Winnipeg Free Press https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/hockey/jets/hockey-career-comes-full-circle-for- former-predator-matt-hendricks-480854743.html

Jets set sights on Hendricks' old team Forward was drafted by Nashville, played there for half of 2013-14 season

By: Jason Bell

Matt Hendricks figured he might win a Stanley Cup one day with the Nashville Predators.

Nearly five years later, he’s still gunning for that elusive NHL championship — this time with the Winnipeg Jets, who need to send the Predators packing to keep that dream alive.

Hendricks, who was drafted by the Predators in 2000 but had a relatively brief stop there 13 years later, acknowledges it’s funny how things come full circle during a long hockey career.

"I always felt like there was some unfinished business. I wanted to get back there for that reason. I liked their style of play. I liked that they had some very key pieces, pieces that could win a Stanley Cup, and I wanted to be a part of that. It was a no-brainer signing there," Hendricks said Wednesday.

The veteran centre is the only guy with the Jets who understands a bit about what the Nashville organization endured to finally get to a Cup final a year ago and position itself for another run this season.

He was with the Predators for more than half the 2013-14 season, sharing the locker room with the likes of goalie Pekka Rinne, defencemen Roman Josi, Ryan Ellis and Mattias Ekholm, and forwards Filip Forsberg and Craig Smith, all still major contributors for Nashville.

There wasn’t much of an easy feeling in Music City that year under coach Barry Trotz. Rinne was plagued by a hip injury and the squad fell short of qualifying for the post-season.

Despite signing a four-year contract worth US$7.4 million July 2013, Hendricks wasn’t around long enough to aid in the Predators’ reversal of fortune. He was dealt after 44 games to the Edmonton Oilers for goalie Devan Dubnyk, considered to be a suitable fill-in for the hobbled Rinne.

"I guess if you’re ever grateful to an organization for anything, that would be one of the points for sure," said Hendricks, referring to the long-term financial security he gained for his family when Nashville GM David Poile signed him. "We had a tough year for sure, because we lost Pekka. We had a hard time finding wins that year. I got moved to Edmonton for Dubnyk, and I understood why that was happening. They wanted to try and get a No. 1 goalie in there. There’s definitely no hard feelings there.

"I enjoyed my time in Edmonton, especially the way it ended in terms of making the playoffs (with the Oilers in 2016-17), but it helped my career being (in Nashville)."

Hendricks’ participation in the upcoming series depends entirely on the health of his teammates. With 12 able-bodied forwards, the 36-year-old product of Blaine, Minn., will likely watch the series against his former club from the press box.

But his worth to the Jets comes in his off-ice contribution during the playoffs with his experience and character, and serving as a role model for young players in terms of preparedness and mental toughness.

He also understands what kind of battle the squad is in for against Nashville.

"They’re a hungry team. Give them a ton of credit for the way they played in the regular season, but this is the time of year where, in their minds, they have some unfinished business," said Hendricks, who is on a one-year deal after signing with Winnipeg last fall.

"They played us extremely hard all during the regular season, so it’s going to be a good matchup. It’s going to be a heck of a series."

Sick bay Winnipeg’s scoring machine, Patrik Laine, missed practice Wednesday morning but head coach Paul Maurice believes he’ll be ready to go for Game 1.

The Jets meet the Predators in Nashville in the opener of their second-round NHL playoff series. Game time tonight at Bridgestone Arena is 7 p.m.

"Patty didn’t miss out on anything... maybe 25 minutes," said Maurice, referring to the short on- ice session at the downtown rink.

"He’ll be fine. He’s in the same boat as everybody else, but I have an expectation that he’ll be there."

Laine left practice early both Sunday and Monday, although what ails the 20-year-old Finnish- born forward hasn’t been divulged.

Meanwhile, forward Joel Armia skated in a yellow no-contact jersey. He was hurt against the Minnesota Wild in Game 5 of the first round, and his injury is a day-to-day thing. Veteran defenceman Toby Enstrom and back-up goalie Steve Mason were in regular practice jerseys. https://www.winnipegfreepress.com/sports/all-work-despite-no-play-for-jets-480861953.html

All work despite no play for Jets Team doesn't take any down time while waiting for second round to begin

By: Jason Bell

A week off from the rigours of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the Winnipeg Jets provided no opportunity for golf getaways, family vacations to Disneyland or a quick trip home for some of mom’s cooking.

Since disposing of the Minnesota Wild in five games in Round 1 last week, it’s been all about work despite no play for the Jets, who vault back into the fire Friday night at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Game 1 of the much-anticipated second-round NHL series between the Predators and Jets — the two best teams in the league, respectively, during the regular season — is set for 7 p.m.

Nashville got past the Colorado Avalanche in six games, finishing up with a 5-0 triumph on Sunday.

Winnipeg will have gone six days without experiencing the ferocity and magnitude of a post- season contest by the time the puck drops Friday, although no one within the organization views that as cause for concern.

Unlike the all-star break or the team’s mandated five-day, mid-January recess when players purposely stepped away to reboot, this time the Jets have been fully immersed in hockey, said speedy forward Nikolaj Ehlers.

"Yeah, but that’s what’s exciting. I come to practice, I go home, I relax, I watch hockey, waiting for our next game. We’re coming to the rink every single day to get better and make sure that we’ve got a good chance in the next series," said Ehlers.

"It’s the playoffs. It’s easy not to get casual. This is what we’ve been working for, for a while now. We’re here now, so this is the exciting part. Everybody in this room wants it, and we go out there every single practice and work for it."

Head coach Paul Maurice and his staff ran a short, to-the-point on-ice session at Bell MTS Place Wednesday morning. The Jets were expected to have another short skate Thursday before an early afternoon chartered flight to Tennessee.

After some high-tempo line rushes, special-teams work filled the majority of time, and Winnipeg’s No. 1 goalie and Vezina Trophy nominee Connor Hellebuyck faced plenty of rubber.

Despite the gap between games, ensuring the energy level of his team keeps rising isn’t a problem, Maurice said afterward.

"There’s excitement. We expected, and I expected, today and (Thursday) to be slightly edgy on the ice because they’ve had enough practice time, they want to get this going," said Maurice.

"Motivation, getting wired up for the game, it’s not one of 82 now, that’s not an issue. Being sharp and executing is what we’re trying to stay with here this week."

Precedent suggests the Jets and Predators crank up the offence when they tangle. In five contests during the regular season, Nashville (3-1-1) and Winnipeg (2-3-0) combined for 41 goals in regulation time.

That counteracts the tenet of defence preached by Maurice and Preds bench boss Peter Laviolette, who have first-rate blue-line corps at their disposal.

But with Ehlers, Patrik Laine, Mark Scheifele, Kyle Connor and Blake Wheeler on one side, and skilled performers such as Preds’ forwards Filip Forsberg, Viktor Arvidsson and Ryan Johansen on the other — not to mention defencemen on both clubs that are wired to push up the ice — Hellebuyck and perennial all-star Pekka Rinne should be busy goalies during what’s expected to be a long, gritty series.

"You work at it for seven months, so when you get here there’s no new speeches going in. We’re not changing anything with what we do. I don’t know how many pucks cross the line, but I think there’s going to be opportunities there. It could be a lower-scoring game, but it won’t be played where either team won’t try to push the envelope offensively," said Maurice. "Both have lots of confidence in that offensive game. (Both) have very similar styles... they attack."

Hellebuyck started four of five against Nashville, and, by his own admission, did not exactly shine in the crease.

The 24-year-old, who posted a pair of shutouts against the Wild, said he’s psyched to compete against the league’s premier club, which lost the 2017 Cup final to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

"They have depth. They have a great system, a good coach over there. From top to bottom, they have solid players," said Hellebuyck. "If you want to earn a Stanley Cup, you have to go through the best team. This will be a great series for us, a great tester to see where we’re really at. I like our team. I like the way we’ve been playing. I like how we’re built. This is going to be a fun time."

Nashville (53-18-11) finished three points up on Winnipeg (52-20-10) during the regular season. Jets centre Bryan Little said the Preds rightly head in as the favourites.

"These guys were in the Stanley Cup finals last year. They were the best team in the league during the season, so I would say we’re the underdogs," said Little.

"If anything, they might have an edge on us in some categories, but I think it’s close. It’s gonna be a really tough series and a tight series, so I think that’s why everyone’s so excited about it."

Winnipeg Sun http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/vezina-candidates-stand-tall-battle- between-the-pipes-brings-intrigue-for-jets-and-preds

Vezina candidates stand tall: Battle between the pipes brings intrigue for Jets and Preds

By Ken Wiebe

NASHVILLE – This is the company Connor Hellebuyck is planning to keep for years to come.

Since arriving on the scene with the Winnipeg Jets, Hellebuyck has demonstrated a certain level of confidence when it comes to his ability between the pipes – occasionally even when it left those around him shaking their heads a bit.

He’s got high expectations for himself and he’s constantly pushing to be better.

The quest for the Vezina Trophy was on Hellebuyck’s mind last season and he wasn’t afraid to share it, even during a stretch when he was frequently being pulled from games.

But that confidence shouldn’t be misconstrued as arrogance.

When you’re the last line of defence, the faith in one’s ability to stop the puck simply cannot waver.

And for Hellebuyck, his words have been backed up his actions this season and that continued during the opening round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Going into the second round match-up with the Nashville Predators, goaltending is once again expected to play a pivotal role.

As good as Hellebuyck was this season, one could make the argument that Predators puck- stopper Pekka Rinne meant just as much to his team.

The numbers themselves are similar, but Rinne is considered by many to be the front-runner for the Vezina Trophy.

Although he doesn’t have the same personal relationship with Rinne as he did with his goalie opponent in the opening round, Devan Dubnyk, Hellebuyck has no shortage of respect for the longtime face of the Predators franchise.

“He’s a great goalie. He’s proven it throughout his career. I’m excited for this battle we’re going to have,” said Hellebuyck, when asked about Rinne on Wednesday. “Our styles are so different, it’s tough for me to add some of his. But he has good composure, and good hands.

“I know him from the all-star game. He’s a great guy. Great character. Class act. I wish him the best. But we’re here to win a series.”

Rinne is a seasoned veteran, a 35-year-old Finn who has been with the Predators organization since being selected by them in a round of the NHL Draft that no longer exists.

An eighth-round selection, 258th overall, in 2004, Rinne came over to North America for the 2005-06 season to play in the American Hockey League with the Milwaukee Admirals.

Rinne spent most of three seasons in the minors before becoming a full-time NHLer, taking over the No. 1 job with the Predators during the 2008-09 season.

“Pekka is one of the best stories you can use over and over again with all of your younger players coming into your organization and even with the older players,” Predators general manager David Poile said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “He was drafted in a round that we don’t have anyone and played three full years in Milwaukee. His career speaks for itself. Like wine, he’s actually getting better with age and this has all of the makings of his best year ever.”

Playoff success had been tougher to come by, until last spring, when he backstopped the Predators to Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final against the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“Just like our franchise, he’s been striving for that for all of his career too,” said Poile. “If you’re listing the major reasons that (the Predators and Jets) are both facing each other, you probably want to start with the goaltending because it’s been really good for both of our teams.

“Whatever has happened with success we’ve had in the past (Rinne) has been a big reason why we’ve moved on. Starting last year against Chicago, when we were the last team to get into the playoffs. The 16th seed against the No. 1 team in our division and he pitches two shutouts in that series. What a way to start. He’s not wearing a C or an A on his jersey, but he’s clearly one of the most important leaders that we have on our team.”

During the opening round this spring against the Colorado Avalanche, Rinne had a rough outing in Game 3, getting pulled during the second period.

But Rinne regrouped and was rock-solid during the final two games of the series, blanking the Avalanche in Game 6 to set up this showdown with Hellebuyck and the Jets.

“If (Rinne) played in a different market, he’d get a lot more attention,” said Predators defenceman Ryan Ellis. “But he’s been great like that through his entire career and this year is no different. You don’t want to rely on him to win you games, but to know he has that ability, it gives our group a huge boost.”

Hellebuyck is a bit of a late bloomer himself.

Chosen in the fifth round of the 2012 NHL Draft out of the North American Hockey League after playing for the Odessa Jackalopes, Hellebuyck had two strong seasons in the NCAA with the University of Massachusetts-Lowell RedHawks, capturing the inaugural Mike Richter Award as the top goalie in college hockey before deciding to turn pro.

