Wild at Jets
The Winnipeg Jets authored the greatest regular season in franchise history and enter the Stanley Cup playoffs as a legitimate championship contender, hosting the Minnesota Wild for Game 1 of the Western Conference quarterfinals on Wednesday. The Jets are here thanks to a powerful offense that includes 44-goal scorer Patrik Laine and multiple scoring options, but spring success will rest in large part on the shoulders of goaltender Connor Hellebuyck.
The 24-year-old began the season as Steve Mason’s backup, but blossomed into a top-tier goaltender while posting a .924 save percentage and 2.36 goals against average en route to 44 wins (most ever by a U.S.-born netminder). Minnesota surged in the second half of the season and posted the third-best record in the Western Conference since Jan. 1 at 25-10-8, but is just 9-6-4 since the beginning of March. Ryan Suter will miss the playoffs with a broken ankle, and fellow defenseman Jared Spurgeon will be a game-time decision for the opener due to a torn hamstring. Forward Zach Parise is healthy after early-season surgery, entering the playoffs with 12 goals in his last 18 games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CNBC, TVA2, Sportsnet (Winnipeg), FS North (Minnesota)
ABOUT THE WILD (45-26-11): Minnesota finished 11th in the NHL in scoring (3.05), but the defense - particularly without Suter and with Spurgeon coming off a month-long layoff - is a concern against Winnipeg’s high-octane offense. Center Eric Staal leads the Wild in goals (a franchise-record tying 42) and points (76), highlighting a trio of 60-point performers along with forwards Mikael Granlund and Jason Zucker. Veteran Devan Dubnyk won 35 games in goal while posting a .918 save percentage, and the Wild are a playoff-hardened bunch with 11 players having skated in at least 20 postseason games together.
ABOUT THE JETS (52-20-10): Winnipeg’s patient rebuild paid off resoundingly this season, as the 19-year-old Laine exploded for 19 goals in his final 25 games, forward Kyle Connor led all NHL rookies in goals (31) and forward Blake Wheeler tallied a league-high tying 68 assists along the way to 91 points. Five Jets finished with 57 points or more, and they ranked fifth on the power play while tying for seventh on the penalty kill. The biggest question is can Winnipeg handle postseason pressure given its lack of playoff experience (13 Jets have played in four playoff games or fewer).
OVERTIME
1. Minnesota C Matt Cullen, who turned 41 in November and scored 11 goals this season, played 49 playoff games in helping Pittsburgh win the past two Stanley Cups.
2. Winnipeg D Toby Enstrom (lower-body injury), who missed the final eight games of the regular season, will not play in Game 1.
3. The Jets captured the season series 3-1, but the two teams played just once since Nov. 27 - a 4-1 Wild triumph on Jan. 13.