. No team has won two games in a row this series, so this all appears to line up in a way that paints the Jets as the favourite. But they are the younger, less-proven team coming off a 4-0 shellacking in Game 6, in which they looked like the greener group.

That, obviously, can’t happen in Game 7, where a fast start and getting the first goal would be huge steps for the Jets.

Recent history suggests that getting to a Game 7 is a good sign for the rest of the playoffs. The past five Stanley Cup winners have each won at least one Game 7 en route to their championship and none of the other three teams left standing have gone the distance yet in these playoffs.

Thanks to the current playoff format, this is the second year in a row where the top two regular- season teams meet in the second round, following the Washington-Pittsburgh series from 2017. It’s the fourth time ever the top two regular-season teams met this early, although at the time of the other two instances (1969 and 1970) the Stanley Cup Playoffs only consisted of three rounds, so they were semifinal series.

When the top two regular-season teams have met in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, most of the time in NHL history it’s come in the Stanley Cup Final. And given how close this series has been to this point, and how loaded both Nashville and Winnipeg are, there is a chance this ends up being the best round of the playoffs and that Thursday night’s winner does go on to lift the Cup in June.

(winners in bold)

YEAR 1ST OVERALL 2ND OVERALL ROUND 2018 NSH WPG 2ND 2017 WSH PIT 2ND 1996 DET COL CONF. FINAL 1994 NYR NJ CONF. FINAL 1989 CGY MTL CUP FINAL 1987 EDM PHI CUP FINAL 1985 PHI EDM CUP FINAL 1984 EDM NYI CUP FINAL 1978 MTL BOS CUP FINAL 1976 MTL PHI CUP FINAL 1975 PHI BUF CUP FINAL 1974 BOS PHI CUP FINAL 1972 BOS NYR CUP FINAL 1970 BOS CHI SEMI-FINAL 1969 MTL BOS SEMI-FINAL

Through six games, Winnipeg and Nashville have treated hockey fans and completely lived up to the very high expectations this series came with. Game 7 figures to be as close and tightly contested as can be and we’ll be spoiled if they can measure up to this billing again.

All signs point to a great deciding game to cap off what could be one of the closest series in the history of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. And if it’s a stinker and a complete letdown? Well, strange things happen this time of year. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/fitting-tight-predators-jets-series-go-distance/

Fitting for tight Predators-Jets series to go distance

By Mark Spector

WINNIPEG — Suddenly, we may have watched the final period of hockey at Bell MTS Place. Three days from now, this wild ride that the Winnipeg Jets have taken their province, this hockey country, on could end in a pool of beer on the Nashville strip.

What the heck happened here? How on earth did these tables turn so fast?

“I don’t know about that, but I know this,” began Jets had coach Paul Maurice, a sage voice at troubling times like these. “Pittsburgh lost tonight. They’ve learned all those lessons you’re supposed to learn — killer instinct — all those words that come out today that we didn’t get. And they lost. It’s playoff hockey.”

And what fabulous playoff hockey it has been, a series that has given us a new level of play by a different set of players every time out. Last game, Kyle Connor flew the coop on a three-point night. Then Pekka Rinne, with an .898 playoff saves percentage that belied his status as a Vezina candidate, comes out the size of a castle door in Game 6, shutting out the Jets 4-0.

“I’m not happy to watch it, obviously,” smiled Patrik Laine, the young Finn who literally grew up watching Rinne and cheering his every for the Suomi. “He’s been really good — I’m not taking that away from him. He’s a good goalie and I think everybody knows that but we just have to find a way to put a couple of pucks behind him.”

Here’s what you have to know about Rinne: He is the soul of this club. The original Predator, the captain without a ‘C’ on his chest, when Rinne makes a pair of saves the quality of the back to back stops he made on Paul Stastny in the first period, it’s like a Bat Signal to the rest of this club

Tonight, anything is possible.

It had Viktor Arvidsson, from the very first moment his blades touched the ice, moving like a Lear jet at low altitude. Filip Forsberg, one of the fine goal scorers in today’s game, scoring two of his finest, while the slick Ryan Johansen was dealing like a young Joe Thornton.

Together, their line was plus-4 in a 4-0 win. The Jets, meanwhile, have scored one, final-minute, meaningless goal combined in the last six periods played in this arena.

“For all of the good things that (Nashville) did tonight,” allowed Maurice, “it probably should go seven games. It’s been back and forth, up and down. It’s probably right that it’s goin’ seven.”

It isn’t often a series with this much pedigree lives up to the billing. This matchup, however, has been a gift from the Hockey Gods.

No team has won two games on the road, with Nashville falling behind in a Game 1 they dominated, and chasing this series ever since. Both clubs are 1-2 at home — four road wins in six games. The even strength shot attempts are 338 apiece, the even strength shots 177 apiece, and the even strength goal tally 12-11 for the Preds (source: Natural Stat Trick).