Hellebuyck was a workhorse with the St. John’s IceCaps during his first pro season, appearing in 58 games and being named to the American Hockey League All-Star Classic.

He spent the majority of his second season with the Manitoba Moose, though he got a taste of the NHL when Ondrej Pavelec suffered an injury in 2005-06.

During that stint with the Jets, Hellebuyck showed flashes of a guy who looked to have potential to carry the mail as a starter.

Last season, with Pavelec banished to the minors after training camp, Hellebuyck expanded his apprenticeship and took over the leading role, appearing in 56 games and making 53 starts.

There were plenty of ups-and-downs to endure, but Hellebuyck used the summer to work on some things and came back ready to take the next step.

After watching Steve Mason start the first two games, Hellebuyck stayed focused and was prepared when the time came for him to step into the net.

As it turns out, Hellebuyck took back the No. 1 job and put together an impressive seasons, going 44-11-9 with a 2.36 goals-against average and .924 save % – a stark improvement from the 26-19-4 record and 2.89 goals-against average and .907 save % from the prior campaign.

Hellebuyck’s confidence remained high, but the most important thing he did was provide stability for a position that needed it.

“I really think it’s his confidence,” said Jets rookie forward Jack Roslovic, when asked what has impressed him most about Hellebuyck this season. “I remember last year I watched him a lot, even though I wasn’t on the team. He didn’t seem to be himself at times or something wasn’t quite there, I don’t really know what it was. But this year, he really liked the new (off-season) trainer he was with and I really think he got dialled in over the summer. He came in and wanted to take that No. 1 spot and he did it. He’s just a heck of a player, he saved us a lot of games.”

In his first taste of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Hellebuyck was excellent against the Minnesota Wild, the lone exception coming in Game 3 when he allowed six goals on 22 shots on goal in two periods of work before getting the hook.

But much like he did during the regular season, Hellebuyck quickly returned to form, posting consecutive 30-save shutouts to help close out the Wild in five games.

During the regular season, Hellebuyck had some uneasy moments against the Predators, going 2-2 with a 3.91 goals-against average and .882 save % in four starts.

But he also blanked the Predators when coming on in relief of Michael Hutchinson on Mar. 13, turning aside all 30 shots that he faced.

The regular season numbers as a whole or in the head-to-head meetings won’t mean anything for either one of these goalies once the puck drops on Friday.

“They’ve got good goaltending as do we,” said Predators head coach Peter Laviolette. “That’s why I don’t know how the series will play out.”

With both teams oozing confidence in their masked men, now it’s up to whoever stands tallest and makes the most saves that is likely to help his team advance to Round 3.

“Just got to get in the way of a puck. That’s the easiest way I can say it,” said Hellebuyck. “They’re a good team, obviously. And we’ve got to be prepared to go to a Game 7 if we have to. They’re where they are for a reason. And we’re not going to take them lightly.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/canadas-team-jets-are-a-feel-good- story-for-the-country

CANADA’S TEAM: Jets are a feel-good story for the country

By Ted Wyman

NASHVILLE — Seven years after returning from the abyss, the Jets are Canada’s team.

How does that sound, Winnipeg?

As the NHL playoffs move into the second round, the Jets are the only Canadian team still standing and the only one with a chance to end the country’s 25-year Stanley Cup drought.

Not since the Montreal Canadiens in 1993 has a Canadian team hoisted Lord Stanley’s mug, and while several have come close — the Calgary Flames, Edmonton Oilers, Ottawa Senators and Vancouver Canucks all made it to the final — the long wait continues.

The Jets became the Great White North Hope on Wednesday night when the Toronto Maple Leafs bowed out to the Boston Bruins in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first-round series. Alas, it’s now been 51 years since the Leafs last won the Cup.

That’s OK, though. The Jets have never won it, through 23 seasons and two versions of the franchise.

Their best chance to date comes after so many years of heartache, which included the original franchise leaving for Phoenix in 1996. Fans felt the void for a full 15 years, and while it was a joyous occasion when Winnipeg got the Jets back in 2011, you also got the sense people around the country were genuinely happy for the city.

They’re likely happy to see the Jets and their appreciative fans enjoying the playoff experience now, although some might question getting so excited about winning a single series.

There’s a point there. After all, the Vegas Golden Knights, in their first year of existence and already through to the final eight, have as good a chance as the one remaining Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup.

What Bizarro World is this?

I guess it’s the same as the one where a team called the Jets, which had never won a playoff game, let alone a series, until this year, is carrying the hopes of a nation.

There are many people in the hockey world who believe the Jets have the horses to do it this year.

They have a great goaltender in Connor Hellebuyck, a physical, puck-moving defence led by Dustin Byfuglien and balanced scoring throughout four lines than can compete with the best team in the league.

Therein, lies the rub.

The Jets will have to beat the best team in the league just to get past the second round.

Again, we pay a visit to Bizarro World, otherwise known as the land of The NHL’s Messed Up Thinking That Divisional Rivalries are More Important Than Having the Best Teams in the Stanley Cup Final.

When the Jets and Nashville Predators face off in Music City Friday night for Game 1, it will be a matchup of the teams with the two best regular-season records in the NHL. Nashville had 117 points, the Jets 114.

Though because they play in the same division, they get to beat up on each other now, in the second round, rather than play a team with a poorer record and have a chance to meet up in the Western Conference final.

There were no real upsets in the first round of the playoffs, so eight top teams are advancing to the second round. But now, the first-place overall team will play the second-place overall team, while the third-place Tampa Bay Lightning will play the fourth-place Boston Bruins.

See how this makes no sense?

Especially when you consider that sixth-overall Washington will face 10th-overall Pittsburgh and fifth-overall Las Vegas will face 11th-overall San Jose in the other quarter-finals. Huh?

Anyway, I got a little sidetracked.

The point was the Jets are Canada’s team and it looks good on them. They’ll be on national TV every game from here on, with the No. 1 CBC crew of Jim Hughson and Craig Simpson calling the games.

They’ve already got a rabid fan base in Winnipeg, where some 36,000 people converged on downtown just for a first-round series-clinching game.

Imagine what that might look like if this team is still playing in a month?

Beating Nashville won’t be easy, but it’s possible. The Jets match up well.

Many people are predicting the series will be epic, switching back and forth from the every day wildness of Nashville’s Broadway area to the Winnipeg whiteout.

No team called the Winnipeg Jets has ever won a second-round playoff game, but this has already been a year of firsts, so why not keep it going?

In a spring when tragedy has dominated the headlines, first with the devastating Humboldt Broncos bus crash and then the heinous Toronto van attack, the Jets are a feel-good story.

A sport can never compare to the harsh realities of a world where terrible things happen all too often but it can certainly divert people’s attention and make them happy.

And we all need a little happiness right about now. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/laine-misses-practice-but-maurice- seems-unconcerned-pp-will-be-key-against-the-preds-jets-more-comfortable-five-on-five- hellebuyck-ready-to-flip-the-switch

Laine misses practice, but Maurice seems unconcerned... PP will be key against the Preds... Jets more comfortable five-on-five... Hellebuyck ready to flip the switch

By Paul Friesen

Winnipeg Jets sniper Patrik Laine was conspicuously absent from practice, Wednesday, with the playoff series opener in Nashville just two days away.

The NHL’s second-leading goal scorer in the regular season wasn’t made available for interviews for the second straight day — he also left practices early, Sunday and Tuesday.

Yet, head coach Paul Maurice seemed to indicate Laine will be ready to play in Game 1, Friday.

“He’ll be fine,” Maurice said. “He’s in the same boat as everybody else, but I have an expectation that he’ll be there.”

The “same boat” as everybody else has meant “game-time decision” for Maurice since the playoffs began, as the coach ramps up the secrecy surrounding injuries.

Laine scored 44 goals this season, including a league-leading 20 on the power play.

The Jets will fly to Nashville Thursday, without a practice.

PRACTISING THE PP The Jets spent a fair bit of time practising their power play, Wednesday, with Bryan Little moving up from the second unit to take Laine’s place on the first.

“There’s some question marks right now,” Little said. “But for me it’s just being ready to do either thing, first or second unit, and depending on where I’m playing on each unit. You go through the scenarios in your head of what might happen and you try to prepare yourself for each one.

“I got told last game I was playing wing in the morning of the game, so you just be ready to play any role you’re asked.”

Little filled in for late scratch Nik Ehlers in the last game against Minnesota.

After seeing mixed results from his special teams in the first round, Maurice expects both units will be tested by the Predators.

“Whoever’s in the box the least has the best chance to be good,” he said. “There’s going to be a piece of the game in every game that either leads to success or failure. You have to be better at something, five-on-five, special teams, goaltending — whatever it is, there’s going to have to be one piece that’s better.

“Both teams have good power plays, both have good penalty kills. There’s not a weakness there for either team, so execution on both ends is key.”

The Jets’ first-round series didn’t have a lot of penalties, but Maurice isn’t sure what to expect against the Preds.

“We’ve had extremes — we’ve had lower power-play games, we’ve had 12 guys in the box at the same time,” the coach said. “So we’ll see.”

Ehlers doesn’t expect many power plays for either side.

“It’s the playoffs,” he said. “You hope you can play some five-on-five hockey.”

Little goes so far as to say the Jets are more comfortable playing five-on-five.

“Our special teams have been a lot better this year, especially our power play,” Little said. “But at the end of the day we want to play a five-on-five game and get everyone on the ice and roll four lines. That’s our strength.”

Little recalls special teams being a big factor in the season series.

“They gave our power play a bit of trouble during the season. That’s why we were working on it today.”

FOCUS NOT A PROBLEM Despite the week-long break, Maurice acknowledged motivation is not an issue at this time of the year. Channelling it properly — that’s another story.

“It’s not one of 82 now,” he said. “Having them focused in December or after a break, that’s more challenging. Everybody’s wired in right now. It’s harnessing that to execute well.”

Ehlers says it’s easy to keep from getting casual during all the time between games.

“This is what we’ve been working for a while now,” he said. “Everybody in this room wants it and we go out there every single practice and work for it.”

THE HELLE-SWITCH Jets goalie Connor Hellebuyck says the week of practice has been good, but he’ll have to flip a switch to game mode on Friday.

“You do have to have that on- and off-switch for your mental game,” Hellebuyck said. “The second you flip it on, you have to be ready to go. You have to be prepared to do every detail to the finest point. We can’t back down, we can’t take easy strides. We have to keep pushing the game forward.”

The Vezina Trophy finalist says the Predators will be a good measuring stick for his team.

“If you want to earn a Stanley Cup, you have to go through the best team,” he said. “So this will be a great tester to see where we’re really at. I like the way we’ve been playing. I like how we’re built. This is going to be a fun time.”

Hellebuyck is coming off back-to-back shutouts of Minnesota in Round 1.

“It helps,” he said. “But I’ve kind of put that behind me already.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-prepare-for-nashville-alley-oop

Jets prepare for Nashville alley-oop

By Paul Friesen

Jets coach Paul Maurice calls it “the flipper.”

It’s also known as the alley-oop, and it’s one of Nashville’s favourite ways to break out of its own zone. A defenceman will flip the puck high in the air, where a speeding forward will try to corral it in the neutral zone and create an offensive chance.

The Jets say it’s a tricky play to handle.

“There’s more pressure on our D to get that thing, because it’s a tough play,” Jets centre Bryan Little said.

“They’re really good at it. They flip that thing up, and they’ve got guys right on top of you. It’s on both the D and forwards to help each other out and get that settled down.”

Maurice earlier this week said it’ll test the players’ baseball skills, as they try to make contact with a puck in the air or bouncing.

There might be a little football strategy employed, too.

Think of it as being on the kickoff return team.

“As forwards you want to hold up their forecheckers as much as you can without taking an interference penalty,” Little said. “Get in their way and try to slow them down a bit. At the same time, try to get open as soon as that puck settles down.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/subban-earns-respect-for-two-way-play-predators-d- man-not-just-flash-and-dash

Subban earns respect for two-way play: Predators D-man not just flash and dash

By Ken Wiebe

NASHVILLE – P.K. Subban seems to be a bit put off by the insinuation that there has been a transformation of his game since his arrival in Music City.

The Nashville Predators blue-liner is a finalist for the Norris Trophy once again this season and he’s expected to play a prominent role in the second-round series against the Winnipeg Jets.

Subban was asked about what it meant to have Predators head coach Peter Laviolette show faith in him to take on the tougher match-ups on the shutdown pairing with Mattias Ekholm?

