GAME DAY: Jets vs. Wild - Game 1

WINNIPEG - At last, the day is finally here.
At 9:30 this morning, the Winnipeg Jets took to the ice for morning skate, ahead of tonight's Game One against the Minnesota Wild.
"I'm excited for it. I'm excited to get it started already. Tonight is going to be a fun night," said Mark Scheifele.
"It's a fun time. This is what you play all season for is to get to the playoffs. You have to enjoy it. We play a game that we love each and every day. You just have to enjoy every second of it."

Both teams have spent the last two days on the practice ice, and will drop the puck on the first series between the two tonight at Bell MTS Place.
Home ice has been an advantage for the Jets this season, with the 32-7-2 mark they've compiled in the Manitoba capital stacking up as the best in the NHL.
Add in the playoff trademark Whiteout, and the atmosphere will be electric.
"It'll be exciting," said captain Blake Wheeler. "The people are really excited around town. It's going to be a good atmosphere. We love playing in front of our crowd, and we feed off that energy. We're excited to start at home."

No line-up changes are expected for the Jets, who didn't take any line rushes during the pre-game skate, but looked like this at Tuesday's practice:
Connor-Scheifele-Wheeler
Ehlers-Stastny-Laine
Perreault-Little-Armia
Copp-Lowry-Tanev
Morrissey-Trouba
Morrow-Byfuglien
Chiarot-Myers
The Minnesota Wild, who are already without veteran defenceman Ryan Suter (fractured ankle), have Jared Spurgeon (torn hamstring) listed as a game time decision. Spurgeon has practiced each of the last two days.
Wild coach Bruce Boudreau will lean on his experience from the Jets and Anaheim Ducks series in 2015, as the visitors try to handle the opening few minutes.
"I think the starts, there is always a premium on them. Winnipeg was number one in the league in the first period, and they're 30-2-2 when leading after the first. So we know all those things," said Boudreau.
"We know the crowd. That's one advantage that I've been able to tell the players is playing against them two or three years ago, is what the crowd is like - and what the expectations are going to be like when they walk into the arena tonight."

Jets head coach Paul Maurice knows Boudreau's tendencies well, and vice versa. The two coached against each other in the American Hockey League. Maurice said Boudreau's teams play a fast and simple game.
"If you watch the last 10 or 15 games (the Wild) played this year, they got to that game," said Maurice. "They had a bunch of injuries early, and in some ways when Suter went down it became even more so. It's straight lines. They've got some size and speed up front, they put everything to the net, and quickly to the net. We both have match ups we like, but he's not married to it.
"He's always had veteran teams, so they run a pretty straight hard game."
Playing fast suits the Jets just fine. Outside of the opening 10 minutes tonight - where both teams anticipate adrenaline to be pumping - Wheeler believes playing with pace is key to his team's success.
"That's our game plan," said Wheeler. "We want to play fast. Come back and play well defensively. But ultimately how we move the puck, and try to transition quick, and attack with speed.
"(We're) just excited and ready to get going."
Now, with puck drop just hours away, Patrik Laine can't wait for his first taste of the Whiteout he's heard so much about.
"I think the only advice I got was to try and have fun," he said. "Everybody in this room, we know how to play hockey. That's not the thing we need to learn.
"Just try to have fun. These are different kinds of experiences. Just try to enjoy this every day, and hopefully go as far as we can."
- Mitchell Clinton, WinnipegJets.com

JETS GAME NOTES
Tonight's Game
The Winnipeg Jets begin the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight with Game 1 of their first round playoff series against the Minnesota Wild…The Central Division rivals met four times during the regular season, with the Jets winning three of the four contests and outscoring the Wild 14-10…This is the first playoff meeting between the two franchises…Game 2 of the series goes Friday night in Winnipeg before the series shifts to Xcel Energy Centre in Minnesota for Game 3 on Sunday and Game 4 on Tuesday.
Jets vs. Wild Series Notes
- After going 1-4-0 against the Wild in 2016-17, the Jets turned the tables this season by taking three of the four games from Minnesota.
- The Jets are 10-7-0 against the Wild in the last 17 meetings and have won four of the last five games.
- Winnipeg is 14-10-2 when facing Minnesota since moving to Manitoba in 2011.
- The Jets are 6-for-17 (35.3%) on the power play in their last five games against the Wild and have at least one power play goal in four of the five games.
- Mark Scheifele (1G, 5A) and Blake Wheeler (2G, 4A) led the Jets in scoring against the Wild during the regular season.
- Since the franchise relocated to Winnipeg, No. 26 Blake Wheeler has 26 points (11G, 15A) in 26 games against the team from his home state.
- Goaltender Connor Hellebuyck played all four games against the Wild during the regular season, going 3-1-0 with a 2.50 goals-against average and .914 save percentage.
Looking for the First One
The Jets are searching for their first playoff victory in franchise history, after being swept when they were the Atlanta Thrashers in 2007 and in 2015 against the Anaheim Ducks…The Wild return to the playoffs for the sixth year in a row and last won a playoff series in 2015.
Fear the White Out