We’ve seen these Jets score their goals in bunches all series long, once erasing a 3-0 lead in 5:21 en route to a 7-4 Game 3 win. Then, in the all-important Game 6, Nashville kills off three straight penalties in the opening period, coming out of the frame with a stunning 1-0 lead.

This one is a bookie’s dream. Just when you think you’ve got it pegged, the opposite occurs.

“Three-three, two best teams in the league. We’re not too worried about going to their building,” said lanky Jets defenceman Tyler Myers. “We’ve taken two out of three (in Nashville) so far. And it’s a fun atmosphere just like it is here. I’d feel a lot better beating them in their own rink, too.”

This was a championship caliber team facing elimination far earlier than they’d planned, with nothing left but to pour it all out on the ice on a steamy night in The ‘Peg. Nashville did just that, and for one night at least, it was more than the Jets could handle.

But it could be worse, couldn’t it, Winnipeg?

This is a town where hockey dreams have come to die since 1979. Who is a Jets fan to pooh- pooh a one-game shot at a Conference title?

If you’d have told captain Blake Wheeler back in September that he would skate out on to the ice at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday night with an opportunity like this, you know what he’d have done?

“I would have given you a big kiss,” Wheeler said. “Not a lick. Let’s be clear.”

We asked Maurice how he’ll coach this team over the next two days? His answer shows a steady hand, a guy who will pass on what needs to be passed on, minus the Knute Rockne speeches and soapbox oratories.

“This isn’t, ‘Hey, let’s really try hard now. It’s Game 7,’” he said. “I get it. It’s frustrating. It’s painful. You were right there. It’s an elimination game. But there have been an awful lot of seven game series that have happened in the history of the , and somebody was up 3-2 in every single one of them.

“They were good on the road, we were good in our last game,” he concluded. “It’s gonna be a hell of a game.”

Couldn’t say it better myself. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/speedy-nikolaj-ehlers-one-game-make-impact-jets/

Speedy Nikolaj Ehlers has one game to make an impact for Jets

By Luke Fox

WINNIPEG — Hearing Nikolaj Ehlers describe one of his winding end-to-end, 200-foot turbo bursts is nearly as joyous as witnessing one live.

“I love getting the puck and gathering some speed and just skate it up. Using my speed is my biggest asset. It’s a good feeling. You have that puck and you’re skating fast … it’s pretty open,” Ehlers says. “You hear the crowd and it gives you some extra energy, extra motivation.”

When the fastest Dane on blades gets wheeling and weaving through the neutral zone, an audible gasp inhales the True North.

“A rush like that, it’s exciting hearing the crowd going, ‘Ooooh!’” Ehlers goes on. “And then it always ends up with, ‘Ahhhh.’” The sad trombone of hockey gods swatting him away.

“Hopefully,” Ehlers says, “one day it can end up with everybody standing up and celebrating.”

Thursday night in Nashville would be a fine time for the 22-year-old to trade what-ifs for results.

For 20 consecutive shots, 12 straight games, 35 continuous days and counting, Ehlers has been unable to score a goal — something he had no issue doing in the regular season, when he ripped a career-best 29 goals to go with 31 assists. And something, at least in part, he’ll be paid $42 million to do for the Winnipeg Jets for the next seven seasons.

“They’re hard games. Not one of those games has been easy,” says Ehlers, who has maintained a sunny exterior in the face of a stack of unflattering score sheets.

“I’m playing some really good hockey, but the puck doesn’t want to go in. I feel really good about everything but scoring. I’m getting the chances, [Patrik] Laine’s getting the chances, we’re winning games.

“I’m trying to get the puck and open up some holes. I’m trying to use my speed as much as I can. That’s what my game is about. I have to keep doing that.”

Nashville’s elite defence, which chucks shopping carts into Ehlers’ neutral-zone tracks, and Pekka Rinne’s talents have done a nifty job of shutting him down, and the Predators did the same to 31-goal rookie Kyle Connor until he finally broke out in Game 5. The Preds’ Kyle Turris has the same number of playoff goals as Lady Antebellum.

It happens to the best of ’em at the worst times.

So, Paul Maurice tried bumping Ehlers up to Mark Scheifele’s top line for 100 minutes. Then, in Game 6’s loss, he told Ehlers he’d be demoting him to the bottom six in favour of the scrappier, more impactful and more seasoned Mathieu Perreault.

Maurice says young offensive studs like Ehlers, who averaged two points per playoff night as a junior with the Halifax Mooseheads, feel an onus to produce.

“And when it’s not there, you’re carrying a whole different set of pressures and you stop thinking anything but scoring. So, the rest of your game has a tendency to slide,” Maurice says.

“He’s got to get back to relaxing in terms of his expectations of every time he touches the puck something’s going to happen. In playoffs, that rarely happens. And then focusing that extra energy in other areas of the game.

“His first would be just his feet — get to that blinding speed that he has. And if that’s on the forecheck, make it on the forecheck. If it’s without the puck, fine, run your routes faster and faster and faster. And the game will actually slow down for you and all those good things will come out.”