“It’s great to be put in that position at the most important time of the year, but I mean that’s how I won my job in the NHL,” said Subban, who captured the Norris Trophy in 2013. “It wasn’t because of my offence. It was coming in and playing against the league’s top players. I remember coming up in the playoffs against (Sidney) Crosby and (Alex) Ovechkin, and that was for me the turning point of being a full-time NHLer.

“That’s how I’ve earned my job, and that’s how I’m going to keep it. So that’s part of what I do, and I look forward to the challenge.”

Laviolette endorses the theory put forth by Subban.

“His game has been the same since he got here,” said Laviolette. “He’s been terrific offensively. He’s a really solid defender. He’s probably undervalued by a lot (of people) in the defensive zone — just going back and getting pucks and breaking out, in coverage and going against big players and top players, he’s been excellent. A lot times you get recognized for the Norris Trophy because of your offensive contributions, but his defensive contributions are equally impressive.”

The challenge for Subban and Ekholm in the second round will likely include a steady dose of Mark Scheifele, Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor.

Subban and Scheifele became well acquainted during the course of the five-game season series, with the two getting involved in several rounds of chirping with one another.

While Subban isn’t afraid to try and get under the skin of his opponents, that’s only a small part of what he does.

Subban led the Predators in ice time this season, averaging 24:06 per game and he’s used in all important situations.

His 16 goals and 59 points in 82 games left him third in team scoring, just behind top-liners Viktor Arvidsson (61) and Ryan Johansen (64).

“He almost led our team in scoring and what he’s not given enough credit for is how good he is defensively,” Predators general manager David Poile said in a telephone interview on Wednesday. “If anybody was paying attention during the playoffs last season, they would have seen that.”

It was Poile who pulled the trigger on the blockbuster deal in the summer of 2016 to acquire Subban from the Montreal Canadiens for former captain Shea Weber.

“Those are two high-end players,” said Poile. “It’s hard to quantify. At that point, we were just looking for a change. We changed coaches. We were good, but we weren’t quite getting there. One other thing is P.K. is three years younger than (Weber) and that made a lot of sense.

“Shea Weber is always going to be one of my favourite players, but what I can also tell you is that from a distance, watching P.K., he was always one of my favourite players.”

Poile doesn’t have to watch Subban from a distance anymore.

“He’s full of life and energy,” said Poile. “I can’t believe how much he does away from the rink, in terms of the charity work and all of the good things. Some of it is known and some of it is unknown. But it’s a big part of who he is.”

In his first season, Subban meshed immediately with the Predators and helped them go further than they had before in the Stanley Cup playoffs, reaching Game 6 before bowing out to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

After ousting the Colorado Avalanche in the opening round, Subban is eager for the marquee match-up with the Jets.

“Just a lot of skill. a lot of speed and size. That’s what you need in hockey to have success,” said Subban. “I think they have all the intangibles. That’s why they had such a good season.”

There’s been plenty of chatter going into this series about the Predators ability to get some offence from the back end, but Subban made it clear that’s not the focus for the defence corps.

“Defence wins championships,” said Subban, who had three assists in six games during the first round. “I mean it’s one thing to score and put the puck in the net, but if you can’t defend you’re not going to win anything. For us, I thought when we had to defend well, we did. And we always know that we can generate, and we will do that. But I think the biggest thing, and any team will tell you, in the playoffs you have to defend well. And when we’ve had success, it’s when we’ve been playing our best defence.” http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/building-belief-jets-confident-they-can- handle-predators

Building belief: Jets confident they can handle Predators

By Paul Friesen

The team that’s done it against the team that thinks they can do it.

That’s really what this second-round series between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators is about.

Nashville’s trip to the Stanley Cup Final a year ago puts them in the driver’s seat. You can’t replace experience.

“Maybe a better word is belief,” Jets coach Paul Maurice was saying, Wednesday. “After you’ve been to the finals like they have, they believe they’re good enough to win. They know how strong they are.

“We’re building that belief as we go.”

That belief has a pretty good foundation.

The Jets started to build it early in the season, when they bounced back from a pair of forgettable games to go 12-2-3 in their next 17.

I recall Andrew Copp telling me he first thought this was a pretty good team in the third game against Edmonton, a 5-2 win on the road — the first win of the season.

That belief took another huge step when the Jets not only survived the loss of top-line centre Mark Scheifele right after Christmas, but thrived, posting an 11-2-3 mark.

They never looked back.

Going 11-1 in their last dozen games almost seemed like an afterthought, as the Jets finished the regular season second, overall.

They did everything anyone could have asked — except pass the Preds.

So can a 114-point team even be an underdog?

“They were the best team in the league during the season so I would say we’re the underdogs,” Bryan Little said. “If anything, they might have an edge on us in some categories. But I think it’s close. It’s going to be a really tough series and a tight series… that’s why everyone’s so excited about it.”

The Jets hope their first-round win over Minnesota makes them at least a little playoff-hardened. But that’s nothing compared to what the Preds have gone through.

Nashville was the second wildcard team a year ago, knocking off Chicago, St. Louis and Anaheim to reach the Cup Final.

They swept the Blackhawks, and needed six games to defeat each of the Blues and Ducks.

It’s noteworthy none of those opponents packed quite the punch of these Jets. The Blackhawks were the top team in the West, but their 109 points is five less than Winnipeg rolled up this season.

The Blues (99 points) and Ducks (105) also fell short of the season the Jets just finished.

So the Preds have their hands full.

“I wouldn’t say people would call us huge underdogs,” Little said. “We finished really close in the standings. But they’ve been in this situation before. We take it as a great challenge. We’d like nothing more than to upset these guys.”

Ask Nik Ehlers about being underdogs, and he straddles the fence like it’s a blue line with men offside.

“Yes and no,” Ehlers said. “They got some experience from last year. We got some experience from the last five games and we’ve played some really good hockey. So this is a new season. We’ve taken a step up, and if we can keep this going the way we’re playing right now and make it even better, then it’s gonna be an exciting series.”

There’s evidence the Preds are the better team. Not just in the three-point edge from the regular season, but in the season series between the two. Maurice earlier this week said the season series doesn’t mean a thing, and maybe this is why: the Jets won just one of the five meetings in regulation. They won another in a shootout – and lost three in regulation.

“(The Predators’) play says they’re an elite team,” Maurice said. “The team that starts at home has proven to be better… over the course of 82. It’s a close gap.”

The Jets are a team still discovering things about themselves. Loaded with playoff rookies, like Ehlers, and even more second-round rookies, like Little.

They’ve passed all tests with flying colours, so far, including being heavy favourites against the Wild in Round 1.

“Some firsts have been passed,” Maurice noted. “They’ve got their (first) game out of the way. They won a game on the road. They’ve lost a game. Haven’t seen an overtime game, yet. That’s the one that’s left.”

Oh, there’s more. Lots more.

For starters, they’ve never played a team like this in the playoffs. http://winnipegsun.com/sports/hockey/nhl/winnipeg-jets/jets-hosting-away-game-viewing- parties-for-round-2

Jets hosting away game viewing parties for Round 2

By Winnipeg Sun

Winnipeg Jets fans will have a chance to unite and watch away games between the Winnipeg Jets and Nashville Predators in the comfort of the city’s downtown home of the Jets for the Western Conference Second Round matchup.

The Jets are opening up Bell MTS Place to fans for each away game in the second round as it plays host to the #WPGWhiteout Viewing Party.

Fans will be able to watch the game on the four screens that make up the jumbotron that hangs over centre ice.

The Jets are expecting a packed house and will have all concessions in the arena opened.

The Jets play Game 1 of the series on Friday at 7 p.m. in Nashville. Doors are expected to open at Bell MTS Place one hour before puck drop.

A start time for Game 2 of the series has yet to be announced. That start time is expected to be revealed following Game 7 tonight between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Jets say they’re expecting national coverage of the game will feature several live shots from the party at Bell MTS Place.

Fans who attend are being encouraged to wear white and will receive a ‘We are Winnipeg’ rally towel. Prizes will also be handed out.

Tickets to the viewing will be $10 each for reserved seating and will go on sale on Thursday at 1 p.m. Proceeds will go to The True North Youth Foundation.

Global Winnipeg https://globalnews.ca/news/4170024/former-winnipeg-jets-player-praises-current-team-calls-it- the-boost-winnipeg-needs/

Former Winnipeg Jets player praises current team, calls it the boost Winnipeg needs

By Nikki Jhutti Videographer Global News

And then there was one.

With the Boston Bruins knocking off the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs Thursday night, the only team left representing the true north is the Winnipeg Jets.

But are they Canada’s team?

Former Winnipeg Jets goalie Joe Daley has been following the action on the ice closely and said it’s an exciting time to be a Jets’ fan, but he’s not so sure hockey fans across the country are jumping on the bandwagon.

“We’re Manitoba’s team for sure we know that, I’m not so sure about Toronto or Vancouver or Edmonton embracing Winnipeg right now but we as Manitobans are very, very, very proud of our group,” Daley said.

Daley credits the Jets’ success to buying into the program, as well as strong defense and as he calls it “the young stars” putting the puck in the net. The former goalie also gave a shout out to Vezina Trophy nominee Connor Hellebuyck.

“The goaltending has been outstanding,” Daley said. “You can’t win in any league without great goaltending and Connor has provided it in spades this year and I’m so happy for him. I’m hoping that even if he doesn’t win the Vezina Trophy that he can have the big one over his head at the end of the year.”

The former NHL player also weighed in on the White Out street parties, calling them the boost Winnipeg needs every once in a while.

“It’s bringing people together in harmony and having fun. We know there’s so many unfortunate disasters that have happened in the last while in Canada and we need things to rally around and be happy about and certainly the White Out is providing that here in Winnipeg.”

The Jets open up round two of the playoffs in Nashville, when they face off against the Predators Friday night.

USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/columnist/allen/2018/04/25/nhl-playoffs-second- round-capitals-penguins-bruins-lightning-jets-predators-sharks-golden-knights/552745002/

Stanley Cup? Best round of NHL playoffs could be second round

By Kevin Allen, USA TODAY

The NHL’s best player vs. the top goal scorer of this generation. A goalie match-up with both goalies boasting save percentages at .970 and above. A dazzling band of goal scorers playing against the NHL’s most skilled defensive corps.

The No. 1 team vs. No. 2 and No. 3 vs. No. 4.

So much to talk about in the second round of the NHL playoffs.

Tuukka Rask looking to prove he’s a big-game goalie. Alex Ovechkin trying to win his first Stanley Cup. Winnipeg seeking to become the first Canadian team since 1993 to win a Stanley Cup. The Penguins’ quest for a third Stanley Cup in a row.

Evgeni Malkin’s injury. Brent Burns’ beard. Patrik Laine’s shot. Nashville’s plan to smash up a plane in front of its arena.

Is Joe Thornton playing? Will Barry Trotz save his job? Can the building in Vegas get any louder? Who’s singing the anthem in Nashville?

Every series looks like a toss-up. If you say you're sure you know who will win the Pittsburgh vs. Washington series, you're lying to yourself. The same is true of every other one.

Here is a look at why the second round could end up being the best round, or at least the most entertaining one, of this season’s NHL playoffs:

Washington Capitals vs. Pittsburgh Penguins (starts Thursday, 7 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network): Sidney Crosby. Alex Ovechkin. A media-fueled rivalry. Washington fans don’t like Crosby and Pittsburgh fans have no use for Ovechkin. Need we say more? The Penguins start the series without injured forwards Evgeni Malkin and Carl Hagelin. The Capitals start the series with Ovechkin confident after a come-from-behind series win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Ovechkin was strong in the series, but the Caps have a recent history of coming up short, and the Penguins are a two-time defending champion. This season, though, the Caps have been flying under the radar. If there was a time when conditions seemed perfect for the Capitals to rise to meet the challenge, it is this season. They'll have to conquer Crosby first, and he never goes down easy. Plus, the Penguins are highly educated in the art of winning important games.

Boston Bruins vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (starts Saturday, 3 p.m., NBC): The Lightning might be the higher seed, but they finished only one point ahead of Boston. The Lightning had a +60 goal-differential and the Bruins were +56. The Bruins were 3-1 against the Lightning in the regular season. Doesn’t this feel like a seven-game series? The Lightning have dynamic Steven Stamkos and Nikita Kucherov, but the Bruins have the equally exciting Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-David Pastrnak line. The Lightning have Victor Hedman leading a strong defense. The Bruins have giant Zdeno Chara as the team’s tower of defense. Vasilevskiy and Rask might decide what could be a tug-of-war series.