Bell MTS Place has not been kind to opposing teams this season, as the Jets finished the season with the best home record in the NHL at 32-7-2…The last time the Jets lost at home was Feb. 27/18 against Nashville…Since then, the Jets won their last nine games in front of their home crowd…The last time the team with the best home record in the regular season didn't advance past the first round of the playoffs was in 2012 when the Detroit Red Wings lost to the Nashville Predators in five games.
New Horizons
The Jets finished the season with the second-best record in the NHL and broke a franchise record for most wins in a season (52), but this is the team's first trip to the playoffs since 2015… The Jets have five players who have played in 20 or more playoff games - Dustin Byfuglien, Paul Stastny, Matt Hendricks, Mathieu Perreault and Blake Wheeler...The Wild have a significant edge in playoff experience, as their roster features 15 players with 20 or more games of playoff experience…In total, the Jets players have played in a total of 265 playoff games, while the players on the Wild have 748 NHL playoff games on their resumes…Players such as Connor Hellebuyck, Nikolaj Ehlers, Patrik Laine, Josh Morrissey, Jack Roslovic, Kyle Connor, and Joel Armia are playing in the playoffs for the first time in their young NHL careers.
High Powered Offence
The Jets have eight players who have scored 15 or more goals this season, including five different players who scored hat tricks (Patrik Laine, Nikolaj Ehlers, Blake Wheeler, Mark Scheifele and Brandon Tanev)…The most dangerous scorer of them all is Laine, as his 44 goal goals in his sophomore season were the second most in the league behind Washington's Alexander Ovechkin (49)…Laine was on fire down the stretch, as he recorded 16 goals in the month of March and had a 15-game point streak from Feb. 16-Mar. 18…Laine wasn't the only young goal scorer for the Jets, as Kyle Connor finished his rookie campaign with 31 goals to win the league's rookie goal scoring title…Ehlers scored the third most goals for the Jets with 29, which is a career-high for the 22-year-old forward…Mark Scheifele was able to net 23 goals, despite missing 22 games to injury..Captain Blake Wheeler finished the season tied for the league lead in assists with 68, while also scoring 23 goals of his own…The Jets were the second-highest scoring team in the NHL with 273 goals.
Heating Up
Nobody was hotter than the Winnipeg Jets in the final 10 games of the regular season, as the Jets ended the season with a 11-1-0 in their final contests and a five-game winning streak…The last time the Jets lost back to back games was Mar. 13/18.
Fearless Leader
Jets head coach Paul Maurice is coaching in the postseason for the sixth time in his career…Maurice is 25-28 behind the bench in playoff games, with the highlight of his postseason success coming in 2002 when he coached the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup final…Maurice is looking to not only become the first coach in franchise history to earn a playoff victory, but he is also looking to win his first playoff game since 2009 in Carolina.
Friendly Minnesotans
The Jets roster features four Minnesotans - Dustin Byfuglien (Roseau), Matt Hendricks (Blaine), Tucker Poolman (East Grand Forks) and Blake Wheeler (Plymouth)…Minnesota is tied with Michigan and Ontario for the most represented province/state on the Jets roster…The Jets have the second most Minnesotans on their roster of any team in the NHL, as the Wild had five Minnesotans play for them this season.
State of Buff and Wheeler
Captain Blake Wheeler had seven points (2G, 5A) in four games during the regular season against the team from his home state…Wheeler has 26 points (11G, 15A) in 27 games against the Wild as a member of the Jets, including points in 19 of the 27 games…Wheeler has at least a point in nine of his 10 games in Minnesota…Minnesotan Dustin Byfuglien has 32 points in 39 career games against the Wild, including 21 points (5G, 16A) in 24 games as a member of the Jets.
OT Magic
Dustin Byfuglien and Paul Stastny are the only two players on the Jets roster to score an overtime goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs…Byfuglien did it during his time with the Chicago Blackhawks, while Paul Stastny did it with the Colorado Avalanche, which occurred against these same Wild on Apr. 17/14…In that game Stastny also scored the game-tying goal with 14 seconds remaining in the third period.
Championship Pedigree
Highlighted by Dustin Byfuglien's Stanley Cup Championship in 2011, the Winnipeg Jets have 13 players on their roster that have won a professional, major junior or NCAA championship…Mathieu Perreault won back-to-back Calder Cups in the AHL with the Hersey Bears in 2009 and 2010, while Bryan Little won the Calder Cup with the Chicago Wolves in 2008.
Steve Mason
2007-08 OHL Champion - Kitchener Rangers
Tucker Poolman
2015-16 NCAA Championship - Univ. of North Dakota
Dmitry Kulikov
2008-09 QMJHL Champion - Drummondville Voltigeurs
Brandon Tanev
2014-15 NCAA Championship - Providence College
Bryan Little
2007-08 AHL Calder Cup Champion - Chicago Wolves
Paul Stastny
2004-05 NCAA Championship - Univ. of Denver
Patrik Laine
2015-16 SM-liiga Champion - Tappara
Dustin Byfuglien
2009-10 NHL Stanley Cup Champion - Chicago Blackhawks
Toby Enstrom
2006-07 SHL Champion - MODO Hockey
Joel Armia
2012-2013 Liiga Champion - Ässät
Josh Morrissey
2014-15 WHL Champion - Kelowna Rockets
Tyler Myers
2008-09 WHL Champion - Kelowna Rockets
Mathieu Perreault
2008-09 Calder Cup Champion - Hershey Bears
2009-10 Calder Cup Champion - Hershey Bears