The feet on Ehlers remind Maurice of Sami Kapanen, father of the Maple Leafs’ Kasperi, whom Maurice coached in Carolina. Because of his snap quickness off pivots and arresting first four strides, defenders are forced to defend guys like that early, or risk getting burned.

“You’re not catching them if you get behind,” Maurice says. “Nicky’s maybe more selective with it at times. But I don’t think he’s the fastest guy on our team (see sidebar).”

Paul Maurice on why Ehlers is not the fastest Jet in the fleet “Four years ago, we tested and we had Evander here, Kane who was real fast. And Mark Scheifele was faster than all of them. He just doesn’t look it. Mark’s a really efficient skater. He may well be the fastest guy. Blake [Wheeler]’s not going to agree with you. Kyle Connor is clearly going to have an issue with that. But based on testing results, Scheif, I think, still has the record here.”

During those eye-popping (but recently fruitless) rushes, Ehlers says he tries to read where all the defenders are positioned. If four or five guys are waiting for him at the blue line, he’ll chip and chase.

“My game is to use my speed as much as I can,” he says. “It’s about picking your time and place to do it.”

Paul Stastny, Ehlers’ sage centreman when Maurice isn’t compelled to pull strings, is in constant communication with the sophomore. The setup man has spent a lifetime watching shooters run hot and cold, so he’s well versed in shooting-percentage regression. He underlines team success, playing the right way, and the clean slate.

No one will remember Ehlers’ post-season sabbatical if he delivers in Game 7. There’s a wet sheet of ice and 60 minutes of race track waiting for him.

“What happened previous 10, 11 playoff games doesn’t matter. Whether it’s him, whether it’s a top guy, whether it’s a bottom guy, it’s a team game here,” Stastny says.

“It’s all about one game. It’s all about the next game.” https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/hellebuyck-edge-rinne-heading-game-7/ (VIDEO LINK)

DOES HELLEBUYCK HAVE EDGE OVER RINNE HEADING INTO GAME 7?

NHL insider John Shannon joins Ken Reid to discuss Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators. https://www.sportsnet.ca/shows/tim-and-sid-show/tim-sid-jets-predators-not-following-sort- script/ (VIDEO LINK)

TIM & SID: JETS AND PREDATORS NOT FOLLOWING ANY SORT OF SCRIPT

Tim and Sid discuss the Jets and Predators facing off in Game 7 and if the winner of the game should be favourites to reach the Stanley Cup Final. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/need-crystal-ball-predict-jets-predators-game-7/ (VIDEO LINK)

YOU NEED CRYSTAL BALL TO PREDICT JETS-PREDATORS GAME 7

NHL insider Mark Spector joins Sean Reynolds to get us set for the much anticipated Game 7 between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators, where your guess is as good as theirs. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/scoring-first-game-7-super-important/

WHY SCORING FIRST IN GAME 7 IS SUPER IMPORTANT

HC at Noon getting pumped up for Winnipeg-Nashville Game 7, where either team scoring first will really alter how the rest of the game is played style-wise.

TSN.ca https://www.tsn.ca/five-critical-matchups-for-game-7-clash-1.1080693

Five critical matchups for Game 7 clash

By Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Paul Maurice likened Game 7 to Christmas, that feeling you get as a kid when you can’t sleep before the big day.

“Being in this line of work, it’s probably the best part of the job,” Maurice said. “You don’t always enjoy it. But that, I guess pressure is the right word, for me it’s always been the juice you get out of it. It’s that feeling you get.

“There’s lots of emotion, lots of excitement. But there’s definitely a calmness to it. There’s a finality coming. It brings out the best, I think.”

This Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators second-round Central Division heavyweight title fight has been epic for a load of reasons, including the fact that it’s the one series where the intricate matchup game has been thrown out the window.

But as Maurice said, “Game 7 is a different animal.”

Any little detail can decide who is booking tee times next week.

Some matchups are obvious – like Connor Hellebuyck going up against fellow Vezina finalist Pekka Rinne, or Ryan Johansen’s head-to-head battle with Mark Scheifele. Thanks, tips!

But here are five other key battles to keep an eye on ahead of Thursday night’s winner-take-all prize fight:

1. PREDATORS vs. BRIDGESTONE ARENA: Heading in, it appeared home-ice advantage may be the one edge in an incredibly tight series. It may still be, but both teams are 1-2 at home this round. The Jets have had the clear edge in Nashville, trailing for just 13 per cent of the 205:37 played there. They have led 52.3 per cent of the series in the Music City. Swaths of empty blue seats filled the lower bowl in the third period of Game 5 as the Jets rolled to a 6-2 victory. There is no doubt the pressure is on for the Presidents' Trophy winners, as anything less than a return to the Stanley Cup final will be seen as a tremendous disappointment.