San Jose Sharks vs. Vegas Golden Knights (starts Thursday 10 p.m., NBCSN): If you love stingy goaltending, this series is for you. The Martin Jones vs. Marc-Andre Fleury goaltending matchup could keep this a low-scoring series. In the first round, Fleury gave up three goals in a four-game sweep of the Los Angeles Kings. Jones gave up four in a sweep against the Anaheim Ducks. Fleury’s save percentage is .977, slightly better than Jones’ .970. The Golden Knights are in their first NHL season, but opponents are already saying their arena is one of the loudest in game. The Shark Tank has long been a difficult road venue for visiting teams. Many fans are rooting for the Golden Knights like they are the Cinderella team. But how about some love for a Sharks franchise that hasn’t won the Cup in its 27-year history? This series will be worth staying up late to watch.

Winnipeg Jets vs. Nashville Predators (starts Friday, 8 p.m., NBCSN): The Jets boast one of the NHL’s most dangerous offenses and Nashville has the league’s most talented defense. Both teams have quality goaltending, with the Predators perhaps owning a small edge because Pekka Rinne is more experienced than Connor Hellebuyck. Maybe the Predators set the tone for this series when they towed in a plane, planning to paint a Jets logo on it, for fans to smash before they attempt to pulverize the Jets. The Predators’ offense is much deeper than it was a year ago when they reached the Stanley Cup Final. Despite the presence of quality goalies and proven defense, this series could feature an entertaining amount of scoring. Everyone talks about Winnipeg’s dangerous collection of scorers, but Nashville’s Filip Forsberg can be just as exciting.

The Tennessean https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2018/04/26/predators-jets-nashville- lines-turris-fiala-smith-nhl-playoffs-schedule/548182002/

Predators' silent second line needs to step up to beat Winnipeg Jets

By Adam Vingan, USA TODAY NETWORK

Among other attributes, the Predators utilized a balanced attack to advance to the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

But something was missing. The Predators' second forward line — Kevin Fiala, Kyle Turris and Craig Smith — was a non-factor offensively, which can't happen if they intend to defeat the Winnipeg Jets.

"We need to be better," Turris said. "Obviously we want to be contributing and making an impact. We've got to do a better job come second round here."

Predators analysis: Predators vs. Jets: 3 things to watch in Game 1

The acquisition of Turris last November brought stability to the Predators’ forward lineup.

He, Fiala and Smith found instant success, outscoring opponents 32-13 at even strength during the regular season. They benefited from cushy assignments, starting a league-high 69.25 percent of their shifts in the offensive zone, according to the Corsica website.

Predators analysis: Why Predators vs. Winnipeg Jets will be must-see

But against the Avalanche, Turris, Fiala and Smith didn't combine for a goal in six games when together. The chances were there, but the finish wasn't.

Predators coach Peter Laviolette dissolved the unit to start Game 6 by removing Fiala and replacing him with Calle Jarnkrok.

"I played really bad," Fiala said. "I played not good. Those two guys, I think, played good. You need three guys for a line to make it happen, and I wasn't there for them. I've just got to play better. I didn't compete and skate enough."

Predators playoff schedule:Nashville, Winnipeg Jets open second round Friday

The Predators need all three of them to rebound against the Jets, whose top-six forward group is supremely skilled.

Winnipeg, like Nashville, has two imposing lines — Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler; Nikolaj Ehlers, Paul Stastny and Patrik Laine — that can take over a game and series.

"I'm sure that they want to feel those contributions, too," Laviolette said of Turris' line. "That's one of our lines that can produce a lot of points. I've known, too, that through the course of going long and deep in the playoffs that it's not always the same players. Different players and different lines, they find their way through certain points of the playoffs.

"There's a lot of confidence from me in that group. I think through the course of a long series, you'll see their production and their contributions." https://www.tennessean.com/story/sports/nhl/predators/2018/04/26/predators-jets-preview- game-1-nhl-playoffs-round-2-schedule-nashville-winnipeg-smash-plane/542902002/

Predators vs. Jets: 3 things to watch in Game 1 of NHL second-round playoff series

By Adam Vingan, USA TODAY NETWORK

Here are three things to watch as the Predators prepare for Game 1 of their second-round playoff series against the Winnipeg Jets on Friday (7 p.m., NBC SN/102.5-FM):

What will the matchups be? The Predators were effective at slowing Nathan MacKinnon's line in their first-round victory against the Colorado Avalanche. Now comes the challenge of neutralizing the Jets' top-six forward group.

Roman Josi and Ryan Ellis saw the most time against MacKinnon, so Predators coach Peter Laviolette might decide to utilize them against the Jets' imposing top line of Kyle Connor, Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler.

That would leave Mattias Ekholm and P.K. Subban to contend with the dynamic combination of Nikolaj Ehlers, Paul Stastny and 44-goal scorer Patrik Laine.

The defensive assignments probably will change throughout the series. Ekholm and Subban, who employ a more physical style than Josi and Ellis, might be better suited for the big-bodied Scheifele and Wheeler.

Prepare for potential of offense The Predators and Jets didn't intend to score 41 combined goals in their five meetings this season. It just happened that way.

Neither team expects this series to be offense-centric. But it's undeniable that Nashville and Winnipeg, two of the league's best defensive teams, bring out the best in each other.

"Both teams have great goal-scorers, great offensive guys," Predators forward Kevin Fiala said. "It doesn't matter if you're first line or fourth, everybody can score. It's going to be a really good series, I think."

Will Ryan Hartman be factor? After serving his one-game suspension in Game 5 of the first round, Predators forward Ryan Hartman remained out of the lineup as a scratch in Game 6.

Hartman, whom the Predators acquired for a first-round pick and more in February, wasn't a factor against the Avalanche. If and when he returns to the lineup, the Predators will need more from him.

Hartman's best game with the Predators was his debut Feb. 27 against the Jets, when he led them with eight shot attempts at even strength and scored the game-winner.

Canadian Press https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/organizers-wonder-big-crowds-will-get-jets-street-party/

Organizers wonder how big crowds will get for Jets street party

By Canadian Press

WINNIPEG — At first, it was just a few thousand people braving the cold to cheer on the Winnipeg Jets in a street party.

Then the numbers grew. And, with each game, the crowd got bigger.

Organizers say that by Game 5 of the first round of the NHL playoffs — which the Jets won against the Minnesota Wild — almost 20,000 people had gathered in the street outside Bell MTS Place to cheer, watch the game on big screens and be entertained by DJs.

Playoff fever has fully erupted in a city that had been starved of an NHL playoff victory for two decades.

"The patience as a fan base … has created this enormous sense of pent-up excitement to explode and let it all out," says Darren Ford, who led a grassroots campaign to bring the NHL back to Winnipeg after the first Jets franchise left for Phoenix in 1996.

The new version of the Jets came to Winnipeg from Atlanta in 2011. They made the playoffs in 2015 but were swept by the Anaheim Ducks in the first round.

This time, the team shows a lot more promise and fans have come out in droves, dressing all in white for a ritual known as The Whiteout.

For one couple, getting married didn’t keep them from joining in. Eddie Bartlett and Rebecca Hiscock joined the frenzy for Game 5 of the series against Minnesota. They wanted to take wedding pictures at the street party. They talked their wedding photographer into it.

The bride’s white gown was a natural fit.

"We said, ‘OK … what a chance we have to get a perfect picture,"’ Bartlett said.

"We just went there to get one picture and all of a sudden, an hour later, we were still there."

Fans surrounded the couple and took pictures which were quickly posted to social media sites.

"Everyone was so excited to see us and … no one believed that it was our actual wedding day," said Hiscock.

All the excitement has organizers wondering how big the crowds will get if the Jets continue to do well in their playoff run, especially now that warmer weather has arrived. The second round against the Nashville Predators begins Friday.

More street sections have had to be blocked off, more big screens have been put up. Police have said there have been virtually no problems so far, aside from a small number of people arrested for public intoxication.

Organizers, who have also set up a family-friendly, no-alcohol zone for each street party, say they are prepared to expand further to accommodate growing crowds.

"We’ll continue to tweak that every time we have a game," said Dayna Spiring, president of Economic Development Winnipeg.

"We’re going to continue to expand as we need to and we’ll see what the demand is."

For Ford, the sellout crowd inside the arena and the large crowd outside are proof that the city, a small population base by NHL standards, is a big market when it comes to the national game.

"This is our sport." https://www.thestar.com/sports/hockey/2018/04/25/jets-split-on-whether-theyre-underdogs- against-predators.html

Jets split on whether they’re underdogs against Predators

By JUDY OWEN The Canadian Press

WINNIPEG—Bryan Little believes the Winnipeg Jets are hungry underdogs heading into their highly anticipated second-round playoff series with the Nashville Predators.

The veteran forward agrees the teams almost mirror each other in statistics, but he tilted the scales a little bit toward Nashville for a couple of reasons.

The Predators finished first in the NHL regular-season standings with 117 points, three ahead of the Jets, plus Nashville almost hoisted the championship trophy last year.

“These guys were in the Stanley Cup finals last year,” Little said after the team practised Wednesday in preparation for Friday’s opening game in Nashville.

“They were the best team in the league during the season, so I would say we’re the underdogs. If anything, they might have an edge on us in some categories.

“But I think it’s close. It’s gonna be a really tough series and a tight series so I think that’s why everyone’s so excited about it.”

When asked if he preferred the underdog role, Little said it’s not like the Predators are heavy favourites.

“I wouldn’t say people would call us huge underdogs,” he said. “We finished really close in the standings, but they’ve been in this situation before.

“They were in the Stanley Cup final last year. We take it as a great challenge. We’d like nothing more than to upset these guys.”

The Predators lost last year’s championship final in six games to the Pittsburgh Penguins after being the eighth seed.

Nashville defeated the Colorado Avalanche in six games in this year’s opening-round Western Conference series.

The Jets are in unchartered territory after winning the franchise’s first playoff series in five games against the Minnesota Wild.

Winnipeg winger Nikolaj Ehlers was on the fence about whether his team should wear the underdog tag.

“Yes and no,” Ehlers said. “(Nashville) got some experience from last year. We got some experience from the last five games and we’ve played some really good hockey, so I think this is a new season.

“We’ve taken a step up, and if we can keep this going the way we’re playing right now and make it even better, then it’s gonna be an exciting series.”

Jets head coach Paul Maurice said the word “underdog” is used more in the first round when it’s a top seed going against the bottom one.

“Then you get to this and there doesn’t look to be a Cinderella story coming out of this, other than Vegas but that started in August,” Maurice said. “(The Predators’) play says they’re an elite team so it’s close.”

The regular-season numbers tell the tale of two teams evenly matched in almost every main category, although Nashville clipped the Jets 3-1-1 in their five meetings that featured 41 goals in regulation.

The Predators finished with 53-18-11 record, while the Jets went 52-20-10.

The Jets had 277 goals-for, putting them second in the league. Nashville scored 267 times for seventh spot. The Predators’ goals-against was second at 211 and Winnipeg allowed 218 for fifth place.

Winnipeg’s power play was fifth at 23.4 per cent. Nashville finished 14th at 21.2 per cent. The Predators’ penalty kill was sixth at 81.9 per cent and the Jets tied for seventh at 81.8 per cent.

The series showcases two Vezina Trophy finalists in Winnipeg goalie Connor Hellebuyck and Nashville’s Pekka Rinne.

“They’ve got good goaltending as do we, that’s why I don’t know how the series will play out,” Nashville head coach Peter Laviolette told reporters after his team’s Wednesday practice.

Both clubs also have firepower and scoring depth.

Captain Blake Wheeler led the Jets with 91 points, including 23 goals. Sophomore sniper Patrik Laine posted a team-high 44 goals, 20 on the power play, and had 70 points.

Laine didn’t practise Wednesday and had left the two previous practices early, but Maurice continued to say the Finnish star will be fine.

Filip Forsberg topped the Predators with 26 goals and 64 points. Their top goal scorer was Viktor Arvidsson with 29 markers and 61 points.

Nashville defenceman P.K. Subban, who had 59 points, praised the Jets.

“Just a lot of skill, a lot of speed and size,” he said. “That’s what you need in hockey to have success. And like I said, I think they have all the intangibles. That’s why they had such a good season.”

