Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz: Jets eliminate Predators

Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Buzz, a daily look at the 2018 NHL postseason. The conference final matchups in the East and West are set after the Winnipeg Jets defeated the Nashville Predators in Game 7 of the Western Conference Second Round on Thursday.

About Last Night

Winnipeg Jets 5, Nashville Predators 1 -- The Jets, playing the first Game 7 in their history, scored two goals in the first 10:47 and never looked back, reaching the Western Conference Final for the first time. Center Paul Stastny, acquired in a trade with the St. Louis Blues on Feb. 26, scored two goals for Winnipeg, which will host the Vegas Golden Knights in Game 1 of the conference final at Bell MTS Place on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVAS). The Jets won three of the four games played at Bridgestone Arena. The Predators, who reached the Stanley Cup Final last season, had won 11 of 14 home playoff games before this series.

What we learned

Here are some takeaways from Day 30 of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Jets had right stuff

In the back-and-forth second round between the League's top two teams, the Jets never trailed in the series, winning Games 1, 3, 5 and 7 and playing their up-tempo game on the road. Winnipeg won three times at Bridgestone Arena, and lost the other game played there in double overtime (Game 2). In Game 7, the Jets' leaders had their fingerprints all over the result. There was an early goal from defenseman Tyler Myers. There were two goals each from Stastny and center Mark Scheifele, and forward Blake Wheeler had two assists.

Predators' lack of secondary scoring costly

Nashville made significant moves to improve its depth after losing the Stanley Cup Final against the Pittsburgh Penguins last season. Former Penguins center Nick Bonino was signed as a free agent on July 1; Nashville traded for forward Ryan Hartman (from the Chicago Blackhawks on Feb. 26) and for center Kyle Turris (as part of a three-way trade with the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche on Nov. 5); and center Mike Fisher, the Predators' former captain, came out of retirement in February. It didn't go as planned. Bonino (two goals), Hartman (two goals), Turris (no goals) and Fisher (one goal) combined for five goals in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Compare that to the Predators top line of Filip Forsberg (eight), Viktor Arvidsson (five) and Ryan Johansen (five), which combined for 18 goals. When that line wasn't scoring, the Predators were in trouble. And in the end, it cost them.