2. JOSH MORRISSEY vs. PREDS’ TOP LINE: Nashville’s heavyweights (Viktor Arvidsson, Ryan Johansen and Filip Forsberg) did the heavy lifting in Game 6, accounting for all four goals scored. They’ve been on the ice to produce 12 of the 18 goals scored by the Preds this series. Jets defenceman Josh Morrissey and Jacob Trouba, the team’s shutdown defenceman, has been on the ice with for just about half (61) of the 127 minutes against them in all situations, according to NaturalStatTrick.com, significantly more than any other Jets pairing. They’ve been on the ice for six of the 12 goals produced by the Arvidsson, Johansen and Forsberg trio. The possession metrics (shot attempts) have been just about even with Morrissey’s pair on the ice. If they can keep that line off the scoresheet, like they did in Game 1, Winnipeg’s probability for success will increase substantially.

3. BATTLE OF THE SECOND LINES: Paul Stastny’s six-game point streak was snapped in Game 6 as the Jets were shut out at home for the first time this season. Nonetheless, his line – with Nikolaj Ehlers and Patriik Laine – has outscored Kyle Turris, Craig Smith and Kevn Fiala by a 4-2 margin at even strength this series. That’s with Ehlers, who does not have a goal in these playoffs after scoring 29 in the regular season, contributing just two assists. He was back on the Stastny line for practice on Wednesday after a demotion to the fourth line for the bulk of Games 5 and 6. Fiala was the double overtime hero in Game 2, but he was also a healthy scratch in Game 4. Turris’ line has been perhaps the most vulnerable of Nashville’s attack, a far cry from how he played in last year’s playoffs. There is ground to be made up there.

4. BIG BUFF VS. EVERYONE: The Winnipeg Jets seem to go as Dustin Byfuglien does in this series. When he is on, there seemingly isn’t anyone who can stop him. Problem is, there have been a couple games in this series that he was less noticeable – not poor, but his performance just pales comparison to the games he has taken over. Part of that is due to the Predators’ game plan to significantly limit his time and space. Byfuglien, 33, has averaged 27:17 in this series and skated nearly 20 minutes more than the next closest Jet. He has four goals and three assists and flung off at least than many Predators in after-the-whistle scrums. This will be his first career Game 7 and the Jets will need him to make the most of it.

5. PAUL MAURICE VS. PETER LAVIOLETTE. It’s the chess match between two TSN Hockey panel alums. Laviolette blinked first in this series, dialling back Nashville’s aggressive attack in Game 4 after earning a lead. It proved to be the smart move, one the Jets haven’t been able to solve in their last two losses. He’s also had the golden touch with Scott Hartnell. Maurice has been more conservative, steadfast in the Jets’ motto of playing to their identity. Is he comfortable with potentially going down so long as the Jets skate within the lanes of their identity? There’s no tell-all like a Game 7. Either way, Maurice is looking forward to the challenge.

“It’s all on me, it’s tremendous,” Maurice said sarcastically Tuesday. “I’m looking forward to it … The regular season is 82 [games], there’s a big picture to it. Game 7 is a different animal…you’re not thinking about tomorrow, you’re not thinking about, ‘Am I benching that guy?’ You’re like, ‘Let’s see what we got.’”

Game on. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/five-critical-matchups-for-jets-predators-game-7-clash~1390233 (VIDEO LINK)

Five critical matchups for Jets/Predators Game 7 clash

TSN Hockey senior hockey reporter Frank Seravalli takes a closer look at five key matchups for Thursday's Jets/Predators Game 7. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/the-panel-which-top-line-will-show-up-thursday- night~1390260 (VIDEO LINK)

The Panel: Which top line will show up Thursday night?

The TSN Hockey panel examines the production from the Predators and Jets top line and discuss which teams will have the advantage Thursday night in Game 7. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/how-can-a-captain-motivate-his-team-in-game- 7~1390235 (VIDEO LINK)

How can a captain motivate his team in Game 7?

What does the captain have to do to get his team going in Game 7? How important is the first goal? TSN analyst Dave Poulin shares his thoughts. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/the-panel-how-will-jets-and-predators-respond-to-game-7- pressure~1390261

The Panel: How will Jets and Predators respond to Game 7 pressure?

The Predators staved off elimination once already in Game 6 and now both teams' season will be on the line in Game 7. How will they respond to the pressure in the deciding game? The TSN Panel shares their thoughts and also discuss how Winnipeg can win the special teams battle in Game 7.

The Athletic https://theathletic.com/349192/2018/05/10/why-the-josh-morrissey-jacob-trouba-duo-could-be- the-deciding-factor-in-game-7/

Why the Josh Morrissey-Jacob Trouba duo could be the deciding factor in Game 7

By Murat Ates

There will be creativity and chaos, magic and madness. There will be battles and bounces, brilliant bursts of speed and superlative skill. Most of all, there will be two exceptionally well-built hockey clubs playing at least 60 minutes of the highest quality hockey we have seen in the 2017-18 Stanley Cup playoffs.

For Winnipeg, good fortune in the form of good health means it can ice a virtually matchup-proof lineup for Thursday’s winner-meets-Vegas, Game 7 against the Predators.