NBC Sports http://nhl.nbcsports.com/2018/04/24/patience-pays-off-for-jets-in-building-stanley-cup- contender/

Patience pays off for Jets in building Stanley Cup contender

By Adam Gretz

If their five meetings from the regular season are any indication of what is to come, the Nashville Predators and Winnipeg Jets are probably going to pummel each other over the next two weeks in what looks to be the best matchup of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

They finished the season with the top two records in the league, while the Predators won the season series by taking three of the five games, with all of them being tight, fierce, chaotic contests that saw Nashville hold a slight aggregate goals edge of just 22-20.

They really could not have played it any closer.

They are both outstanding teams. They are evenly matched. The winner will almost certainly be the heavy favorite to represent the Western Conference in the Stanley Cup Final no matter who comes out of the Pacific Division bracket.

For as similar as their results on the ice were this season, the teams have taken two very different paths to reach this point.

The Predators have been a consistent playoff team in recent years, and while they have a strong core of homegrown talent (Roman Josi, Viktor Arvidsson, Mattias Ekholm, Ryan Ellis, Pekka Rinne, etc.), a large portion of this team has been pieced together through trades, including two of the biggest player-for-player blockbusters in recent years. They also made the occasional big free agent signing. They traded for Filip Forsberg. They traded Shea Weber for P.K. Subban. They traded Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen. They traded for Kyle Turris. They signed Nick Bonino away from the Pittsburgh Penguins. They have been bold and aggressive when it comes to building their roster.

On the other side, you have the Winnipeg Jets, a team that has been the antithesis of the Predators in terms of roster construction.

Since arriving in Winnipeg at the start of the 2011-12 season the Jets, under the direction of general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff, have taken part in one of the most patient, slow, methodical “rebuilds” in pro sports, and in the process demonstrated a very important lesson of sorts.

Sometimes it pays to do absolutely nothing at all.

On the ice, the Jets have been a mostly mediocre team since arriving in Winnipeg, continuing the tradition the franchise had established for itself during its days as the Atlanta Thrashers. Before this season they made the playoffs once in six seasons in Winnipeg and were promptly swept in four straight games (just as they were in their only playoff appearance in Atlanta).

They were never among the NHL’s worst teams, but they were also never good enough to be in the top-eight of their conference. They were mediocrity defined.

The lack of success was at times baffling because it’s not like it was a team totally devoid of talent. It also at the same made complete sense because the single biggest hurdle standing in front of them was the simple fact they never had a competent goaltender or one true superstar to be a difference-maker.

In other words, they were basically the Canadian version of the Carolina Hurricanes.

What stands out about the Jets’ approach is they never let the lack of success lead to overreactions. We have seen time and time again in the NHL what overreactions due to a lack of success can do to a team. It can lead to core players being traded for less than fair value. It can lead to teams throwing good money at bad free agents and crippling the salary cap for years to come. It can lead to a revolving door of coaching changes. When all of that works together, it can set a franchise back for years.

The Jets did none of that.

Literally, they did none of it.

They have had the same general manager since 2011-12 even though before this season he had built one playoff team.

Despite their lack of success when it came to making the playoffs, they have made just one coaching change, replacing Claude Noel with Paul Maurice mid-way through the 2013-14 season.

Just for comparisons sake, look at how many coaching changes other comparable teams have gone through over that same time frame. Buffalo is on its fifth coach (and third general manager). Dallas will be hiring its fourth coach this offseason since the start of 2011-12. Calgary, after the hiring of Bill Peters on Monday, is on its fourth coach. Florida is on its fifth.

You want significant roster changes? Well, there has not been much of that, either. At least not in the “roster move” sense.

The Jets never tore it all down to the ground and went for a full-on rebuild. It took Cheveldayoff four years on the job before he made a single trade that involved him giving up an NHL player and receiving an NHL player in return. Even since then he has really only made one or two such moves.

There are still five players on the roster left over from the Atlanta days — Blake Wheeler, Tobias Enstrom, Bryan Little, Dustin Byfuglien, and Ben Chiarot, who was a draft-pick by the team when it was Atlanta — even though it has now been seven years since they played there. The fact so many core players still remain from then is perhaps the most surprising development given how much the team has lost during that time.

How many teams would have looked at the team’s lack of success and decided that it just had to trade a Blake Wheeler? Or a Dustin Byfuglien? Or a Bryan Little? Or a Tobias Enstrom? Or, hell, all of them? You see it all the time when teams don’t win or lose too soon in the playoffs or don’t accomplish their ultimate goal. At that point a core player just has to go. Have to change the culture, you know? Have to get tougher and make changes. The Blackhawks got swept in the first-round a year ago and decided they had to trade Artemi Panarin to get Brandon Saad back because they had won with him before. The Oilers were a constant embarrassment and decided they just had to trade Taylor Hall and Jordan Eberle to help fix that. Montreal just had to get rid of P.K. Subban.

The Jets, to their credit, recognized that their core players were good. They were productive. They were players they could win with if they could just find a way to add pieces around them and maybe, one day, solve their goaltending issue. The only significant core players the Jets have traded over the past seven years have been Andrew Ladd and Evander Kane. Ladd was set to become an unrestricted free agent when he was dealt at the trade deadline two years ago and a split between the Jets and Kane just seemed like it had to happen at the time of his trade.

They have also refrained from dipping their toes into the free agent market.

You know what happens when you avoid free agency? You don’t get saddled with bad contracts that you either have to eventually buy out, bury in the minor leagues, or give up valuable assets to get rid of in a trade. Free agents, in almost every instance, are players that have already played their best hockey for another team, and you — the new team — are going to end up paying them more money than their previous team did. It is not a cap-friendly approach.

Only one player on the Jets’ roster is set to make more than $6.2 million over the next two years (Byfuglien makes $7 million). The only players on the roster that were acquired via NHL free agency are Matthieu Perreault, Matt Hendricks, Steve Mason and Dmitry Kulikov.

Mason and Kulikov, who combine to make $8 million the next couple of seasons, are probably the only bad contracts on the roster, and both are off the books within the next two years. Oddly enough, both were signed before this season. Neither has made a significant impact.

Looking at the Jets’ playoff roster you see how this team has been pieced together.

Five players were leftovers from the Atlanta days (where three of them — Enstrom, Little, Chiarot — were drafted by the team then). Only four players — Myers, Joe Morrow, Joel Armia and Paul Stastny — were acquired by trade. Hendricks, Perreault, and Mason are the only players to have appeared in a playoff game that were acquired as free agents (Perreault — due to injury — and Hendricks have played in one each; Mason played one period in the first round). The rest of the team, 12 players, were all acquired via draft picks. So what did the Jets do well to get? Focus on the latter point there. They kept all of their draft picks, they hit on their important draft picks, and they got a little bit of luck in the draft lottery at the exact right time to allow them to get the franchise player — Patrik Laine — that they needed.

This is where the Jets have really made their progress, and it is not like they did it by tanking for lottery picks.

Between 2011 and now the Jets have picked higher than ninth in the NHL draft just two times. Only once did they pick higher than seventh. NHL draft history shows us that there is usually a significant drop in talent and expected production between even the second and eighth picks. No matter where the Jets have picked in recent years they have found NHL talent — top talent — with their first-round picks.

They got Mark Scheifele seventh overall in 2011. He is a core player and among the top-four goal scorers and point producers in the NHL from his draft class.

They got Jacob Trouba ninth in 2012. He is also a core player and a top-pairing defender.

Josh Morrissey was the 13th pick in 2013.

Nikolaj Ehlers was the ninth pick in 2014 and is the third highest point producer and goal scorer from that class.

In 2015 they picked Kyle Connor (one of the top rookies in the NHL this season) at 17 with their own selection, then got forward Jack Roslovic at 25 with the pick they acquired in the Kane trade.

The next year in 2016 they had the ping pong balls go their way to get Laine at No. 2 and had another first-rounder (Logan Stanley) as a result of the Ladd trade.

They pretty much not only hit on every first-round draft pick they had between 2011 and 2016 (Stanley is the only one of the eight not currently on the team) but in most of the cases probably got more than the expected value from that pick.

When you combine that with a core that already top-end talent like Wheeler, Byfuglien, Enstrom, and then finally give them competent goaltending you have the force that the Jets have become this season.

Will this sort of approach work for everybody? Probably not (and if I’m being honest, I was highly critical of the Jets’ approach on more than one occasion over the years), and it requires an owner and general manager that has an almost unheard of level of patience in professional sports to stick with it. And let’s face it, sometimes you do need to make changes. I’m not advocating for say, the New York Islanders, to just keep letting Garth Snow do whatever it is he is doing. And maybe the Jets would have been a playoff team sooner had they made a better effort to find a goalie, for example. You also need to have a little bit of luck when it comes to the draft.

But there are still some important lessons that the rest of the NHL can take from the Jets’ patient approach, especially when it comes to keeping your good players even when times get tough, and not thinking that all of the answers to your problems are available on July 1 when everyone acts like they have a blank check to sign whoever they want.

A few years ago Maple Leafs blog Pension Plan Puppets jokingly asked who had a better first day of free agency, then-general manager Dave Nonis, or a potato. The joke being that the potato had a better day because it was an inanimate object that couldn’t do something dumb. I don’t mean this is an insult to Cheveldayoff, but the Jets for the past seven years have basically been the potato in the sense that they just sat back and did nothing except keep their good players, keep their draft picks, and not sign overvalued players in free agency.

If you do nothing, you can’t mess up.

Today, the Jets might actually win a Stanley Cup because of it.

Hockey really is funny sometimes.

CBC.ca http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/jets-nashville-viewing-parties-1.4635319

Bell MTS Place to host whiteout for games in Nashville Doors open for Game 1 at 6 p.m. on Friday

By CBC News

Winnipeg Jets fans will be able to bring the whiteout indoors for viewing parties at Bell MTS Place during Games 1 and 2 of their 2nd-round playoff series on the road against the Nashville Predators. (John Woods/Canadian Press) Even though their team will be half a continent away, Winnipeg Jets fans will once again get the chance to fill their home rink with white sweaters and white noise as the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs begins on Friday.

True North Sports and Entertainment announced Wednesday it will be hosting Winnipeg whiteout viewing parties at Bell MTS Place for away games during the Jets' series against the Nashville Predators.

Jets' success, fans' passion win new admirers far and wide Whiteout street party organizers consider expansion as Jets playoff run continues For Friday's Game 1, doors will open at 6 p.m. CT, one hour before the opening faceoff in Nashville. The date and time for Game 2 won't be announced until after Game 7 of the first- round series between Toronto and Boston Wednesday night.

Anticipating capacity crowds, the Jets will open all concessions for the viewing parties at Bell MTS Place, where the game's broadcast will be shown on the rink's four centre-hung scoreboard screens.

Tickets for the first two viewing parties will go on sale Thursday at 1 p.m. at a cost of $10 each. The club has announced proceeds will be used to benefit the True North Youth Foundation, the charitable arm of the Jets and Manitoba Moose.

Fans who attend the viewing parties will receive a "We Are Winnipeg" rally towel and other prize giveaways. http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/winnipeg-jets-hockey-country-music-leanne-pearson- nashville-1.4635033

'I'm surrounded': Winnipeg country singer, Jets fan stands out in Nashville 'I can't wait for the Winnipeg whiteout to get here,' says Leanne Pearson, who now lives in Music City

Janice Grant · CBC News

In the sea of Predators yellow washing over Nashville these days, a Winnipeg country singer stands out like — well, a Winnipeg Jets fan.

"I'm surrounded," says country singer-songwriter Leanne Pearson. "I can't wait for the Winnipeg whiteout to get here."

The Jets will begin their second-round NHL playoff series against the Predators in Nashville on Friday, after ousting the Minnesota Wild 4-1 in the first round.

The game will be broadcast by CBC TV at 7 p.m. CT Friday from Bridgestone Arena.

As is the case in Winnipeg right now with the Jets, the Preds' presence — be it via flags, signs, clothing or key chains — is everywhere in Music City.

Pearson, 28, has lived there full time since November 2016. Before that, she spent years commuting back and forth between her Winnipeg hometown and the country music hub.

Despite being outnumbered in her adopted city, she's enjoying representing her favourite hockey team. She says while some people do "throw shade" as she boots around town in her truck with Manitoba plates, or wearing her Jets tank tops or jerseys, it's mostly good natured.

