Jets eliminate Predators with Game 7 win in Nashville

NASHVILLE, Tennessee - On a team with many players living their first Stanley Cup Playoffs experience, it was fitting that the man with the most Game 7s under his belt came through with the season on the line.
Paul Stastny had two goals and three points to lead the Winnipeg Jets to a 5-1 win over the Nashville Predators in Game 7, and with the win, the Jets move on to the Western Conference Final for the first time.

But Stastny wasn't alone when it came to stepping up. Mark Scheifele also scored twice, his tenth and eleventh of the postseason, to take over the league lead in that department.
Captain Blake Wheeler and Kyle Connor had two assists to help the cause, while Tyler Myers rounded out the scoring.
Connor Hellebuyck came up with some huge saves to protect Winnipeg's lead, and finished the night with 36 saves.
In the end, it didn't matter who was asked, the Jets knew it would take a full-team effort to eliminate the Presidents' Trophy winning Predators in their own building.
That's exactly what they got.
"The telling stat in this series for me is we played four games in here and never lost in regulation, against the best team in the league," said head coach Paul Maurice.
"That's a difficult thing to do…. To play well in here as consistently as we did, that's impressive."

The Jets would get on the board first after a strong stretch of possession in the Nashville zone. Nikolaj Ehlers left a drop pass along the right wing boards for a pinching Myers. The Jets defenceman continued down the wall, and sent a sharp angle shot from the goal line that beat Pekka Rinne.
That lead would increase to 2-0 just 2:06 later, when Stastny was the first on the dumped in puck from the neutral zone from Brandon Tanev. Stastny came out in front and his first backhand was stopped, but he chipped home his own rebound for his fifth of the postseason.

"It took a weird bounce, so I was thinking - my initial reaction - was to try and get on my backhand and go across to Ehlers who was coming down the wall," said Stastny.
"When it came back to me, you just try to throw it quick. I don't score the prettiest goals, but you go to the net and sometimes you get rewarded."

Rinne was pulled at that time, after allowing two goals on seven shots.
Nashville would respond, taking advantage of a cross-checking penalty on Connor.
Ryan Johansen crept toward the Jets net and from the right wing circle, sent a quick backhand pass to P.K. Subban, who one-timed it past a screened Hellebuyck to cut the Jets lead to one.
But that was the only puck that got by Hellebuyck, who improved his record to 16-2-3 this season after a loss of any kind, and 4-0 in the playoffs.

"The chemistry in this locker room is just incredible. I think every guy is fighting for each other every single night, and the details are just phenomenal," said Hellebuyck.
"That's my job, every single night. We get up early, and then I go to work. But the guys in front of me, they're keeping it easy for me, allowing me to see shots, blocking them when they need to, it makes a world of difference."

It would stay that way until late in the second, when Connor entered the Nashville zone, and after running into two defenders, left a loose puck for Wheeler. The Jets captain's fake to the net froze Mattias Ekholm, opening a lane to Scheifele. Wheeler's pass was right on the tape - just out of the reach of a diving Subban - and Scheifele made no mistake, burying his 10th of the playoffs.
More importantly, it put the Jets up 3-1.

"I think it allowed our group to breathe a little bit," said Wheeler. "We were pretty loose all game. I didn't see us checking the clock waiting for it to tick down. I think we really enjoyed this one.
"To get a two-goal lead with two minutes left in the second period, that was a big boost for us."
In the third, the Jets saw their first power play of the night, and made Nashville pay.
Patrik Laine's one timer was stopped by Juuse Saros, but Stastny was there to punch home the rebound, putting the Jets up 4-1.

Scheifele would add an empty netter to seal it.
"We have really good leadership in our room," said Maurice. "They prepared themselves and came out and did the two things we wanted to do in this game. One was play fast, you've heard me say that enough times. But also enjoy playing the game. Make plays, play with some confidence and some courage. We looked like that right from the start.
"It was right through the whole bench tonight. There were some players who didn't end up in the goals and assists that played huge roles."
The Jets don't have much time to rest, as they take on the Vegas Golden Knights in Game One of the Western Conference Final on Saturday night at Bell MTS Place.
"Right now we're thrilled to move on," said Wheeler. "We're pretty pleased to knock off a team like Nashville. That was every bit the series we expected it to be. What a great team they are. There's no doubt why they had the best regular season record.
"Nights like tonight, you try to soak it in. Enjoy it. Wake up tomorrow, and get ready for a big game on Saturday."