When I look at Connor Hellebuyck’s season in goal, whether it’s his .924 regular season save percentage or the .922 he’s carried through 11 games of the playoffs, I see a goaltender likely to be worthy of the moment.

In Winnipeg’s four forward lines, perhaps best exemplified by the strength of centres Mark Scheifele, Paul Stastny, Adam Lowry, and Bryan Little, I see four groups of players who can be trusted against nearly any opponent.

There is, however, concern regarding Winnipeg’s defence.

Ryan Johansen, Viktor Arvidsson, and Filip Forsberg have carried the Predators offence through the first six games of this series, combining for 23 points in that span. To put this offensive outburst in perspective, the rest of the Predators combined have scored just 22 points.

At 5-on-5, each member of Johansen’s line has scored two goals and two assists, a figure which also leads the team.

If you were assistant coach Charlie Huddy, which of Winnipeg’s three defence pairings would you prefer to run out against Johansen’s formidable trio?

Morrissey – Trouba Enstrom – Byfuglien Chiarot – Myers

Through three games in Winnipeg, Johansen’s line has played 23:49 against Josh Morrissey, 7:59 against Toby Enstrom, and 5:11 against Ben Chiarot. (If you’ll bear with me, I’ve used each of the Jets left defencemen as a proxy for their pairing.)

Winnipeg’s disproportionate preference for Morrissey and Trouba would appear to be best practice, matchup wise.

At home, for example, Morrissey has played to 54.2 per cent of the shot attempts and 57.5 per cent of the high danger scoring chances against Johansen’s line – an incredible achievement, given their firepower. Meanwhile, Enstrom and Chiarot are both well below 50 per cent in each category.

Through three games in Nashville, Johansen’s line has played 24:16 against Morrissey, 18:47 against Enstrom, and 11:53 against Chiarot at 5-on-5. That’s a huge proportional jump for Enstrom and Chiarot, and likely exactly what Peter Laviolette wants.

What are their results?

In Nashville, Morrissey is at 53.6 per cent of shot attempts and an even more sterling 70 per cent of the high danger scoring chances against Johansen’s line. Enstrom remains well below 50 per cent in each category but Chiarot skyrockets to 63.9 per cent of shot attempts and 50.0 per cent of the high danger scoring chances.

To sum up: Morrissey and Trouba are good against Johansen in Winnipeg and Nashville alike, Enstrom/Byfuglien have struggled in both cities, and Chiarot/Myers are mysteriously better on the road than at home.

A quick look at zone starts explains this. While all three pairs are within spitting distance of 50 per cent zone starts against Johansen at home, on the road it’s a different story – Morrissey and Enstrom have started just two shifts with an offensive zone faceoff total and fully 25 shifts with an own zone draw. In short, Winnipeg’s top two pairings are taking the dangerous minutes against Johansen and sparing Chiarot and Myers.

I think it’s safe to expect more of the same rough ride for Winnipeg’s top two pairings in Game 7. Morrissey and Trouba will almost certainly play the most against Johansen’s deadly trio (and, given that they’ve had the most success in that role, the more the better for Jets fans.)

With that in mind, I spoke with Winnipeg’s top pairing about what Johansen’s line can do that’s so particularly dangerous and what the Jets can do to stop them.

“I think we know they back off the D, they come down the walls a lot and they’re going to get good chances,” Trouba said. “Their forwards roll up high and run a lot of interchanges. They’re going to have a lot of motion there to the outside.”

Trouba doubled down on the importance of keeping Nashville’s elite weapons to the outside. Then, as a way of dealing with those weapons, he stressed the importance of “controlling our switches and communicating.”

“A lot of those things would be like, ‘Switch! Switch!’ or ‘Stay!” or ‘Hold!’ or ‘Go!’ or things like that,” Morrissey said. “But loa t of it is, for us at least, has been reading off each other. He really likes to be aggressive on the puck and so do I.

“For example, if the puck is in the corner and Troubs is on someone, I’m kind of behind him so I can see what’s going on. If he stays engaged on that battle, even if it changes sides or teams run a lot of high cycles where you can really get in trouble… We talk.”

Trouba reiterated the importance of teamwork when playing defence against Nashville’s elite offensive players.

“You want to give them the wall when you can and then install that puck and get help,” Trouba said. “But they’re good players and they’re going to have some space and you can’t just go out running at them. You gotta play the game that’s in front of you.”

When there are breakdowns in communication, you usually see them on the ice in the form of two Jets covering the same player or a third Predator sneaking unseen into open space.

Morrissey explained that it’s up to the defender who’s not entrenched in battle to make the right decisions on each play.

“You get into trouble if both guys jump one guy and then the other guy comes down the back door all alone,” Morrissey said. “We both like to be aggressive on the puck and stay on the puck once we’re on it so I think the second guy in our pairing does a good job of being patient and not getting engaged too soon.”