"It's kind of all poking fun at each other," she says. "[For] people who do understand hockey it's a lot of respect for the Jets, knowing how equally matched both teams are this year — even the goaltenders," she said.

"It's been such a great run for both teams. [Jets winger Patrik] Laine's name comes up a lot."

A different atmosphere Pearson has gone to a lot of Predators games at Bridgestone Arena, including several when her beloved Jets were in town.

She says while Nashville fans have gotten pretty savvy about the game after last year's long playoff run, the atmosphere is a bit hard to get used to for a hardcore hockey fan.

"On the Jumbotron they don't play replays … so if something happens or there's a goal, or even an almost goal or a great save … as a hockey fan through and through, I want to see that replay, and they don't play it," she said with incredulity.

"So it's more about the entertainment of it, and the popcorn and the beer and the music and between whistles."

While she's had to get used to the atmosphere in the Bridgestone Arena, it appears some of the patrons were a little puzzled about her at first too.

"The first time I ever went to a Preds-Jets game in Nashville, a lady — probably in her 50s, very, very Southern lady — she was sitting near me during the anthems, and I yelled out 'True North!'" during O Canada, Pearson recalls — a tradition for Jets fans.

The woman later approached her at a concession stand.

"She comes up and says, 'I just wanted to say I felt like it was very rude that you shouted during the national anthem,'" Pearson said.

"And I kind of chuckled and said … 'Well, I'm Canadian. I'm from Winnipeg.'"

After an earnest explanation from Pearson, the woman reluctantly gave her a pass.

Introducing newbies to hockey Pearson has also taken great joy in introducing hockey newbies to the game.

"A lot of people in the music industry, I'll take them to their first-ever hockey game, which is kind of cool as a Canadian down here," she says.

Pearson fits her hockey passion into a very busy schedule that comes with building a country music career.

Besides the writing and recording side of the business, there is the live performing and a bit of travel. She will be back in Manitoba on the Mainstage at Dauphin's Countryfest this summer.

She's got a big bucket list, including hoping to someday sing the national anthem at a Jets (or even — the horror — a Predators) game. She used to sing it at Bisons games at the University of Manitoba, where she earned her BA in psychology.

But for now, Pearson hopes to be yelling "True North" during the anthem at the playoffs in Nashville. She's working on finding tickets.

Although the policy wouldn't affect her, Pearson is well aware of the controversy about the Predators not allowing people outside the local area to purchase playoff tickets. She can see both sides.

Nashville Predators won't allow people outside of region to buy playoff tickets "People here in Nashville think it's great because they want tickets," she said. "But in Winnipeg, people are outraged."

Her family back in Winnipeg has Jets season tickets, so she's thinking she might be able to organize a bit of a swap with a couple of Nashville fans who want to come up north.

Leanne Pearson was 'somewhat undercover' during 2017's Nashville Predators playoff run. But she's all Jets this year, as the teams go head-to-head in the second round of the NHL playoffs. (Jordan Riley/Submitted by Leanne Pearson) If she does manage to score some tickets, she'll likely go with her boyfriend, Jordan Riley, who is from Indiana.

Pearson has done her best to turn him into a Jets fan, but apparently she's only halfway there.

"He wears a Preds jersey but a Jets hat," she laughed.

NHL.com https://www.nhl.com/news/nashville-will-let-fans-take-swings-at-smash-plane/c-298251638

Predators deploy 'Smash Plane' against Jets in second round Nashville fans set to take their whacks for charity outside Bridgestone Arena by Robby Stanley / NHL.com Correspondent

NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators have a tradition of letting their fans show their pride by smashing a car painted in their opponent's color scheme with a hammer during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Predators are about to raise the bar in advance of their Western Conference Second Round series against the Winnipeg Jets, transforming the "Smash Car" into a "Smash Plane."

The "Smash Plane" was brought to Bridgestone Arena on Wednesday and is expected to be in place when the Predators host Game 1 on Friday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN360, TVAS).

"We've been doing a Smash Car for 10 years and it's always been a car," Predators senior director of community relations Rebecca King said. "But with our new opponent, in a marketing brainstorming session, we tried to think of how we can we up the ante to do the tradition of the Smash Car, and someone said, 'Well, what about a plane?'

"So for the past two days, we've had some folks reaching out to local airports, and we found a plane that had been sitting on a runway for about 10 years.

"It hasn't been flown in over five years, I think, and they were willing to donate it for us. We've lined up our artists to paint it in the opposition's colors like we do with the cars, and our fans are going to have the opportunity to get a little pregame anxiety out and a little bit of their jitters and take a whack at an airplane."

Donations from past participants who have walloped the Smash Car have gone to the Predators Foundation, which has distributed the money to charitable causes.

"I think from our playoff run last year, we generated so much more money for our foundation just in round one, just because it's now a tradition and our fans are really taking to these playoff things that we do," King said.

"They are excited to see what the graffiti artists are going to put on the vehicle. It's just been something that's now known to us are these Smash Cars, and the nice part of it is that it does raise money for charity. So fans donate money, and in the playoffs last year, I think we raised over $20,000 for our pediatric cancer fund." https://www.nhl.com/news/patrik-laine-misses-winnipeg-jets-practice-ahead-of-second-round- opener/c-298252594?tid=297171692

Laine misses Jets practice with 'malaise' ahead of Game 1 vs. Predators Forward expected to play second-round opener by Scott Billeck / NHL.com Correspondent

WINNIPEG -- Patrik Laine did not practice with the Winnipeg Jets on Wednesday because of what coach Paul Maurice called a malaise, but the forward is expected to play in Game 1 of the Western Conference Second Round against the Nashville Predators on Friday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN360, TVAS).

The Jets held a 30-minute practice at Bell MTS Place on Friday. Laine's absence was the first full practice he's missed this season.

"Patti didn't miss out on anything... maybe 25 minutes," Maurice said. "He'll be fine. He's in the same boat as everybody else, but I have an expectation that he'll be there."

Laine practiced Sunday and Tuesday but left early.

"I don't have any concerns," Maurice said Tuesday about Laine's early departures. "He's been hanging around with (forward Nikolaj Ehlers) too much, caught the malaise. It's a light malaise, though, it's a low fat."

Maurice called Ehlers' ailment, which caused him to miss Game 5 of the Western Conference First Round against the Minnesota Wild, as malaise. Ehlers said Wednesday that Laine just wasn't feeling right but admitted he didn't know much.

Forward Bryan Little moved to the Jets' top power-play unit in Laine's absence.

"We've dealt with these things all year, losing key guys, so we're prepared either way," Little said.

Laine scored 20 goals and 31 points on the power play during the regular season and said he is not worried if the Jets are without Laine on the unit.

"It looks a bit different," Little said. "He's one of the best goal-scorers in the league. But we have guys that can step in there. [Forward Mark Scheifele] has got a great shot himself. We've got guys that can step in pretty seamlessly there. I'll be ready either way."

Ehlers, who plays on a line with Laine and center Paul Stastny, said Laine would be missed if he can't play but echoed Little's comments on Winnipeg's depth.

"He's a great player," Ehlers said. "He means a lot to the team. He's a special part of this team, but like I've said, we've got young guys stepping up. We've got some depth on this team that's pretty exciting. When guys go down, others step up, and that's why we're here right now." https://www.nhl.com/news/nashville-looking-for-second-line-to-succeed-in-round-2/c-298250744

Predators counting on second line to sparkle in second round Turris, Fiala, Smith aim for uptick in production against Jets by Robby Stanley / NHL.com Correspondent

NASHVILLE -- The Nashville Predators know they'll need each of their forward lines to be at its best if they are to defeat the Winnipeg Jets in the Western Conference Second Round.

In a first-round, six-game victory against the Colorado Avalanche, the Predators averaged 3.67 goals per game without much offense from their second line of Kyle Turris, Kevin Fiala and Craig Smith.

Smith scored two goals against the Avalanche, one on the power play and one after coming out of the penalty box. Fiala scored a power-play goal and had an assist, and Turris had one assist. Their even-strength play as a line was not where they wanted it to be.

"We need to be better," Turris said. "Obviously we want to be contributing and making an impact. We've got to do a better job come second round here."

The Predators host Game 1 at Bridgestone Arena on Friday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, SN360, TVAS).

Nashville coach Peter Laviolette tried to shake things up to begin Game 6. Fiala started on the fourth line with Mike Fisher and Miikka Salomaki, and Calle Jarnkrok started with Turris and Smith. Laviolette eventually switched Fiala back with Turris and Smith.

"We've got to be better, especially me," Fiala said. "It's not good enough. I can't accept the game I played in the first round. I've just got to be better."

The Turris line was productive for the Predators during the regular season. Smith had 51 points (NHL carrer best 25 goals with 26 assists) in 79 games; Fiala had 48 points (23 goals, 25 assists), each a personal NHL high, in 80 games; and Turris had 42 points (13 goals, 29 assists) in 65 games with the Predators after being acquired from the Ottawa Senators as part of a three-team trade with the Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 5.

"I think if we just get back to what we were doing great before, loosen up and have some fun," Smith said. "I think when we're sticking together, we're close to each other out there, and especially when we're communicating to each other, I think it kind of holds each other accountable to be at certain places and support each other. I think that support is huge. That will be a big key to possessing the puck and using our speed."

Laviolette said he expects the line to bounce back against the Jets.

"I'm sure that they want to feel those contributions too," Laviolette said. "That's one of our lines that can produce a lot of points. I've known too, that through the course of going long and deep in the playoffs, it's not always the same players. Different players and different lines, they find their way through certain points of the playoffs.

"There's a lot of confidence from me in that group. I think through the course of a long series, you'll see their production and their contributions."

Turris, Fiala and Smith showed signs of life offensively to close the series against the Avalanche; they combined for 17 shots on goal in the final two games.

"I thought we were able to create some nice chances there," Smith said. "It just didn't go for us. I thought we had some good looks. I don't think it's lack of work. I think we're working and definitely think we're trying to do the right things."

The Predators and Jets combined for 41 goals in five games against each other during the regular season (Nashville was 3-1-1 against Winnipeg). That style of play should suit Turris' line.

"I think both teams were just playing with speed," Smith said. "Things get opened up when good players make plays. Every game that we've played them, the neutral zone has been as fast as any game that we've seen. It's fun. It's fun to play that way."

The Athletic https://theathletic.com/330519/2018/04/26/by-the-numbers-nashville-predators-vs-winnipeg-jets- series-preview/

By the numbers: Nashville Predators vs. Winnipeg Jets series preview

By Dom Luszczyszyn

Here it is, the series we’ve all been waiting for and a matchup many were expecting since the playoff race began winding down. It’s a bit of a farce that the best team in the league and the second-best team in the league are meeting in the second round (for the second year in a row!) but the matchup will be a spectacle to behold. If the season series is any indication, this showdown between the Nashville Predators and the Winnipeg Jets will be the marquee series of the playoffs (move over Washington vs. Pittsburgh).

Those regular season matchups contained some of the best hockey of the regular season where the stars brought the heat and the goals piled up. The teams combined for 41 goals over five games, good for over eight per game. A bit surprising given there’s a Vezina finalist between the pipes on each side, but not so much considering the firepower both teams possess.

Whichever team gets through this battle is likely going to waltz into the Stanley Cup final and maybe even win it. With a full series ahead of them – seriously, we’ll be robbed if this one doesn’t go the full seven games – the series is about as close to even as you can get. Like Vegas vs. San Jose, this one is basically a coin flip, which you may notice is the theme of the second round. The only difference right now is home ice, meaning a very, very small edge belongs to Nashville to start.

The Numbers That’s a lot of blue, as expected from two of the league’s best teams. There’s also very little separating them. By Corsi percentage, it’s just a .01 per cent difference over the full season in Winnipeg’s favour, while in the last 25 games it was 0.2 per cent for Nashville. Nashville gets there by generating more chances while Winnipeg does it via shot suppression. Winnipeg has a sizeable expected goals advantage, but that gap closes over the last 25 games. It’s the opposite for actual goals where it’s Nashville with the edge that Winnipeg closes in on a bit over the last 25 games (where the two teams ranked first and second in the league respectively). On special teams, each team’s penalty killing percentage was nearly identical, though Nashville had the stronger underlying numbers. The power play advantage belongs to Winnipeg, but again, the margins here are razor thin.

