Note: Courtesy of last night’s 4-1 win in Nashville the Jets opened up their 2nd round series with a victory to take an important 1-0 series lead. It was the first ever win in a 2nd round by a Winnipeg based NHL team (both teams who made it to the 2nd round in the 80s were swept by the Oilers). The team will have to put the win to the back of their mind as they are scheduled to practice today at 1:30 pm. Our Jets Playoff Practice Report will bring you up to speed.
Note II: The Moose had Friday off as they recovered from another split of games with the Griffins in their first round series. Now it all comes down to game 5 on Monday in Grand Rapids. Today the team will practice at 12 pm at Griff’s Icehouse.
Note III: We are gonna have plenty to discuss today on the Illegal Curve Hockey Show which kicks off at 9 am on TSN 1290 Winnipeg as we chat about the Jets game 1 win, look ahead to game 2, take a look around the NHL as well as chatting about the Moose series and even some junior hockey talk. Tune in here.
Jets news:
Winnipeg Sun: Great escape for Jets. They pulled off a Houdini like move to pull off that great escape with the W. Paul recaps the game.
Winnipeg Sun: Hellebuyck stands tall as Jets steal Game 1 in Nashville. He was simply sensational as he was the difference in the game.
Winnipeg Sun: The score was upside down all night long as Jets steal one in Nashville. Sometimes the result doesn’t make a lot of sense.
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets badly outshot and outgunned, but still manage win. (Paywall). It wasn’t a textbook victory by any stretch of the imagination but I suspect the Jets will take it and move on to game two.
Winnipeg Free Press: Call it unorthodox, call it crazy… but call it a win. (Paywall). Seeing a team being outshot 20-4 and yet having a one goal lead after 20 minutes was downright strange and yet that is just what we witnessed last night in Nashville.
Winnipeg Free Press: Jets represent Canada’s Stanley Cup hope. (Paywall). It actually seems unreal that there hasn’t been a Canadian team to win since 1993.
Winnipeg Free Press: Country crooner has a hankering for Jets. (Paywall). She actively expresses her love for all things Winnipeg and Jets which may not go over well in Nashville.
The Tennessean: Predators encouraged by their ‘best game’ of playoffs despite loss to Jets in opener. Adam is the beat writer who covers the Preds and has a handle on this squad.
The Tennessean: Jets land first shot on Predators with opportunism, better goaltending. A look at the view of the game from someone who covers the Predators.
CBC: Jets get contributions from everywhere in Game 1 win over Nashville. More analysis of last night’s contest.
CBC: Cheers spill from Bell MTS Place into Winnipeg streets as Jets cage Predators in Nashville. Our IC photog Colby Spence was taking shots and the crowd was unreal from what I could see inside Bell MTS Place.
Photo Credit: Colby Spence
The Athletic: Jets role players step up again, this time in a matchup that could be key to knocking off Predators. (Paywall). I suspect nobody, including Brandon Tanev, expected he would open the scoring for the Jets in the second round but the key to victory is to have everyone contributing.
The Athletic: The numbers don’t tell the story — Predators didn’t lose Game 1 because of bad luck. (Paywall). I’d say the number one (and two and three) factor was the play of Connor Hellebuyck and luck didn’t have much to do with his success last night.
TSN: Jets keep composure weathering Preds’ Game 1 storm. Frank recaps last night’s festivities.
Sportsnet: Jets get greasy win in Game 1 despite Predators dominance. All the Jets are going to care about is the fact that they added another W to the win column.
Sportsnet: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau encourages Canadians to support Jets. Do people actually care when politicians (regardless of party) voice their support for a team?
Jets video:
Sportsnet: Patience paying off with Winnipeg Jets. Kevin Cheveldayoff’s plan was to build from within in hopes of building a Stanley Cup contender in Winnipeg. After missing the playoffs ownership extended both he and head coach Paul Maurice and it appears that patience has paid off.
TSN: Hellebuyck, Jets gut out Game 1 road win. While they were outplayed in many parts of the game, the Jets were able to gut out a tough one on the road. The TSN Hockey panel has more on what Winnipeg did right, and how much Connor Hellebuyck’s play helped push them to the victory.
TSN: First goal set tone for Jets. The Jets scored the first goal in their sixth straight playoff game. How important has it been for Winnipeg? Are the Preds maybe too overconfident? The TSN Hockey panel share their thoughts on that and more.
TSN: Hellebuyck was the best player on the ice. Connor Hellebuyck made 47 saves in Game 1 against the Predators for the win. Jamie McLennan examines his performance, and explains what the Jets need to do to improve in Game 2.