When considering a player’s offensive talent, one of the things I like to think of is how many ways he can beat you. For example, Johansen is a big body with a long reach who can win battles on the boards and he can also thread excellent passes. He doesn’t shoot as much as Forsberg or Arvidsson do but, when he does, his shot is also a weapon.

Defensively, I think of all of the ways a player can stop you.

Trouba and Morrissey are a great combination of physically capable and mobile enough to track the NHL’s most elite offensive players. They can shut plays down with quick feet and quick sticks in open ice or win battles along the boards.

Beyond all of that, the aspect of their game that impresses me the most – especially as a pairing – is the speed at which they make their reads. It seems to me that no matter how many times Johansen, Forsberg, or Arvidsson overlap or change positions, Trouba and Morrissey stay with them without getting lost.

“When the puck changes sides or they try to run a switch, I really think it’s dependent on the second guy,” Morrissey said. “Because when you’re engaged in that battle on the puck or trying to stickcheck a player, you’re so focused on that guy. If a switch happens, it’s easier for the second guy – who’s not engaged in the battle – to see how it develops.”

Trouba and Morrissey’s emergence as a top pairing is a major reason for Winnipeg’s success throughout the Stanley Cup playoffs. Their dominance as a pairing has come just in time to propel the Jets to Game 7.

The idea that Trouba and Morrissey could work out this way, however, goes back to June of 2013.

“I think it goes back to the day that I was drafted, honestly. There’s always been people talking about the potential of us being a pairing one day,” Morrissey said of the chemistry between the two defensemen who were first round draft picks in back-to-back years. “We’re lefty-righty, our styles and sizes and everything complement one another. I think on the ice though, with Troubs, he just moves so easily. It’s hard to… You get chemistry. You get the chemistry in practice of understanding and almost reading off one another.”

Thursday in Nashville, that chemistry and those reads will be more important than they’ve ever been for the Winnipeg Jets. Trouba and Morrissey will be tasked with taking on the three players that have put the Predators on their backs and who have given Nashville its chance to eliminate the Jets.

For Winnipeg, it’s the matchup that makes the most sense. Morrissey and Trouba have had the most success against Johansen’s line in the most difficult of contexts. Their ability to shut down Nashville’s best – and Huddy’s ability to make sure they’re in a position to try – could become the deciding factor in Game 7. https://theathletic.com/348223/2018/05/09/bourne-on-being-clutch-how-game-7s-are-prepared- for-and-won-and-what-to-expect-from-winnipeg-nashville/

Bourne: On being clutch, how Game 7s are prepared for and won, and what to expect from Winnipeg-Nashville

By Justin Bourne

It’s pretty cruel that Justin Timberlake had the audacity to have a concert in Nashville in May, heartlessly pushing back our precious Game 7. I’m gonna use at least one per cent of my energy to be mad at him today.

But, that does mean we have a little more time to talk about the upcoming battle between hockey’s two best regular season teams, and Game 7s in general. What I’ve done for today’s post is request questions from someone who I think knows the type I was hoping to answer, that person being … me. Hopefully, there’s some insight and info that works for you, too.

So, me, go ahead and fire away and I’ll answer the best I can.

What’s the lead up to puck drop on a Game 7 gameday like?

If you ask any player in the NHL, AHL, all the way on down to junior about how they prepare differently for a Game 7 versus any other game, they’ll probably give you the same answer: “I don’t.”

LIES. Lies, I tell you.

(OK, that was dramatic, but at least one thing is a little different.)

The thing is, most of them probably aren’t trying to lie. Logically, if there’s something you would do to improve your game before a Game 7, you should be doing it every night, so sure, maybe they’re not trying to change things up. But outside the obvious things players pay extra attention to — taking hyper-vigilant care of their bodies by eating well, getting their sleep, etc. — there’s another weird factor: as a player, the energy in the arena and dressing room makes it way too easy to burn yourself out before puck drop.

You’ve been waiting for what Paul Maurice described as Christmas morning, then when it arrives, mom tells you no presents till 7:00 p.m. Guys who morning skate seem to want to fly around, as opposed to the usual plan of going through the motions. Nap-time sleep is tougher to come by. Pre-game, it’s way too easy to let your team warmup turn in some crossfit routine. So, you see a lot more guys sitting in their stalls having a coffee, trying to conserve that nervous energy rather than let it fly it out.

That’s the biggest difference in my experience, is seeing teammates just chilling in their stalls, waiting. The room is generally more quiet, as nobody wants to be seen as the guy who isn’t as prepared as possible. Which again, if a player is normally loose and joking before a game, you’d want them to be doing that, but it just doesn’t feel natural to clown around before those big nights. You have to find a way to walk that line, between loose and laser-focused.

For coaches, it’s exciting as hell, of course, but the wait is nothing short of excruciating.

You’ve just played the same team six times, there’s not much left to learn about them. You’ve seen how your guys stack up, there’s not many roster changes to make. But you still get to the rink earlier than the players to take care of meetings and to ensure you’ve been thorough, but outside of discussing a handful of adjustments, you have way too much time on your hands. (Craig Custance noted in this excellent piece that the hour before the game is the longest in the world for the staff, as the work and meetings are finally done.)

