Jets at Predators
The two best teams in the regular season have battled through six incredible games in the Western Conference semifinals, and now it is time to decide whether the Winnipeg Jets or the Nashville Predators will advance to the conference final. The Predators host the Jets in Thursday's Game 7 - the finale of a series in which neither team has won consecutive games, the road team has prevailed four times, and both have the same amount of shots (177) and attempts (338) playing 5-on-5.
“It’s a really tight series,” Nashville captain Roman Josi told reporters Wednesday. “Even the games where the score doesn’t really show it, they’re all tight games. They could’ve gone either way.” The key Thursday could be who scores first, as the Predators jumped ahead in Games 4 and 6 and then deployed a defense-focused mindset in the final two periods to keep the Jets at bay. In between, Winnipeg survived a first-period onslaught in Game 5 before pounding in four second-period goals en route to a 6-2 victory, using the speed and precise passing that Nashville’s defense negated in Games 4 and 6. “Have the confidence that you’re going to go out and perform at your best,” Winnipeg coach Paul Maurice told reporters after Wednesday’s practice. “Enjoy it, the whole part. The nerves before the game, the tension of the game, the excitement of the game.”
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, CBC, Sportsnet, TVA
ABOUT THE JETS: Winnipeg had chances in Game 6 but saw its power play, one of the NHL’s best this season, come up empty four times in the 4-0 defeat - three times in the opening period with the Jets trailing 1-0. Mark Scheifele and Blake Wheeler, who have combined for 12 goals and 15 assists in the postseason, were a combined minus-4 with three shots apiece in Game 6, while 29-goal scorer Nikolaj Ehlers has not scored in the playoffs. Connor Hellebuyck gave up a goal 62 seconds into Game 6 and finished with 25 saves, his lowest total of the series.
ABOUT THE PREDATORS: Nashville is alive thanks in large part to its top line, as Filip Forsberg and Viktor Arvidsson each scored twice with one assist in Game 6, and center Ryan Johansen added two assists as each member of the trio finished with a plus-4 rating in an elimination game on the road. Pekka Rinne has been pulled twice against the Jets, but the Vezina finalist made 34 saves in his strongest game of the series. The Predators were outstanding defensively in front of Rinne, blocking 23 shots in the game and holding Winnipeg to just four shots in killing off the four Jets power plays.
OVERTIME
1. Thursday marks the first home Game 7 (and only third overall) in Predators history, and the first Game 7 of any type in Jets franchise history.
2. Nashville C Mike Fisher did not practice Tuesday or Wednesday with an undisclosed injury, and if he cannot play, F Calle Jarnkrok would slide into the middle between F Scott Hartnell and F Ryan Hartman.
3. Winnipeg has won two of three games in Nashville in the series, outscoring the Predators 14-8.