Using full-season numbers there are really only two big differences between Nashville and Winnipeg. Nashville had better 5-on-5 goaltending which contributed to better goals percentage. Winnipeg was better at staying out of the box. Other than that, these two teams are very close across the board and pretty good at almost everything they do. Even the season series was tight. This is going to be a heavyweight tilt for the ages.

Where things get interesting is what each team has done since the regular season ended and the real season began.

Nashville played a weak Colorado team and dominated the Avalanche at both ends of the rink. The Predators controlled 56 per cent of the chances and scored 60 per cent of the goals, both of which were improvements over their regular season totals. Their underlying special teams were better too as was their discipline, making special teams an actual strength thanks to an elite penalty kill. The power play still needs work, but thankfully that shouldn’t be a big issue against the Jets. All in all, the team played about as well as expected against an inferior opponent and even though Colorado managed to take two games, nothing should really change regarding opinions of Nashville. By Elo, this series barely moved the needle: Nashville is roughly as strong now as it was at the start of Round 1.

That’s not the case for Winnipeg though and it’s one of the reasons I’m a fan of using Elo to update team strength during the playoffs. The Jets humiliated the Wild – a better team than Colorado, even without Ryan Suter – and opinions of their ability should change after such a series. The five-game series win where Winnipeg outscored Minnesota 16-9 closed the gap considerably on the Predators and the two teams are now seen as near equals. Before the playoffs started, my model would’ve considered the Jets a 45 per cent underdog against Nashville, but their Round 1 dominance has moved that up to its current 49.9 per cent. That means that on neutral ice, Winnipeg would be the favourite in this series thanks in part to how the team played in the opening round (and also some roster changes forced by injury).

Elo only considers goal differential and home ice, but the way Winnipeg won is perhaps what’s even more impressive. The Jets completely tilted the ice against the Wild, earning a 60.3 per cent Corsi which was the best mark in the opening round (Nashville was third). It wasn’t even close either as they were tops on both offence and defence. The Wild aren’t exactly a world- beater, but a whooping of that degree deserves notice.

Having said that, special teams is still a major sore spot as the penalty kill continues to struggle while the power play is getting by despite a lack of quality chances. Nashville has a terrific defence group and a strong goalie that can make life hell on the power play and have the personnel up front to expose a weak Jets PK. The Jets may just control the pace of plays at evens, but Nashville is close enough to them that it should still be very tight there. The Jets were incredible at 5-on-5 last series and this season, but if this matchup comes down to special teams, then the team is vulnerable.

The Roster One of the best forward groups in the league squares off against the best defence group in the league. Buckle up.

The Jets have three elite forwards on their roster and a lethal top nine loaded from top to bottom with scoring threats. Blake Wheeler and Mark Scheifele can terrorize opponents on the top line along with rookie Kyle Connor and then there’s a second line that features Patrik Laine and Nikolaj Ehlers. That’s basically a horror movie on ice. Even the fourth line provides value and is quietly one of the league’s best when it comes to pushing play. Getting Mathieu Perreault back would be a big plus, too. There’s no dead weight here and it’s a matchup nightmare for most teams.

Most teams.

No team is better equipped to take on the waves of talent that Winnipeg can unleash up front than Nashville with its cadre of superstar defenders. The Predators have not one, not two, not three, but four defencemen who could be legitimate number one guys on most teams around the league and three guys who would be the best defencemen on the team they’re facing. That’s also a horror movie on ice. But it was actually their fourth best, Mattias Ekholm, that led the way in Round 1 which shows how terrifying this team can be. Any one of those top four defenders can step up and dominate a series.

While the battle of each team’s strength will likely define and decide the series, the others will obviously still have to do their part and that’s where some interesting storylines emerge.

Winnipeg’s defence corps isn’t on Nashville’s level, obviously, but there’s some decent talent there. The entire team dominated the shot clock in the opening round, but Winnipeg was at its best when the shutdown pair of Jacob Trouba and Josh Morrissey were on the ice, sporting a very nice 69 per cent Corsi in 62 minutes together. And while some might consider Dustin Byfuglien’s 2017-18 campaign a disappointment, he came up big against Minnesota, tying for the team lead in points. That trio, along with Tyler Myers form a very solid top four and were even better than advertised in Round 1. It’ll be interesting to see how the group fares against a stronger opponent. They won’t match what Nashville has to offer on the backend, but if they can keep their play up they won’t be far off.

The lack of Dmitry Kulikov is also a boon and his absence is one reason the Jets grade out as the stronger team than Nashville overall (as well as the Elo adjustment). The gap between him and Joe Morrow (who was really solid in the opening round) is actually bigger than the gap between Perreault and his replacement, Jack Roslovic, which is why an injured Jets team is somehow stronger than a healthy one. It’s one of the reasons this series is so close, especially if Kulikov is a ways away from returning (and hopefully not a guarantee on the roster when healthy either).

There aren’t many holes to pick at the moment when it comes to Winnipeg’s defence – until Kulikov returns – but there are some trouble spots for Nashville’s forward group starting with something that’s out of their control: ice-time. The Predators seem to roll four lines with a very balanced distribution of ice-time, while the Jets load up on their top guys. That’s all well and good if a team has a glut of talent and not enough ice-time to give out, but that’s not exactly the case in Nashville. There’s no good reason (okay, fatigue is one, and maybe the team didn’t want to waste their best players against a vastly inferior team, but still) that Filip Forsberg, Ryan Johansen and Viktor Arvidsson shouldn’t be playing closer to 18 or 20 minutes per night or why third line centre Nick Bonino gets 16 minutes.

Having said that, maybe there’s a method to the madness considering how shockingly good that third line was in the opening round. Austin Watson and Colton Sissons somehow led the Predators in points with seven apiece while Bonino added five. There’s also the struggles of the second line to worry about. The trio were still able to control play, but struggled to get on the scoresheet as regularly as they did during the regular season. Kyle Turris had just a single point in the first round.

When guys are or aren’t rolling I get it, but based on prior performance, I’m not sure it’s a trend that will continue for either unit (do we really believe Watson can continue playing the way he has?) and still doesn’t absolve the lack of ice-time for the top line. The strategy may work against a Colorado team that had exactly one good line and nine other forwards few casual NHL fans could name, but it probably won’t against Winnipeg and adjustments should be made to optimize the value of the team’s best players.

The difference between Winnipeg and Nashville’s forwards is 3.2 wins. The difference between the team’s defencemen is 3.2 wins in the other direction. The skaters are a dead heat, meaning the only difference is between the pipes where both teams have a Vezina finalist.

As I’ve mentioned in a few of these series previews, goaltending is a very silly thing to predict, but the edge in net appears to belong to Pekka Rinne. He has a stronger recent career and was better this season. This is Connor Hellebuyck’s first year as a convincing starting goalie and he still has a few more saves to make to earn the requisite sample size needed to have any confidence in his ability to be an elite starter. With that being said, he was the better goalie at 5- on-5 in the opening round and it’s possible Rinne could be regressing after an out-of-this-world season. Either goalie could be the difference here, but Rinne looks like the slightly stronger bet – though it is worth noting that both guys will be facing very different levels of offensive firepower.

The Bottom Line Nashville and Winnipeg are as close as can be and that’s already a win for Winnipeg considering the expectations for each team before the season started. Nashville was a bonafide contender from the get-go after reaching the Stanley Cup final last spring. Winnipeg was a team that could never put it together that very few people believed in after yet another finish outside the playoff picture. The Jets have finally earned their place next to the league’s best and just doing that is a major accomplishment considering where they were just a year ago.

The next step is being the best and that means beating the best. Nashville is widely considered the league’s best team, as expected given the team won the Presidents’ Trophy, but the gap between Nashville and the next best team, Winnipeg, is probably smaller than many would think. With so little separating two of the best teams, this series should be a fierce battle – an epic clash between two juggernauts. Which team will win is anyone’s guess at this point, but there’s little doubt that whichever team does will likely represent the West in the Stanley Cup final, and maybe even win it. https://theathletic.com/330153/2018/04/26/crease-to-crease-evaluating-the-second-round- goaltending-matchups/

Crease to Crease: Evaluating the second-round goaltending matchups

By Cat Silverman

NASHVILLE PREDATORS vs. WINNIPEG JETS

The Starters Nashville: Pekka Rinne Winnipeg: Connor Hellebuyck

The Storyline The Western Conference goaltending just couldn’t get any better.

Although the Vegas-San Jose series currently boasts the most impressive statistical numbers from the first round, it would be ill-advised to sleep on the potential quality that could emerge from this battle, which offers a showdown between two of the three Vezina finalists.

Rinne is currently in the midst of a technical renaissance, boasting a crisper, more controlled game that harnessed his quick movements and sharp glove attacks to control his depth and limit his risk of overshooting his positioning.

His edge work has improved in the past few seasons, as he sets his skates in the ice more frequently as opposed to sliding through and leaving holes open when the puck releases on a shot. And although his first-round series wasn’t perfect, his body of work from the regular season was proof that he’s no longer a goaltender anyone can begin to argue is a liability for his team.

Across the ice, he’ll face one of the two younger Vezina finalists in Hellebuyck, the American- born high school hockey product who finally displayed his full potential over the course of this past season.

Like Rinne, Hellebuyck is working with a new technical game to offer, although his new approach strongly focuses on biomechanics and controlling his movements to follow his head in comparison to Rinne’s new depth management. While both have improved their tracking techniques, the other areas they’ve cleaned up are starkly different. Hellebuyck has always played a more conservative game in his crease (albeit not quite on the same level as Henrik Lundqvist and Mike Smith), and his confidence in his positioning and tracking has provided positive results even prior to this season. He’s a bronze medalist at the World Championships from 2015 and an NCAA Mike Richter recipient. While the Vezina likely isn’t actually going to be his this year, he’s quickly becoming one of the league’s best.

Recent years have seen arguments made that Vezina finalists are burning out too quickly with heavy regular season workloads, and it’s costing them in the postseason with early exits.

Unfortunately, the fact that Hellebuyck and Rinne are facing each other in the Conference semifinals means that only two of the three finalists will be able to reach the third round of the postseason this year. But the good news is that their head-to-head matchup now also guarantees that there will be a finalist in the third round no matter what, even if Boston manages to upset Tampa Bay and eliminate Vasilevskiy.

The Biggest Question Both goaltenders, unlike the pair in the Vegas-San Jose series, looked human in at least one game in the first round. This series may come down to which one looks more human again, and first.

Sportsnet.ca https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/jets-open-underdogs-second-round-series-vs-predators/

Jets open as underdogs in second-round series vs. Predators

By OddsShark Staff

The Winnipeg Jets will be gunning for a third straight shutout victory when they open their second-round playoff series with the Nashville Predators on Friday as +134 road underdogs on the NHL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.

The Jets have enjoyed a week off since eliminating the Minnesota Wild with a 5-0 Game 5 win as -220 home favourites last Friday, which marked the club’s 15th victory in 17 outings ahead of Friday night’s Jets versus Predators betting matchup at Bridgestone Arena.

Winnipeg’s decisive Game 5 victory came on the heels of a 2-0 win as -115 road chalk three nights earlier, and extended its current shutout streak to over 141 minutes. Overall, the Jets have held opponents to two or fewer goals in six of their past seven outings, and on 11 occasions during their torrid 15-2-0 run.

However, the Jets have been streaky on the road at times this season, and have posted wins in just four of their last nine contests away from Bell MTS Centre, and enter their clash with the Predators trailing on the NHL playoff series prices as narrow +120 underdogs.

The Predators open the series as -148 Game 1 favourites after disposing of the pesky Colorado Avalanche in six games. Nashville also closed out their first-round matchup with a shutout, blanking the Avalanche 5-0 as a -180 road wager in Game 6 on Sunday, and have emerged as narrow +440 favourites on the Stanley Cup odds.

Nashville finished the regular season with an NHL-best 117 points, three ahead of the Jets, but has struggled with inconsistency at times in recent weeks, recording just nine wins in its past 16 outings.

The Predators have avoided consecutive losses while posting wins in 11 of their last 15 games at Bridgestone Arena, but have picked up the win in just three of five all-time playoff series openers on home ice.