The only people who have it worse than the coaches are the management. Their work is done before the day begins, outside of maybe weighing in on the lineup. So they just stare at the clock and watch the seconds tick by, waiting.

With a Game 7 looming, what do you think about the concept of “clutch?”

Before we dig in here, dear reader, ask yourself if you believe in “clutch” in sports? Because this is a surprisingly polarizing topic.

There was a time in the early analytics movement where the online relationship was more contentious with your average fan than it is now (if you can believe it), and it was over topics like this. Casual fans didn’t like having some of their trusty narrative posts knocked over, and the analytics movement wasn’t always open to being challenged by those fans, primarily because those fans were often so hostile in their approach.

Those who pushed back against the numbers lost the war, and in pretty decisive fashion. But they did win some battles, in that initially dismissed ideas like shot quality and quality of competition are now commonly accepted and studied.

Anyway, that’s a long history to get to one of the last unsettled bastions of the war, with “is clutch real” acting as a territory off the coast that it doesn’t look like either side is going to be able to takeover. You simply can’t statistically prove that a player is clutch (with our current available data, anyway). There’s just not enough of a sample to rely on the numbers. Not to mention the best players generally get put in the positions to be the hero, so they have a leg up on others there. And hell, sometimes the same guy just gets a few more bounces.

My stance: “clutch” is unequivocally a thing in hockey. Despite accepting all the sentences above as true, it seems downright foolish to not accept this as true.

If you’ve played at any level, you’ve likely seen it from many teammates: in the biggest moments, in the most nerve-wracking hero-or-zero situations, some players clearly shrink while others rise, and often consistently from player to player. It doesn’t even have to be goal-scoring or point-getting for me, because so much goes into that in hockey. Clutch to me is just the guys who grow with the moment. And those who rise again and again often do end up being the guys who regularly break through.

So I think that with someone like coming through in so many big moments, it isn’t just the stars aligning, he’s just consistently risen with the moment. Many use “Captain Clutch” as a punchline, but I’m not sure that’s fair.

Same goes for Justin Williams and the Mr. Game 7 moniker.

Here’s a quote Williams gave our own Pierre LeBrun in this article setting the stage for Game 7 from earlier today: “You’ve got to err on the side of enthusiasm and not apprehension. You can’t be afraid to be the guy, right? You can’t go into this game thinking, ‘Man, I don’t want to screw this up, I don’t want to be the one to turn that puck over to let the other team score.’ And I’m sure that goes through some people’s minds. You have to make your plays out there, you can’t be apprehensive out there. Or else you’ll lose.”

Doesn’t sound like someone who came to be viewed as clutch by chance, to me.

What general team style/structure is best suited to win a Game 7?

Well, I think we’re in the midst of a sea change in the correct answer to this question between today and 5-10 years ago. Defence wins championships, as we’ve always been told, so you’d have to give Nashville a slight edge with their dominant top-four in a must-win game where they’re free to play the hell out of them. (Yes, Winnipeg has good D too, but not quite as good as Nashville’s, a team that also seem to play a bit tighter structure – including their forwards – from top to bottom.)

The “but” here is, I just don’t see that being the case anymore. Every team today that makes the playoffs is good with good players. Players who can’t play in structure get weeded out these days. It’s tight all over the ice, and unlike in the regular season, you rarely see a skill guy get gifted a puck where he just has to make one move for a free goal.

So to me, the value has shifted to the team that has the more dynamic offensive players who’re relied upon to break games open. You actually have to beat guys one-on-one when it’s that tight, and only a handful of special players can do that regularly.

You also have to remember: this isn’t game 39 against Arizona where those offensive-minded skill players roam free and piss their coaches off looking for breakaways. I expect that they’ll be responsible in their positioning for the good of the group, but when they do get their chances, they’re able to do things those much-heralded grinders who are 100 per cent positionally responsible during the season cannot.

In today’s game, it isn’t the only thing, but I’m taking the team with the most top-end skill guys every time.

So what do you expect to see from Winnipeg-Nashville on Thursday?

My answer to the previous question informs my answer here. Nashville undeniably has some excellent offensive players, and what Filip Forsberg is doing right now is out of this world. But if I were Nashville, at least five forwards on Winnipeg would make me poop my pants at least a little at every touch this Thursday, even despite having excellent defenders. Any of Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, Kyle Connor, and Mark Scheifele can make a game-breaking play at any point. I know that’s been the case the whole series, but the stakes are a little higher tomorrow.

Now! Please don’t strictly read that as “I think Winnipeg is going to win.” However, I will be leaning that way for about the first 35 minutes of the game … but if they don’t have the lead by then, I think my opinion would flip pretty significantly.

Some of these big pressure games start out tentative, with teams feeling each other out. I don’t believe that will be the case this time around, as I think there’s just too much skill and too much hunger on both sides. The fans are too loud, I just think there’ll be too much excitement early.