Neither team has dominated in recent head-to-head matchups. The Predators took three of five from the Jets during the regular season, including a 3-1 victory in Nashville as -200 chalk on March 13. However, the clubs have each posted four victories over their past eight meetings, with the home team claiming the win on six occasions. https://www.sportsnet.ca/hockey/nhl/breaking-winnipeg-jets-matchup-nashville-predators/

Breaking down how the Winnipeg Jets matchup against the Nashville Predators

By Andrew Berkshire

Before the playoffs even began, fans around the hockey world were circling a potential second round matchup between Nashville and Winnipeg that everyone wanted to see. This series has been almost pre-destined since the mid-way point of the regular season.

This clash of titans provided us with some of the best games of the entire regular season and everyone is hoping the series lives up to that hype.

But aside from how entertaining it’s bound to be, which team has the edge?

I like to look at the second half of the NHL season when comparing playoff teams. Not because the first half doesn’t matter at all, it’s just slightly less relevant to the way teams are currently playing. Since these teams have both already played a series, that’s relevant information too, but we’ll get to that later.

After the return of Ryan Ellis to the lineup, the Predators went on an absolute tear for the rest of the regular season, while the Jets remained as excellent in the second half as they were in the first.

The Predators were more effective at getting their scoring chances on net and attacking off the rush, while the Jets generated more pre-shot movement and more scoring chances overall. The Jets are specifically very good at generating chances by cycling the puck down low and finding one-timer options in the middle of the ice from either behind the net or behind the goal line from the corner, and by forechecking teams into making mistakes.

Defensively, the Predators were a little exposed by the Colorado Avalanche and showed a weakness in defending off the rush, but luckily for them, the Jets don’t attack off the rush very often. The Predators’ vaunted top-four on defence is quite good at breaking up cycles and evading forechecking forwards to initiate clean breakouts.

That will be something to watch in the Predators’ end, to see if the Jets are able to establish their trademark meat grinder of a forecheck and extend offensive zone possessions off the cycle.

In the Jets’ end of the ice, Nashville has excelled more than any other team in the league at generating second chance opportunities in close. This is likely because a larger than average percentage of their shots come from their defencemen, and the forwards all know where to go to get those rebound chances.

The Jets, meanwhile, allowed opponents to recover the third-fewest rebounds in their zone of any team in the league this year. It appears on paper that both these teams are strong at defending the other’s biggest offensive strengths, which is really interesting.

Defensively, the Jets were better at keeping scoring chances and pre-shot movement down than the Predators were this season, which might give them the edge in this series. But goaltending is always a huge factor as well, and Pekka Rinne lead the league in save percentage – but the gap between he and Hellebuyck in high danger save percentage was .814 for Rinne, and .813 for Hellebuyck.

Another storyline heading into the series is that the Jets looked dominant in their entire series against the Minnesota Wild, while the Predators, until Game 6, were pretty soundly outplayed by an Avalanche team no one gave much of a chance.

The Predators will need to elevate their game to a degree we haven’t seen in a while in order to match the Jets’ intensity. Logically, based on the games between these teams we’ve already seen, that shouldn’t be an issue, but if the Predators get too complacent and try to run all their offence through their defence like they did against the Avalanche, they’ll be in trouble.

TSN.ca https://www.tsn.ca/talent/an-analytical-preview-of-the-second-round-of-the-nhl-playoffs- 1.1068781

An analytical preview of the second round of the NHL playoffs

By Travis Yost

After Wednesday’s Game 7 finale between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins, we’ve arrived at our elite eight in the NHL playoffs.

On paper this looks like one of the best second rounds we’ve seen in quite some time. Every team left in the postseason accumulated 100 or more points during the regular season, which should produce some fantastic matchups.

Like we did with the first round, we’ll walk through the key performance and statistical measures, with some context around what each series could look like.

In the Central, we will see the Winnipeg Jets take on the Presidents’ Trophy winning Nashville Predators:

There’s a reasonable argument to be made that this series is Stanley Cup-calibre. As TSN colleague Ian Mendes pointed out, it’s only the sixth time in the last 30 years that the top two regular-season teams will meet in the playoffs.

The regular-season series between these two teams was incredibly competitive. Winnipeg actually outchanced Nashville (53.5 per cent of scoring chances in their favor) over the five- game series, but Nashville did end up winning three of five games. If you rate these two teams as highly as I do, the fact that the regular season couldn’t separate them to any degree isn’t particularly surprising. That’s why I think the playoff series is going to go the distance.

There weren’t many takeaways from Winnipeg’s first-round series. The Jets overwhelmed an older, slower Wild team with pace and speed. At no point during that five-game stretch did the series feel competitive, even in the few minutes where the Wild were ahead. Winnipeg spent so much time in the offensive third – they owned a whopping 60.3 per cent possession against Minnesota – that and the defensive side looked sensational, wrapping up the series on back-to- back shutouts.

Nashville is a different animal. I think most Predators fans would concede that the Avalanche offered some interesting challenges with their team speed – something that may end up better preparing Nashville for a series against the fleet-of-foot Jets. had plenty of time and opportunity to work against a Predators team often regarded as the best skating group in the NHL. And it shouldn’t go unnoticed that they were just +2 in goal differential heading into the eventual Game 6 clincher.

All year I have been tremendously high on both of these teams, and for good reason. They are elite even-strength teams. Winnipeg also has tremendous special teams (third ranked power play and 10th ranked penalty kill by goals per-60 minutes), which makes them dangerous across any game state.

The emphasis is on that last sentence. Nashville, for all of their strengths, were pretty average in any game state outside of 5-on-5. And the Predators actually were dead-last in the number of times they were shorthanded – their 299 penalty kills against was tops in the league. This was something that improved as the season progressed, but it’s still a dangerous spot to be in ¬– especially against the weaponry the Jets have.

I see this as maybe the biggest coin-flip series we could have. If you played this 100 times, the series would probably end 50-50. Nevertheless, I have to make a pick.

Prediction: Winnipeg in seven. https://www.tsn.ca/nhl/video/how-concerning-is-laine-s-absence-from-jets-practice~1379458 (VIDEO LINK)

How concerning is Laine's absence from Jets' practice?

Head coach Paul Maurice didn't seem too concerned about Patrik Laine missing Jets' practice on Wednesday but That's Hockey takes a closer look at the situation heading into their series opener against the Predators.

TSN 1290 (AUDIO LINKS) https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/beyak-jets-are-ready-for-game-1-1.1068157

Beyak: Jets are ready for Game 1

Winnipeg Jets play-by-play voice Dennis Beyak joins Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph on the Afternoon Ride. They discuss the Jets preparations for the second round series vs. Nashvlile, the long delay between round one and round two and how the teams match up. https://www.tsn.ca/radio/winnipeg-1290/dreger-it-s-hard-to-find-a-weakness-on-the-jets-or- predators-1.1068105

Dreger: It’s hard to find a weakness on the Jets or Predators

TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger joins Andrew Paterson and Rick Ralph on the Afternoon Ride. They preview the Leafs/Bruins Game 7, the round two series between the Winnipeg Jets, possible candidates for the next GM of the Minnesota Wild and the job Kevin Cheveldayoff has done building the Winnipeg Jets. www.winnipegjets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/laine-absent-as-jets-hold-final-practice-before-heading-to- nashville/c-298258128

Laine absent as Jets hold final practice before heading to Nashville Sniper is "fine" according to Head Coach Paul Maurice and is expected to be in the lineup in Game 1 by Jamie Thomas @JamieThomasTV / WinnipegJets.com

WINNIPEG - It was the final day of practice before the team departed for Nashville and the Winnipeg Jets were without leading scorer Patrik Laine for the second consecutive day.

Head Coach Paul Maurice didn't commit to Laine's availability for Game 1 against the Nashville Predators on Friday, but did say the winger was "fine" and that anyone with any nagging issues would be held off the ice as a precaution with this many days between games.

"He's in the same boat as everybody else, but I have an expectation he'll be there," Maurice said of whether or not Laine will play in the upcoming series opener.

Obviously, when a 6-foot-5, 205-pound winger is not on the ice, everyone notices - especially at this time of year.

"It's really out of my controll; it's out of all of our control," Bryan Little said when asked if it's a concern not having Laine out on the ice for practice. "I mean, it's up to him and the trainers to help him along, and we'll see how he feels. We've dealt with these things all year. We're prepared either way."

When the team went to work on the power play during Wednesday's half-hour skate, Little stepped onto the top unit, along with Dustin Byfuglien, Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Paul Stastny. Little acknowledged there is a big difference without Laine and his big shot.

"It looks a bit different," he said. "He's one of the best goal scorers in the league. But like I said, we have guys that can step in there. Scheif has a great shot himself, and we have guys that can step in seamlessly there."

The Jets' power play is functioning at 23.1 per cent so far in the playoffs, which is just below the 23.4 per cent success rate they enjoyed during the regular season. Maurice feels that just five games in, it's too small of a sample size to be overly concerned or impressed with both the power play and penalty kill, which is operating at only 81.8 per cent so far.

"It didn't win us the series or lose us the series," Maurice said.

The coach admitted how big of a role special teams will have in this upcoming series with the Predators - a team that came within a whisker of their first Stanley Cup championship after losing in six games to Pittsburgh last spring.

"There's going to be a piece of the game with every game that either leads to success or failure," Maurice said. "Five-on-five, special teams, goaltending - whatever it is, there's got to be one piece that's better [than the Predators]. Both teams have good power plays. Both have good penalty kills. There's not a weakness there for either team, so execution on both ends is the key."

While there looked to be a lot of animosity between the Jets and Predators during the five-game season series, the Jets don't seem to feel there will be many trips to the penalty box for either team.

"You get a little further on in the playoffs and there aren't as many (penalties)," Maurice said. "For all the talk of the physicality of our series (with Minnesota), it was a low-event series. We've had extremes with them (Nashville); we've had low power play games, and we've had 12 guys in the box at the same time, so we'll see."

- Jamie Thomas, WinnipegJets.com https://www.nhl.com/jets/news/jets-forwards-aware-of-their-role-in-defending-the-flipper/c- 298249424

Jets forwards aware of their role in defending 'the flipper' Maurice: We hope we're a little bit better as baseball than they are by Mitchell Clinton @MitchellClinton / WinnipegJets.com

WINNIPEG - Some call it 'the flipper,' while others opt to name it 'the lob pass.'

Either way, it's a handful for defencemen to handle.

One of the ways the Nashville Predators move the puck up the ice is a high flip from their own zone to forwards moving through the neutral zone with speed.

It may not be as accurate as a flat, tape-to-tape pass, but it's effective.

Look no further than Game Six against the Colorado Avalanche. The Predators were already up 4-0 in the third period, when P.K. Subban lifted a backhand from the left circle half boards into the neutral zone.

Viktor Arvidsson knocked the puck down, then beat defenceman Patrik Nemeth before flipping the puck past goaltender Andrew Hammond to make it 5-0 Nashville.

The Winnipeg Jets know how they handle that particular play will be important, and that's why they've spent some time in practice this week working on it.

"We know from watching the Stanley Cup Final last year, they did it a ton against Pittsburgh," said Andrew Copp. "We're just concentrating on making sure we're coming back and helping our D out, because that puck can bounce any which way."

Throughout the season, Jets defencemen have spent time at the end of practices working on controlling bouncing pucks at the blue line to hold the zone.

This will be a bit different, but Bryan Little says it's all about communication.

"As forwards you want to try and hold up their forecheckers as much as you can without taking an interference penalty. Try and get in their way and slow them down a bit. At the same time, try to get open as soon as that puck settles down," said Little.

"There's more pressure on our D to get that thing. It's a tough play. They're really good at it. They flip that thing up and they've got guys right on top of you. It's on both the D and the forwards to help each other out and get it settled down."

Head coach Paul Maurice may have summed it up best. A change in possession, and where it happens on the ice, and the offensive firepower on both sides, puts the defensive team on their heels.

"The change of possession in these games, and the opportunities off those change of possession are as fast as you'll see," said Maurice.

"You think you're in a good spot, you bobble the puck, and you're in a real bad spot.

"The other team is going to force you into mistakes, how you handle that after is going to be the key."

The flip pass is just one of the ways Nashville moves up the ice, but Maurice said the best bet to limit Nashville's options is pressure on the forecheck.

"Equally important is the pressure on that puck so it's not clean. They do stretch, they will run the flipper an awful lot. They'll bring it back, counter back, and double swing away from you," said Maurice. "All those things you see over the course of the year, they'll run two or three of them on you.

"If it's a flat, straight pass, then you're going to have a problem to deal with. If it's up in the air and rolling, then (we) hope we're a little bit better at baseball than they are."