So if Winnipeg can get the first one or two early and really force Nashville to open up a bit more, and even feel the pressure of their fans getting desperate, I like the Jets odds. But if the Preds can keep things tight deeper into the game, they can stay in their structure and play how they want to, which I think gives them the advantage.

A lot of how the game will be decided will be dictated by the score in the first half of the game, and I think the Jets will need it in their favour to put the Preds away.

And finally…

What’s the most important thing when it comes to winning a Game 7?

You know the answer to this, but it has to be said anyway. The most depressing realization for fans of Winnipeg and Nashville is that basically none of this matters if their team doesn’t get the goaltending, or if the other team’s goalie plays out of his mind.

In each game of this series, it’s been simple: if Pekka Rinne puts up an above-league-average save percentage, Nashville wins. When his save percentage is below it, they lose. Six for six.

Connor Hellebuyck’s stats haven’t quite been the rollercoaster of Rinne’s but all it takes is one stellar or shoddy performance and it changes everyone’s outlook of the whole season.

For management, staff and fans, that reality puts a pit in your stomach, doesn’t it? You spend years building your roster, hiring your staff, implementing your systems, you spend eight months grinding through the year, climbing the standings, preparing for a chance at the Cup. Fans pour dollars and emotions and time into their teams. And yet, it simply comes down to who gets better goaltending, one game, Thursday night.

Hockey’s the best, isn’t it? www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/jets-sticking-to-routine-with-game-seven-set-for-thursday/c- 298538662

Jets sticking to routine with set for Thursday Team holds practice at Bell MTS Iceplex before flying to Nashville by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

WINNIPEG - All season long, the Winnipeg Jets have always had a routine to fall back on.

After emotional wins, tough losses, and everything in between, there is always a routine.

That won't change going into Thursday's Game Seven against the Nashville Predators, not even head coach Paul Maurice's pre-game speech.

"The message going forward is the one that was delivered all year," Maurice said, following the team's quick practice before a 1 pm CT departure to Nashville.

"There's no big speech or departure from our game. The important one that was delivered all year is to enjoy what we do.

"Have the confidence that you're going to go out and perform at your best, and certainly your best effort - but to enjoy it, the whole part: the nerves before the game, the tension of the game, the excitement of the game. It's such an important thing. You can't be on pins and needles. You've got to feel good and be excited about it."

That's exactly how the Jets feel. Even though they may be short on Game Seven experience at the NHL level, every player has been in a big game, and two wins out of the three played at Bridgestone Arena so far this series is certainly a source of confidence.

"We've had a couple good games in Nashville and now we're going to need an even better game than in our last two," said Patrik Laine. "It obviously gives us confidence but it's a new game with so much on the line and it's going to be a tight one. "

Whether it's shot attempts, shots on goal, or high-danger scoring chances, the Jets and the Predators are neck-and-neck over the last six games.

It's fitting, given the two teams finished in the top two spots in the NHL standings after the 82- game regular season.

So who will be the hero? We'll know by late Thursday night. But one thing is for sure, Nikolaj Ehlers is one of many Jets players doing everything he can to be ready for the moment.

"I'm working out there every single day to get better and that doesn't mean that I only get better by scoring. I'm trying as hard as I can to help this team win and if it comes, it comes," said Ehlers, who despite having five assists in the first 10 NHL playoff games of his career, is still searching for his first goal.

But the young Danish forward knows there are other ways to help his team, even when he's not scoring.

"Do everything else right," he said. "Skate, play simple, play fast, play well defensively - everything. Play our game plan. When it's not going in for you, you can still play great games. But as a team I think we've played some really good hockey and tomorrow we have to do it again."

That's what Maurice wants to hear from Ehlers, who scored a career-high 29 goals in the regular season, and worked hard to improve his defensive game at the same time.

Ehlers has played on three different lines in this series alone, and has created chances on all three.

"He hasn't scored yet, (but) we think he can be a huge contributor to either the line scoring or the team winning," said Maurice.

"The scoring of goals isn't the story of a player's game. It's so true in the playoffs. The team that wins the Stanley Cup is going to have two months worth of hockey, high level hockey.

"Even look at our month, the number of different players who have been the story. Connor Hellebuyck in games, Kyle Connor's big night, Brandon Tanev. Everybody, to get where we need to, is going to have to share in writing part of that story."

The next chapter of that story will be written tomorrow night, when the Jets and Predators drop the puck at 7 pm CT.

But 90 minutes before that chapter, Maurice will be in the dressing room, addressing his team.

"You have to know your team at this point. I have a pretty good idea of what I'm saying. That will be secondary to a certain kind of emotional level I'm trying to set in," said Maurice.

"You pick the day and the circumstances depend on your tone and where you're going. I don't talk to the team much after games. Never do it during the regular season. Anything I want to say, I get said before the final buzzer. I know the game we want to play tomorrow. That's what I'll talk about."